500 Saudi Lingerie Shops Is Shut for The Violating Govt Orders

Over 500 lingerie shops in Saudi Arabia have been shut down by the Government during inspection for non-compliance and violating orders of mandating feminization in businesses operating in women’s innerwears and intimatewears.

Abdullah Abuthnain, undersecretary at the Ministry of Labor, said the field inspectors sent by the Ministry discovered that 1,173 shops in the country were violating regulations governing lingerie business during the last Islamic year that ended on November 3, 2013, reports Arab News.

According to the Ministry, the holy province of Makkah ranked the highest in violating the rules with nearly 310 shops employing men, followed by the capital city of Riyadh with 279 shops, the Eastern Province with 228 shops, the Northern Border Province with 205 shops and the Asir province with 151 lingerie shops breaching the regulations.

Mr. Abuthnain said the inspection is being carried out in two phases, the first where the teams would be inspecting lingerie shops and the second where investigations would be carried out at womenswear outlets, and shops selling abaya gowns.

The Ministry will continue inspecting lingerie shops and take deterrent steps till these shops fully implement the conditions laid down by the Saudi Government, he added.

The feminization of womenswear shops is part of the initiative of ‘Saudization’ taken up by the Government to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country and ensure employment for citizens. 22 percent of the country’s workforce constitutes of women who are being affected due to an increase in the number of illegal workers in Saudi Arabia.

The stipulations by the Government for lingerie shops include that employees at these shops should be only Saudi women, and the work environment should provide them total seclusion from male customers and workers, besides ensuring the safety of the shops.