“I feel happy and independent. I no longer need anyone to support me financially, plus the job itself makes me strong,” said Amani, a young woman wearing a face-covering veil who was serving customers at La Senza.
Women account for only 7 percent of Saudis employed by private companies but make up almost half of all Saudis listed as looking for work, according to 2009 government figures.
In this conservative Islamic kingdom, where gender segregation is strictly enforced, paid employment has traditionally been seen as an all-male preserve. The fact that even lingerie shops were mostly staffed by men until this week had for years been seen by many Saudi women as an absurdity.
By denouncing all forms of female employment as opening the door to immoral interaction between the sexes, clerics and their enforcers, the religious police, in this case ended up forcing women to reveal intimate details of their body shape to men they did not know.
“It is very comfortable now. The shop is full of women and one can move freely and ask about anything without feeling embarrassed,” said Heba, a La Senza customer.
