Doron Peskin, 22.07.09, Ynet

Hizo historia en Arabia Saudita el hecho de que 26 mujeres realizaron el primer curso de venta de ropa interior, por  querer dejar de comprar sujetadores a vendedores de sexo masculino.

El curso, que duró 10 días, tuvo lugar en la ciudad de Jeddah en las costas del Mar Rojo. Esto se considera un verdadero avance en la Arabia Saudita.

La cuestión de la venta de ropa interior no es nuevo. En 2006, el reino promulgó una ley que prohíbe a los hombres la venta de ropa interior a mujeres. Pero la aplicación de la ley fue limitada debido a la presión ejercida por la poderosa dirigencia religiosa, que no desea permitir que las mujeres trabajaen en centros comerciales, donde los hombres y las mujeres pasan tiempo juntos.

Cabe señalar que la venta de ropa interior es un asunto de división no sólo en Arabia Saudita. El gobierno de al-Sharqa de Emiratos Arabes Unidos recientemente se ha distribuído una nota a todos los centros comerciales indicando que a partír del 1 de enero de 2010, la venta de lencería se limitará sólo a las mujeres. Tiendas que sigan empleando a hombres a hacer este trabajo podrían enfrentarse a fuertes sanciones.

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Saudi women want to sell lingerie
History made in Saudi Arabia as 26 women begin first course of its kind on how to sell underwear, after having enough of buying bras from salesmen
Doron Peskin, 07.22.09, Ynet

A bit of history was made in the social-commercial area in Saudi Arabia last week: A first group of 26 women began a special course on how to sell lingerie. The course, which lasted 10 days, took place in the city of Jeddah off the shores of the Red Sea.
 
This is considered a real breakthrough in Saudi Arabia, following protests organized by groups of women who have simply had enough of buying their underwear from men.
 
The issue of selling lingerie is not new. In 2006, the conservative kingdom enacted a law prohibiting men from selling women's underwear. But the implementation of the law was restrained as a result of pressure exerted by the powerful religious establishment, which did not wish to allow women to work in shopping malls, where men and women spend time together.
 
In general, most of the stores in Saudi Arabia are manned by men, most of whom are immigrants from eastern Asian countries. Only a small number of "women's only" malls have saleswomen.
 
According to Arab website Elaph, the course instructors' main problem was how to overcome the women's embarrassment in regards to fitting the bra's size to the customers and presenting the store's merchandise in an attractive manner.
 
One of the course's participants was quoted as saying, "It was a wonderful experience. But the thing which sent me into a state of shock was the bra sizes. Before the course we did not know how to measure."
 
It should be noted that the sale of lingerie is a divisive matter not only in Saudi Arabia. The government of the al-Sharqa emirate recently distributed a memo to all shopping malls and stands, stating as of January 1, 2010, the sale of lingerie will be restricted to women only. Stores which continue employing men to do this job could face for heavy penalties, the memo warned.
 
Doron Peskin is head of research at Info-Prod Research (Middle East) Ltd.

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