Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (AHN) – Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority on Sunday issued a ruling, or fatwa, banning Saudi women from working as cashiers in supermarkets to prevent them from mixing with men not related to them.

The ruling from the Committee on Scholarly Work and fatwa issuer Ifta followed a call by a conservative preacher to boycott supermarkets employing female cashiers.

The country’s board of senior Islamic scholars endorsed the fatwa on grounds that women cashiers violate the Kingdom’s rule on the segregation of sexes.

There were no comments from the Panda and Marhaba supermarkets, which employ women cashiers.

Four months ago, the labor ministry authorized stores in Jeddah to employ women cashiers to give them jobs.

The Saudi-owned Panda chain has since hired 16 female cashiers. The Marhaba and Centrepoint supermarkets followed suit.

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