Over a hundred shops in Saudi Arabia that sell lingerie and have men staff had been ordered shut by the labor ministry of the nation according to a newspaper on Sunday. All the shops were in Riyadh the capital of the country.

According to Al-Eqtisadiah, a ministry official had ordered all the shops shut as they had been operating agains the law of “feminization and nationalization of jobs”. The measure aims to "provide a safe environment for working women," he said.

Beginning early this year, male assistant at lingerie shops were not allowed as per the laws passed by the ministry. The government, of King Abdullah, viewed this a their first step to be followed to ensure that only women sales assistants would be employed at cosmetic stores to improve the employment rates of women in the conservative nation since June 2011.

Unemployment among women in the oil-rich state is estimated at 30 per cent.

(AW- Anil)