Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport is to hire between 300 and 500 Saudi Arabian women, Arabian Business has reported, citing an Arab News story. Women will be hired in the departments of passenger services over the next few months.
The airport’s director general Abdul Hamid Aba Al-Auri was quoted as saying that female staff’s work would see them interact with families only, as per the country’s customs on inter-gender mingling, and they will be required to wear an Islamic headdress at all times.
The positions will be posted on the airport’s website, according to the report.
Females in Saudi Arabia are prohibited from taking up employment or leaving the country without a male guardian’s permission. According to official data, the unemployment rate among Saudi women stood at 35.7% at the end of last year.
Recently, some changes have come about. In 2011, it was announced that women would be permitted to vote and stand in municipal elections from 2015, while in January 2013, 30 women were appointed to the country’s legislative Shoura Council.
Some female members of the Shoura Council have said they will lobby for the driving ban to be lifted, although there is not yet a timeframe for when the issue will be discussed.
It was also recently announced that women would be allowed to practice law in a professional environment for the first time.
