RIYADH // Most female shoppers would rather discuss their underwear preferences with another woman. But there is little chance of that in Saudi Arabia, where lingerie stores are overwhelmingly staffed by men.
It is one of this country's biggest contradictions, given that the kingdom has the world's strictest gender segregation. It is also a situation that irritates Reem Asaad, a 38-year-old banking and finance professor in Jeddah. On a recent mall outing, Ms Asaad watched as women covered head to toe in black, with fully veiled faces, held up delicate nothings and discussed underwear purchases with male sales assistants.
"I felt furious," Ms Asaad said. "It defies all logic, and everything that Saudi Arabia is calling for: modesty, privacy, propriety. How could these women be completely covered up and discuss intimate details with male strangers?" Ms Asaad, who is Saudi, was so annoyed by this long-time situation that in 2008 she launched a public campaign to force lingerie store owners to replace male sales staff with females.
"Women need to know they have a right to a more appropriate setting," she said. Using e-mail, Facebook and her contacts with local businessmen, she pushed the issue. And she is still at it. On February 13, she called for a two-week boycott of lingerie stores employing men, asking women to instead patronise the tiny minority of stores - mostly in the more liberal city of Jeddah - that do have female sales staff.
Despite her perseverance, however, the campaign has not managed to budge the vast majority of lingerie store owners. As such, it offers a case study into why unemployment among Saudi women remains stubbornly at 25 per cent, despite government claims that it is trying to fix the problem. In most countries, retail is a major source of jobs for young people. For women especially, it provides numerous opportunities for employment and advancement as sales staff, buyers, interior designers, store managers and more.
But in Saudi Arabia, these opportunities are ambushed by conservative social attitudes - among both clerics and ordinary folk - that oppose women working outside the home. Even when Saudi women land jobs, such attitudes among male relatives hinder them from developing a strong work ethic. Also bucking change are restrictions imposed on retailers who do hire women, as well as apathy among businessmen who prefer to stick with expatriate male employees. Dependent upon their employers for visas, these foreigners are a cheap, dependable and uncomplaining labour force.
Ms Asaad's lingerie campaign has its roots in regulation No 120 of the ministry of labour. Issued in 2006, it said that only female sales staff should be employed in stores selling women's products. A major aim was to reduce unemployment among women. The order provoked an outcry. First, from religious clerics and conservative Saudis who reject the idea of women working in a place where they might be seen by men.
"They are against anything that will open more opportunities for women," Ms Asaad said of the opposition. At the same time, businessmen were unhappy, and not just because they like docile expatriate workers. They would also have to make costly alterations to the layout of stores so that men outside could not see female staff inside, including installing opaque glass windows, and a closed, sometimes locked, front door.
Security guards would have to be hired to prevent men from entering the store. (In male-staffed shops, men may accompany their wives or sisters into a store.) These requirements make stores "a little intimidating" and "not as inviting", said Kamal Jamjoom, whose Dubai-based retail firm has about 90 stores selling the Nayomi brand in Saudi Arabia. "Your storefront is your advertisement for your business," Mr Jamjoom added. "You need people to be able to see inside the store. If it's attractive, they'll come in."
Basmah al Omair, the executive director of the Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Businesswomen Centre in Jeddah, said: "What we are asking for is that the doors be open, that men and women can come in as a family, and that windows not be obstructed." The private sector, she added, "cares about profit and at the end of the day if you're going to lose profit by hiring female staff, you're not going to do it".
Ms Asaad said the outcry forced the government to back down and it quietly let it be known that regulation No 120 was not compulsory. Mr Jamjoom is among the few businessmen who have dipped their toes into the water, hiring saleswomen in about 10 per cent of his firm's shops - none of them in the conservative heartland of the kingdom. "We believe that lingerie ideally and normally should be sold women-to-women," he said. "But we have to follow the laws of the land and also the cultural desires of the country we work in."
Al Sawani Group, which sells the LaPerla brand, has also hired a few women. Currently, it employs 11 women in five shops in Jeddah, a tiny minority of the firm's total sales force of 2,500. Even this small advance was not easy, according to William Kinzel, the director of the firm's in-house centre of creativity and talent development. After Al Sawani decided to fill 10 openings with women, it telephoned scores of women who had applied for jobs at Jeddah's chamber of commerce.
"We interviewed 30 to 40 of them and hired 10," Mr Kinzel said. "In less than two months, all had left." Transportation was a problem for some, the split shifts were an inconvenience, too, and for others, Mr Kinzel said, "maybe they weren't ready for the work load - they were not prepared to stand on their feet all this time and be a saleswoman. It was discouraging, to be honest." Mr Kinzel said his company would like to hire more women, but attitudes needed to catch up. "The idea of women going out of their house and working, it's something new here."
Ms Asaad, who has an MBA from Boston's Northeastern University, said it was still too early to know the effect of the latest boycott call that began February 13. But she said she was heartened by two things. First, the boycott call drew more Saudi media attention than her previous efforts. Second, an analysis of 500 reader comments posted between February 13 and 17 on the websites of two Saudi newspapers and Al Arabiya television showed this breakdown: more than half (54 per cent) favoured hiring females to sell lingerie; 33 per cent favoured it only in all-women shopping malls; seven per cent oppose female sales staff, and six per cent said it is not an issue for them.
"We're hoping that this sample of readers' views is representative," Ms Asaad said. cmurphy@thenational.ae
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Fast%20X
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
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Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
