Posted on 08/11/2012 10:21:16 AM PDT by bayouranger
Saudi Arabia is to build a new city exclusively for women. The Gulf kingdom is working on the narrow junction between strict Sharia law and the aspirations of active females who wish to pursue their own careers.
The new plan is to combine women’s desire to work in the modern age and provide a job environment that would go hand-in-hand with the country’s Sharia law. The Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) has been charged to lead the country into a new era.
The ambitious mono-city is now being designed with construction to begin next year. The municipality in the Eastern city of Hafuf is expected to attract 500 million riyals (US$133 million) in investments and it will create around 5,000 jobs in the textiles, pharmaceuticals and food processing industries. There will be women-run firms and production lines for women.
Saudi Sharia law does allow women to work, given that her essential duties of homemaking should not be neglected. But in reality around 15 per cent of women are represented in the workforce, according to some estimates.
The Modon plan shadows the government’s desire for women to play a more important role in the development of the country. Among the stated objectives are to create job spots for young people.
"I'm sure that women can demonstrate their efficiency in many aspects and clarify the industries that best suit their interests, their nature and their ability," Modon’s deputy director-general, Saleh Al-Rasheed, told Saudi daily al-Eqtisadiah.
Saudi’s existing industrial cities already have factories owned by women, as well as companies that employ a small portion of the female population.
Apart from Hafuf, the Saudis are developing more women-only polis projects.
“We are now working on a second industrial city for women,” said Saleh Al Rasheed. “We have plans to establish a number of women-only industries in various parts of the kingdom.”
The kingdom’s rampant desire to boost its citizen workforce participation and change the women’s unemployment rate is also changing the retail landscape. The state is attempting to replace foreign salespeople with Saudi women in its female apparel shops, according to a research carried out by Booz and Co.
This summer, women started replacing sales staff in cosmetics and perfume shops, only half a year after they replaced male sales staff in lingerie stores. By the end of the year, women plan to replace their gender counterparts in stores selling abayas, the traditional black cloak worn by women.
But despite the degree of emancipation, women's rights in Saudi Arabia are still defined by Islam and lack basic freedoms found in many Western cultures. For instance, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving.
Yet recently efforts have been made to change the societal structure in the kingdom.
Last September, King Abdullah announced that women will be able to vote and run in the 2015 local elections, and be appointed to the Consultative Assembly.
Rosie O’Donnell’s dream come true.
You may be on to something there. Their fanatical hatred of women does seem to smack heavily of barely repressed homoeroticism to me. And it is well known how pederasty, if not actually condoned, is considered much more socially acceptable in muslim countries than it is in the west...
Will they permit any non-muslim women to enter or will it be segregated (under penalty of death) like Mecca and Medina?
I think this is called an “industrial park”, not a city. There will be no children, no sustainable population, and few of the normal services that characterize a city. The closest analog is San Francisco, but even they have a few straight couple to provide some semblance of sustainability.
This May just work, If I can find a way to sneak in....
In 1980 we were stationed in Saudi Arabia. Before my late wife secured full time employment, she had a part time gig doing a price survey. Since women, even westerners, are not allowed on the streets by themselves I had to accompany her in and out of the shops. We went into a lingerie shop to price items. The Pakistani shopkeeper was very exuberant showing us the latest line of panties from Italy. I do believe there are some professions that are gender specific and a lingerie salesman is not one of them.
Who would have ever guessed that wearing a burqa was the same thing as wearing the Star of David?
Saudi Sharia law does allow women to work, given that her essential duties of homemaking should not be neglected.
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Homemaking takes a lot of work, idiot!
(Not you, bayouranger. The writer of this is the idiot.)
“Bosom Buddies” the Saudi version.
islam
huma could move there and be mayorette.
WE SHOULD do the same thing, carve out an area only for liberal democrats and rino’s....the rest of the country will be for conservatives...let the liberals tax themselves to give to their shiftless people that live only on gov’t free handouts....Latest I have read on FR is the government wants to steralize 15 year olds without parents concent (if the 15 year old wants to). Let the rich liberals pay for such things....Bill Gates and all the other leftys should love to pay for this...Useless rich movie stars can take care of that also...
Now, being postman/milkman in THAT town is my dreamjob!
We must book the first charter. We’ll make a fortune! What do you say?
The City of Pleasure and Pain.
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