Sharjah, July 05: Male attendants have six months to clear out of the women’s section in Sharjah’s malls, department stores, or even individual outlets that are women-specific.
The Sharjah Executive Council (SEC) has recently approved a Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) proposal to ban male attendants from such outlets beginning January next year.
A top SEDD official told Khaleej Times that a circular in this regard will be sent out soon. That will leave about six months for necessary arrangements.
“This decision was very important to us due to the privacy of women’s stores and the conservative nature of Sharjah,” SEDD General Manager Ali bin Salem Al Mahmoud said. “Stores will be given a time limit (until January 2010) to replace male employees with female employees, after which strict fines and measures will be imposed against violating establishments. The SEDD will follow up closely with this procedure to ensure that this step is applied.”
Women in Sharjah have welcomed the decision and thanked Sharjah authroties for concerning about women privacy and comforts.
Hafsa Al Kabbi, a government official, said “decision is wise as authourities in Sharjah always seek to ensure free atmosphere for residents and nationals based on religion and Arab culture.”
UAE national Leila Al Farasi said, “The decision will make it easy for us to shop without any hesitation or shyness and also will open opportunity for a lot of ladies to work in these outlets as saleswomen “
Al Mahmoud said that the penalties are yet to be determined, but the proposed circular will include all necessary information. Mega outlets, in particular, will be required to keep only saleswomen in ladies section. The decision does not include loaders, cleaners, or those arrange goods on the shelves.
–Agencies–