For the first time, 10 Saudi females have been employed at a laundry in the town of Al-Mansoura in Al-Ahsa. The females are from families that are beneficiaries of the Al-Mansoura Charitable Society in Al-Ahsa, Al-Watan said on Saturday. Muhammad Al-Wabari, the owner of the laundry, said he was the first owner of a laundry in the entire Kingdom to hire Saudi women. He said he was responding to calls from King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for Saudi women to work. He said he contacted officials at the Mansoura Charitable Society about the plan and was encouraged to go ahead. The charity provided the female Saudi workers to run his laundry. Al-Wabari said he prepared a separate reception room for customers, in line with customs in the Kingdom. “I prepared a suitable working environment where they can feel free and maintain their privacy and independence.” He said the women were trained for 10 days by the company that imports the laundry machines. He said the women have taken an interest in their work and are being paid SR4,000 a month, with one day off every week. Al-Wabari thanked officials in Al-Ahsa, including the mayor and the director of the labor office, for their moral support.
