Saudi campaign against ‘manned’ lingerie shops - paper

A fresh campaign to get rid of men who work as sales clerks in lingerie shops has started in Saudi Arabia with activists demanding a two-week boycott of such shops starting this Saturday.

According to a report in the Saudi-based Arab News, the initiative comes four years after the Labour Ministry had announced a plan to employ women in these shops.

The boycott campaigners have argued that since the announcement in 2005, nothing has been done in this regard.

For their part, lingerie shop owners have viewed the ministry’s decision as optional and the ministry has denied the initiative was canceled or postponed, Arab News noted.

“If you really care about women’s rights and you are in Saudi Arabia, then starting from the 13th of February 2010 and for two weeks boycott all lingerie shops that employ men,” Arab News quoted the campaigners as saying in a statement published in the Al-Madinah daily.

The campaigners expect a minimum of 40,000 women participating in the boycott, Arab News said.

Al Madinah reported that the market for women’s intimate apparel represents 17 percent of the SR9 billion ($2.3bn) Saudi women’s clothing market.

Nearly all women’s underwear stores in the Kingdom are staffed with men, causing much embarrassment for customers seeking advice on which size and colour to choose. The shops are banned from having fitting rooms.

A 2006 law states that women are allowed to work in any shop selling women’s items, including underwear and other types of clothing, but has not been implemented.

Women entering the workforce is still frowned upon by conservative Saudis, and high unemployment among Saudi men has added to some retailers’ reluctance to hire female staff.

Last year, a group of 26 women on Tuesday graduated from Jeddah’s liberal Dar Al Hekma Women’s College, after attending a ten day course on how to sell women’s underwear. [ click here to read the story ]