13 shops in Saudi Arabia closed for failing to hire women

Only women are allowed to work in Saudi Arabian clothes shops The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labour has closed 13 shops in a mall in the capital Riyadh, for failing to hire Saudi women, local media reported on Thursday. Shutting down the shops is part of a campaign launched by the ministry on Monday that aims to ensure the “feminisation of all clothing stores for women in the country,” the Saudi-based Arab News website reported.
“We have full-time field inspectors across the country to enforce the ministry\'s regulations,” he said.
“We are going to visit every single woman clothing and abaya shops in all malls to make sure they only hire women,” he added.
Field Inspection Supervisor Saud Al-Sinitan told Arab News that the ministry has put in place a penalty system that includes closing a violating shop\'s account with the ministry, providing a grace period to rectify its situation, and finally complete closure if the shop fails to comply.
shops. They will only be allowed to reopen if they hire Saudi women, Sinitan said.
He refused to “name and shame” any shops but added that the ministry was committed to ensuring new regulations are followed.