JEDDAH, 11 September 2006 — Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi emphasized yesterday that his ministry would not back off from plans to put women in the workplace, in the face of stiff opposition from conservatives and some businessmen.
Speaking to Al-Ekhbariya television channel, Al-Gosaibi said there was no choice but for the Kingdom to start putting millions of women to work. Al-Gosaibi denied reports that the decision to employ women in lingerie shops had been canceled or delayed.
Businesses had been given a year until June to prepare for implementation of a ruling replacing foreign male labor in lingerie stores with Saudi women.
But the decision was suddenly delayed in May because some shop owners said they were unable to comply with the deadline, the state media said at the time. The minister affirmed that the concept of women working is a necessity considering the rising number of women graduates in the coming years and there is a need to find work for them.
