Saleswomen demand female guards

Several Saudi women have started a campaign on Twitter calling on shop owners to hire women as security guards.
However, not everyone agrees that women are capable of running after thieves or stopping men from harassing women.
“We are keen to have more Saudi women take up jobs in various sectors. There are already women in existing security jobs at universities, colleges and airports, so why not expand this and employ them at boutiques and shops,” said Salma Haddad, a saleswoman.
“This will be great for us because if we have a problem now we have to call the male security guard who will come into the shop to investigate. Working with a female security guard will make it easier for all of us,” she said.
Sarah bin Sahal, a retail manager at Nayomi, disagrees. “We usually depend on the security guards hired at the malls." She thinks it is "impossible" for women to work in these positions because female thieves at stores are usually accompanied by male members of their family.
“Women are not physically capable of dealing with these situations, running after thieves in malls, handcuffing them and then taking them to the management offices where only men work and can deal with the police and file cases,” she said.
Sarah said she supports hiring female security guards at malls only to search female thieves.
Mariam Amran, a stay-at-home mother, agrees with Sarah and argues that people tend to be more comfortable with men security guards at shops.
“I don’t think these jobs should be occupied by women because it is almost impossible to arrest thieves and take steps to charge them,” she said. “We women feel safe when we see security men, especially if we've been harassed at the mall. I wonder what a woman security guard would do if something like this happens. I don’t think she would be able to stop young men from bothering female shoppers,” she said.
Seba Ahmed, owner of an abaya shop, said hiring women security staff would be an added financial burden for her business.
“It was easier back when I had non-Saudi employees because they were paid less than Saudis,” she said. She said that since the Labor Ministry forced them to hire Saudis, many businesses have had to spend more money on salaries and transport costs to ferry workers to and from their homes. "Now this. I don’t think I can do it,” she said.