Saudi women barrel into workforce in changing kingdom | Reuters
Stepping out of a shared taxi in central Riyadh, Reham Al-Ahmed walked into the shopping mall where she works four days a week selling cosmetics.
Al-Ahmed, a high school graduate, is the first woman in her family to have a job. Her parents had never wanted her to work but they eventually relented as life in the capital became too expensive.
With steep new taxes and cuts to government subsidies, many families are increasingly relying on women to work. In so doing, women are negotiating a new place for themselves in their country's delicate social fabric – a trend celebrated by some and watched suspiciously by others in a country still tethered to its conservative traditions.
Al-Ahmed, who lives at home with her parents and five younger siblings, chose a shop with mostly female clients to allay her parents' concerns about mixing with men.
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