Saudi Arabia orders closure of lingerie shops-India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Saudi Arabia has ordered the closure of around 100 lingerie shops, which have violated new regulations that ban men from working on their sales staff. A labour ministry official said all shops in capital Riyadh , which flouted a decree on the 'feminisation and nationalisation of jobs', would be shut down. According to local paper, Al-Eqtisadiah, the official said the measure aims to 'provide a safe environment for working women'. In early 2012, the ministry banned male assistants from working at lingerie shops as a first step to be followed by women-only sales assistants at cosmetics outlets, the Daily Mail reports. King Abdullah issued the decree to end the 'embarrassment' suffered by women who don't want to give men their measurements. According to the paper, it was also part of an effort to reduce high female unemployment in the conservative kingdom.

S Arabia orders closure of 100 lingerie shops for violating ban on hiring male sales staff