WUNRN
SAUDI ARABIA - TRADITIONS, LAWS,
CHALLENGES - WOMEN & WORK
The uproar from cosmetics shop owners and operators over new rules that mandate
the hiring of women in cosmetics stores crystallizes the inherent difficulties
in making changes to social structure to allow women to assume more active
employment roles.
The heart behind the new rules is in the right place. Although, most certainly,
men shop in cosmetics shops, to buy items for themselves or gifts for others,
the majority of customers in such establishments is women. It is
self-evident that, in most cases, women are generally more knowledgeable
when it comes to make-up as they are the ones who wear it and, in some cases,
have been wearing it since a fairly young age. Logic dictates that they should
be allowed to stand behind the counter and attend to customers.
But what may seem a very simple change in regulations brings all kinds of
baggage. The general lack of public transportation available to women can make
it difficult for female employees to make it to work on time every day,
especially as the ban on women driving continues. Employers are running
businesses, and their first responsibility is to make profit, which is their
bottom line. If employees do not make it to work on time or are continually
absent, whether they are male or female, the general course of action is to
fire them. Also, with strict regulations governing the interaction of
non-related men and women in the Kingdom, it is difficult to see how female
salespersons and cashiers will be able to do their jobs effectively.
In addition to salespeople and customers of different genders, there is also
the issue of male managers and female employees. Again, it flies in the face of
strict traditions in the Kingdom.
In short, changing what seems to be a small part of labor regulations has
unforeseen repercussions that will also demand attention. Like a stack of
dominoes, one change will beget another, which will beget another, which will
beget another. The road to modernization is a difficult one to travel,
especially when it is being mandated by legislation. The question all must
answer, in the end, is whether that road will lead to a better, stronger and
healthier society.