The Ministry of Labor, in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jizan, briefed businesspeople and shop owners on the mandatory employment of Saudi women at lingerie shops in the Kingdom. Fahd Bin Sulaiman Al-Takhifi, Assistant Undersecretary for Development, said the Royal Decree issued last year made it clear that non-Saudi women should not be employed in these positions. It also declared that there should be adequate security for women at their workplaces, he said. A positive result of the Royal Decree was that more Saudi women were now being employed, he added. On Jan. 5, Saudi Arabia made it mandatory that only female staff sell women's lingerie in the Kingdom, ending the awkwardness of women having to buy their undergarments from men. A royal decree issued by King Abdullah in June last year gave lingerie shop owners six months to get rid of their male employees and staff their stores with women only. The new law has created job opportunities for more than 40,000 Saudi women, the Ministry of Labor has said. The ban on male staff will also be extended to cosmetics shops from July.
