The women say they experience difficulties in making ends meet, something that forces them to work. So far the women have managed to fight off the municipality despite seeing power cuts and confiscation of their products. They hope officials will allow them to stay and work as they have been doing so for many years without any difficulties.
Most of the women selling at the market are over 50. They are either divorced or widowed and say the money they earn, which is very little, helps them pay for daily living costs. These women say working like this is better than staying at home.
The outdoor market was established over 50 years ago. Most of the items on sale are women's products.
The vendors say they often find their property damaged when they return in the morning. It is the local municipality that wants the women out, saying the market was set up illegally on government land. The women, in their defense, say they would happily agree to pay some money as rent.
Um Ghazzawi has been selling at the market for over 25 years.
“I sell different products and the little amount of money I earn, I spend on my only daughter. The municipality claims that what we do here is illegal. They regularly switch the power off to force us out,” she said.
Um Naser has been working in the market for six years. “Despite how hard we work, we make very little profit. We buy everything in bulk from Riyadh and Jeddah and we sell it here cheap. I am forced to work this way because my husband is paralyzed and I have seven children to feed. What I earn is not enough but at least I’m able to spend some money on my children,” she said.
Um Shagi has been selling at the same pitch in the market for over 30 years.
“The profit we earn is unlike it used to be in the past. We spend long hours here and we’ve become more like a family because of this. We help each other and we complain to each other about life. Most of the women here are either divorced or widowed. I am a widow with three children. I manage to raise my children from the money I earn here,” she said.
Um Khaled said the only time she is able to make a large amount of profit is when there is a holiday because that’s when the number of customers increases.
“On normal days, I earn between SR50 and SR150. I’m very happy with the little amount I earn, but this is being spoilt by the way the municipality is treating us. It’s hard to understand why they are targeting us and trying to force us to stay at home. They destroy our property and confiscate our goods causing us hundreds of riyals of losses. This is a lot of money for women like us,” she said.
