13 July 2011

Lingerie shops in Riyadh fear fresh Haia raids

The Ministry of Labor has vowed to implement a plan to replace male clerks at various types of shops, preferably with Saudi women, as well as to offer job opportunities at grocery checkout lanes.

But it is unclear if the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) would stand idle when it comes to women working in any commercial service that isn't explicitly for women only.

The ministry has targeted lingerie and cosmetic shops in particular, but many of these businesses allow both men and women inside, especially husbands with their wives. The Haia is opposed to women sales clerks interacting with male customers, as it is considered illegal mingling of women with unrelated men. [ARAB NEWS] Read more