Let us hope the new law regulating women-only shops which officials at the Ministry of Labor say will be issued in the near future is free of the complications and hassles which bodies in charge of licensing businesses run by women have produced. Under existing regulations, women continue to face difficulties in setting up their own shops. Some bodies such as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the municipalities make unrealistic demands that must be met before a woman is licensed to operate a business.
One of the bizarre conditions is that the shop must be located on a main, rather than a side, street. The justification is that this will ensure women’s privacy is protected. Another unrealistic condition is that all windows of the building must be closed at all times if the shop is located on the ground floor. Such a condition contradicts basic safety requirements, making it almost impossible for rescue teams to respond to an emergency.
The problem is not just confined to the conditions governing the location and nature of the building. The main issue facing women who want to start their own business is the limited fields they are allowed to invest in. Licenses are usually granted to such activities as health centers. These have now managed to incorporate sporting activities as part of their business.
Cultural centers and training centers run by women are extremely rare because of the conditions governing the licensing. Women investors thus resort to twisted methods in order to be able to open this kind of businesses.
In the absence of a body to handle women’s training, English language training centers resort to putting newspaper advertisements promoting training courses not in English but in areas such as administration, education and secretarial practice. These centers usually operate outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education which is responsible for licensing language and computer training centers.
We need to be more realistic when dealing with women investors. If allowed to continue, these conditions will further delay any serious attempt for the empowerment of women and enabling them to play a more active role in development.
Consider this contradiction: On the same street you find a shop selling videos with a big sign outside saying women are not allowed in the shop while next door is a shop selling ice cream which is full of customers of both sexes. The victims are always small businesses — the area where most women want to invest in.
