This has resulted in the emergence of a section of women who have started working as sales representatives, a vital sector hitherto monopolized by their male counterparts, according to a report in Al-Watan daily.

Although the work is tough, many young women in Jazan province score excellent results after taking up the challenging profession. Many now move around the campus of their colleges and schools again, but this time not to realize their ambition to work as teachers; instead, they are wearing their new attire as sales representatives, or “mobile vendors.”

Their timidity or modesty no longer stands as an impediment in their way to earn a livelihood. They see their old campus as one of the best destinations to market and sell their products. Others find their customers among neighbors, states the report.

Amal Ahmad is one of the Saudi salesgirls in Jazan. She is both a student and a sales representative. In the morning, she attends classes, and afterward, she works as a salesgirl.

“I have been working as a sales representative for the last two years. Even though I have no interest in the profession, my family’s financial difficulties forced me to do the job. I have to support my younger siblings, and there is no other way,” she says.

Eighteen-year-old Nadiya Hassan tells a similar story. “I took up the job after losing hope in finding a position as a teacher. I threw away my certificates, as they did not benefit me even for a single day. My family’s acute financial problems forced me to overcome the hurdle of shyness. When I took up the job, I had to face humiliation and rebuke from my relatives and friends,” she says.

Majda, another salesgirl, says that it is a hard job, as the saleswomen do not get a fixed monthly salary or any allowances. “There is no mechanism to protect our rights. Most often we encounter awkward situations when we try to sell our products at the doorsteps of strangers.”

On the other hand, Umm Shahad, a housewife, relates: “I sometimes buy goods that I do not want, purely out of compassion and consideration for these girls.”

Hala Hussein, another housewife, says that whenever she sees such salesgirls moving around, she wants to ask a host of questions, “especially about the circumstances that forced them to do such a job in their prime age.”

Commenting on the issue, Badar Al-Rasheedi, director of the Human Resources Development Fund in Jazan, says that it is difficult for young Saudi women to work as sales representatives in a conservative society.

“Honestly speaking, we have some reservations about this particular field. These young women do not get any special support from society. However, the fund has a special program to support small-scale enterprises, and a number of women take advantage of it.”