In order to avoid dealing with male attendants in shops, Garoub used to buy her underwear from an online shop until it was closed down.

“It was only then that I had to shop at malls and deal with the male attendants,” she told the paper. “It was an extremely awkward experience.”

“That is why I decided to launch the campaign and save women shoppers as well as the men that might accompany them in shopping from this kind of situations,” Garoub added.

In her Facebook group, Garoub counts “embarrassing situations” that face women buying lingerie from men. Most of such situations happen during customer-seller conversations, according to Garoub.

The shop attendant, Garoub adds, would ask questions like “What’s your size?” or “What’s your favorite color?” and sometimes makes remarks along the lines of “This color doesn’t suit your complexion” or “I know what you need so let me choose for you.”

“This farce goes on everywhere whether in little shops or big malls,” she writes. “How come our country, this place that houses the two holy shrines, does not apply these rules to protect the chastity of Muslim women?”

The campaign, which has so far attracted 2,500 members, is supported by Saudi men and women alike. Ghada Abdel-Latif, a regular customer of lingerie shops, said she was “extremely upset at the way attendants would stare at her while she’s choosing what to buy.”

“In many cases, I hear indecent remarks from them,” she added.

Mohamed al-Atawi, a male campaign supporter, said the campaign a step towards “feminizing” all stores that sell women’s clothes.

“I have been to several neighboring countries and never saw a man selling women’s lingerie,” he said. “The success of this campaign will also offer more job opportunities for women.”

Mohamed Mubarak, another supporter, said the “embarrassment” was not restricted to women who buy lingerie. “I, as a man, feel extremely embarrassed when I pay for the lingerie women in my family buy.”


(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)