Saudi retailer fires women cashiers
RIYADH: One of Saudi Arabia's largest supermarket chains has reversed a decision to employ female cashiers, in a religious dispute which saw the king issue a reprimand to a conservative scholar.
Facing pressure from religious groups, Panda group, owned mostly by Saudi prince Walid bin Talal, said it would not continue to employ the 11 women. Yousef al Ahmed, a conservative scholar, used an appearance on a satellite TV station recently to call for a boycott of the chain if it did not remove the women from their jobs.
While Panda backtracked and the women left the tills, king Abdullah issued a strong reprimand of Al-Ahmed. The monarch also demanded he stop issuing religious decrees, or fatwas, without approval from the official Saudi Institute for Religious Scholars. Earlier, he had issued a decree that allows only officially-appointed scholars to issue fatwas.
Saudi retailer fires women cashiers - Middle East - World - The Times of India
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