Saudis Will Enforce Ban On Salesmen In Women's Apparel Shops, Despite Clerical Objections

According to AP, Saudi Arabia yesterday said it will begin to enforce a 2006 law that bars men from working in women's apparel and cosmetics shops. The law has not been enforced up to now because Muslim clerics oppose women working in places where men and women congregate, such as malls.  Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric said: "a woman standing face to face with a man selling to him without modesty or shame can lead to wrongdoing."  However Saudi women, unhappy about having to buy lingerie from men, have pressured the government to place women in these stores.  The new enforcement will begin Thursday and will cost thousands of men their sales jobs. Their positions will be taken largely by female South Asian migrants. Over 28,000 female workers have applied for the new positions.