AS a respite from the lecherous shopkeeper, eyeing your every move across the shop, even if it's just your swaying abaya that he sees, and the flirtatious salesperson who considers serious bargaining by the female customer as a sign of 'interest' in him, I would be happy to believe that the presence of another female employee in the shop – be it a saleswoman, supervisor, whatever – would enhance the overall shopping experience. Women would prefer being served by women any time, whether that be in an 'All-Women' shop or a 'Ladies Section' sort of place.

Despite some noise in the recent years, most of the moves to employ saleswomen have not been successful.

Purely based on my experiences in Jeddah's sundry market places, here's my dream list of nine such places – retail therapy or just daily errands shopping – which would do well with more women around – not just as shoppers but as someone directly involved with the sale and purchase activities at the store. And I am not even yet talking about unemployment rates among Saudi women.

1. Lingerie/clothes/abaya stores:

Top of the pack are the lingerie stores, and why not. Even going into such shops is the height of embarrassment. With more than one petition calling for saleswomen in lingerie stores and even a boycott of such shops, if nothing works (which is very much the case), the issue is not an isolated one. I would go a step further and suggest bringing in women workers in all female clothing shops and abaya shops. How often have you caught the shopkeepers gawking at you from behind when you are checking out a new abaya or a tee in front of the mirror? Even if he is not looking, how comfortable is it to look into the mirror, with the new piece of cloth held to you to examine its size, suitability, color, etc.? You certainly do not want the shopkeeper to get an idea of what the dress would look like when you wear it. Worst, they may even end up taking measurements of other women!

2. Tailors:

Even if it's not the tailor taking your measurements, there are still enough reasons to avoid one. It's an awkward moment when you want to tell the tailor where exactly you want the neck to end or have the buttons placed in the torso of your top. Also awkward is when he has to tell you what silhouette would best suit your body structure, which somehow he seems to have figured out. This is not to say that there are no female tailors in Jeddah at all. Female tailors are few and since most of them work from home, their availability is left to word-of-mouth publicity. As such, women who are trained in tailoring and dress making must take it upon themselves and start their own tailoring businesses, even if they must do it from home. For once, society, its laws and structure cannot and should not be blamed.

3. Police:

Saudi Arabia has female security officers, but they are not on the field. There are women-only prisons as well. When women are taken in based on suspicion, only female officers handle them in secluded areas or prisons.

While research shows that women officers often possess better communication skills than their male counterparts and are better able to facilitate the cooperation and trust required to implement a community policing matter, in the Saudi Arabian context this may be especially true when dealing with cases involving women. For example, last year, under one article on the BBC website, the comments section carried an appeal from someone calling herself 'A Saudi Woman', which went like this: "Some men in Saudi Arabia do not even view us as human. First we need female police officers with the same power as the male officers to protect us. I was once involved in a car accident in Saudi Arabia, the police officer was more interested in learning what the relation was between me and the driver rather than asking if I was OK or needed medical assistance."

Moreover, female officers often respond more effectively to incidents of violence against women.

It would also be respite for checkpoints policemen who, because of their subtlety towards women, may be hesitant to verify the identity of women, regardless of the level of suspicion. Please see Saudi Prince Calls for The Creation of a Female Police Force

4. Cosmetics/makeup:

Picture this: A girl in a cosmetic store, contemplating what shade of lip color she should choose, when the salesman (often, a handsome young man, which makes me wonder if that is the criteria behind him being hired) shows up and offers to help. He may even suggest what hue, according to him, would best suit the girl. To give a better idea, he says, he would like the girl to try out the shade and proceeds to dab a little bit of the color on the side of the wrist of her hand. All too familiar? Perhaps, saying 'No Thanks, I'm fine' should solve the problem. If he doesn't get it, 'I like making my own selections, thank you.' He still doesn't get it? 'Excuse me? Can you please leave us alone?!'

5. Gold market:

Somehow, most of my dealings here have been with salesmen who are a bit too 'helpful' to my liking. Men who would tell me what earring would look good on me, or who would insist I try checking those out in front of a mirror that they would have thrust forward (which is okay, if only they were not standing behind that mirror), or even those that curiously enquire from mother if I am the 'Urusa' (bride). Making an expensive purchase, such as jewelry, is a major time-consuming task involving much contemplation, many trials and careful negotiations, and by having men to sell them, who definitely are less knowledgeable about women's jewelry, doesn't help much. In the presence of all the men, how is the woman expected to check out a new piece of earring, necklace or even a bracelet that just requires sliding it across the wrist? You know the sales guy has his eyes fixated at your wrist when you are doing so. Oh, to check the size, he would say. Of the bracelet, of course!

The Fitaihi Jewelry line, one of Jeddah's leading luxury retailers today, has since 2003 exclusively hired women as managers and employees for their retail jewelry outlets in the Kingdom. Here's hoping more companies follow the Fitaihi lead.

6. Pharmacy:

Women's issues. Embarrassing symptoms. Reluctant discussion with the pharmacist on an intimate health matter. The problems are many. While there are female doctors in hospitals and clinics, a pharmacy is often the go-to point when all that you seek is some quick medication sans the detailed check-ups and consultations. Surely, the presence of a female chemist who can assist you in making the most effective choice of medication will provide a more comfortable environment for the female buyers.

7. Optical shops:

How do you decide if a particular frame would suit your face shape? Just like at gold shops, any purchase at the optical store also requires at least a glance at the mirror! I remember when a few years back a female cousin, who was trying out contact lenses for the first time, was assisted by one of the men at the store, who first helped her wear the lenses and later remove them. The thought of a man hunched over me, poking his finger in the eye, even as he helps me with the lenses, is unnerving in the least.

8. Mobile phone operators/repair:

Each one of us has gone through this. The harrowing few moments when we are to hand over our beloved devices to the guy at the mobile shop for a technical repair or a software update. Will he see all my pictures and videos? What if he decides to save some to his phone? This is when deleting and storing elsewhere all such personal data may not be an option due to limited time, or unavailability of a cable cord to transfer data to the other device, etc. In fact, the ordeal begins much before that, when the phone is handed over to the father, husband, or especially the brother, who would volunteer (reluctantly mostly) to go to the mobile shop. There's always a possibility of the contents of the phone being spied upon. That is not to say that there should be suspicious content that needs to be hidden from them. It's only that everyone has a right to his/her privacy. This is not to assume that the presence of female mobile phone operators will per se make personal information secure. There have been many instances of women sharing their friends' private information with other men. Many times it is women who help men in such things, whether that is in secret filming or otherwise. Perhaps, the best solution is in us guarding our private information, not demanding vendors to be honest.

9. Driving instructors:

The country can begin to conceptualize driving for women if it considers the setting up of driving schools for women as the starting point. Often one gets to hear from those who like to think aloud blame the ban on women's driving on the nonexistence of women's driving schools here as just one of the reasons. How will women drive when they do not have a place where they can learn? How can they acquire licenses? Who will train the women? Or better still, let the ban on women's driving be sustained and let them commute forever with stranger taxi drivers or their non-Mahram personal drivers! Convenient, no?

On a side note, apart from the above rant, I would like to point out that not all is gloomy for women in their public life in Saudi Arabia. There are good aspects women here enjoy, which are rarely acknowledged; the best of all being privacy. The length at which this country goes to accommodate the requirements of modesty for women is a great blessing. They are not stopped and checked. They are given special areas in many aspects of life. They are generally treated with respect. It is not considered appropriate to touch them or ask them to reveal their faces. There is no pressure for wearing Hijab. These are things Muslim women can feel very comfortable about here and thank Allah for.