An update on the Saudi lingerie situation. When we last visited this delicate subject, we noted two problems. Firstly, women are not allowed to work as cashiers in supermarkets and the like, because they will then be interacting with unrelated men. Secondly, as this applies even to lingerie shops, Saudi women find themselves having to discuss the fine points of their most intimate apparel with – oh dear – unrelated men. Worse, these men are more often than not foreign.
The paradox was noted, and a facebook campaign was launched with the worthy aim of allowing women to serve other women in the Kingdom's lingerie emporia. Things were set to change.
But they weren't expecting….the Religious Police:
Several owners and operators of lingerie shops in Riyadh have expressed concern that the Kingdom's plans to replace male clerks with women employees at shops catering to women, most notably lingerie shops, may fall in the doldrums following reports of raids of such shops by religious police over the past few months.
The Ministry of Labor has vowed to implement a plan to replace male clerks at various types of shops, preferably with Saudi women, as well as to offer job opportunities at grocery checkout lanes. But it is unclear if the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) would stand idle when it comes to women working in any commercial service that isn't explicitly for women only….
The ministry has issued a 12-month deadline for expelling male sales clerks at lingerie and cosmetics shops, viewing it as the obvious first step toward offering more job opportunities for women.
Women themselves have said they feel uncomfortable discussing intimate apparel and beauty products with unrelated men. Virtually all of these clerks are foreign workers.
“But, the fears of shop owners are also genuine because the Ministry of Labor has issued no official permit or instruction to the shops, which may face fresh crackdowns by the religious police,” said Al-Sharif, a Saudi businessman who did not want his business's name or his full name published out of concern for undue attention. “Some hypermarkets and stores in Riyadh have segregated certain areas for lingerie sales, but it will be practically difficult to ban entry of families or men with their wives to visit the restricted areas.”
The move to employ Saudi women in lingerie shops is not new. The Ministry of Labor asked lingerie shops to recruit women starting in 2005.
“But the commission members, who can set policy separately from the government, have resisted the move,” said Al-Sharif. “Now, it is the need of the hour. Our women walk around covered from head to toe and yet they have to discuss the size and material of their undergarments with unrelated men, mostly expatriates.”
The regional director of a major hypermarket chain said they implemented a policy “a few months back” to hire women to work as sales clerks, but then the religious police ordered them to relieve the women of their duties.
Mick Hartley 
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