Jeddah Municipality has allotted special stalls to Saudi women vendors to sell low-priced items in the Balad area. “We wanted to include new stalls in Ramadan to support Saudi women. Hence, almost 40 stalls have been allotted to them through a lucky draw which was done earlier this month,” said Hala Al-Ghamdi, a coordinator at Jeddah Municipality. “These stalls have been distributed mainly to support low income and poor Saudi women to enable them to earn their living,” she said. Women are selling traditional food, special sweets for Eid, clothes, and haberdashery at these stalls some of which are located in downtown while others are in different middle class community and commercial areas near Balad. Jeddah Municipality is monitoring the stalls closely to check health hazards in foodstuffs and other items. “I am selling Basbosa, Kunafa and Sambosa and I am earning between SR200 to SR500 daily during and after Iftar time,” said Umm Maissun in Balad. She said that she has sold food every Ramadan since her husband died four years ago. “Somebody from the municipality asked for my ‘Bitaqa' (national ID card) and informed me later that I have been allotted a proper stall in Ramadan”. Women vendors are happy to get the opportunity to serve people as well as to find a way to earn an income with the help of the municipality. “We appreciate the step municipality has taken and urge it to expand the project to include more women,” said a woman vendor who thought that just 40 stalls were not enough. “Many poor women need the stalls, but they could not take advantage of this opportunity because they were not Saudis,” she added. __
