BEIJING, March. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Women in Saudi Arabia have organized a campaign to boycott lingerie stores where purchasing undergarments from male sales staff has become a major problem, forcing women to travel to far away places to buy their most intimate apparel.

    The boycott was launched on Tuesday by about 50 women who gathered in the Red Sea port of Jiddah at the Al-Bidaya Breast-feeding Resource and Women's Awareness Center.

    The aim is to push for implementation of a law that has been on the books since 2006 which says only female staff can be employed in women's apparel stores.

    However, the law has never been put into effect, partly due to hard-liners in the religious establishment who oppose employing women in mixed environments like malls, where religious police are always on the lookout to keep men and women from interacting.     

    "When I buy underwear in Saudi, some salesmen say, 'This is not the right size for you,'" said Huda Batterjee who went abroad to buy her bridal lingerie. "You feel almost taken advantage of. Why is he looking at me in this way?"

    "Only men are employed as sales staff to keep women from having to deal with male customers or work around men. But in lingerie stores, that means men are talking to women about bras or thongs, looking them up and down to determine their cup sizes, even rubbing the underwear to show how stains can be washed out," said another woman, who preferred not to be named.

    "We are raising awareness and calling for the implementation of the law," said Reem Asaad, a finance lecturer at Dar al-Hikma Women's College in Jiddah, who supports the boycott.

    (Agencies)