The Prince Mite'b Souq in Al-Jamiyah District here has for many years been a safe haven for Saudi women with no husbands or male family members to support them. Selling traditional products such as henna and kohl, the market grants them the opportunity to make their own living and avoid the descent into beggary, even though they still have to run the gauntlet of inspectors from Jeddah Mayoralty. Now these women market sellers are hoping that the Mayoralty will permit them to erect licensed stalls and remove the fear of being forced out by inspectors. One such seller, Umm Mazen, has worked in the market for three years, arriving at four o'clock, and leaving at ten in the evening, selling her henna, kohl, and head scarves. The work, which brings her between SR50 and SR100 a day, gives her a sense of purpose, she says. “It gives me self-satisfaction because I support my family without having to seek help from anyone.” Umm Mazen, mother of ten, has traded with haberdashers at the market ever since her husband retired five years ago, his pension too little to cover the family's expenditure. Making around SR50 a day, her income jumps during Eid when she can take home a rewarding SR1000. Many of the women working in the market suffered at first from a variety of social stigmas which they overcame with the passage of time. Now they are hoping for official approval to carry on their struggle to live with dignity. – Okaz __
