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Journalism of Courage
The labour ministry has ordered the closure of around 100 lingerie shops in the Saudi capital for having men on their sales staff,a newspaper said today.
Al-Eqtisadiah quoted a ministry official as saying all shops which violate a decree on the “feminisation and nationalisation of jobs” would be shut down. The measure aims to “provide a safe environment for working women,” he said.
The ministry at the start of the year banned male assistants from working at lingerie shops,as a first step to be followed by women-only sales assistants at cosmetics outlets.
King Abdullah issued a decree in June 2011 limiting work for females at lingerie shops to Saudi women only in a bid to reduce high female unemployment in the conservative kingdom.
Unemployment among women in the oil-rich state is estimated at 30 per cent.
