That Saudi Arabia is a country of double standards based on ridiculous religious laws that rob women of basic rights is a widely known fact.

So women in Saudi Arabia are generally not allowed to leave the house without their husbands or an equivalent male chaperone because of the strict, religious moral code governing the interaction between men and women, especially unmarried women.

One would think that is in order to avoid any lewd behaviour that could lead to, oh my god, two people just falling in love or following their natural urges.

Of course women are generally not allowed to work because they belong in the home (according to Muslim clerics). However women still shop. And as any other woman they shop for underwear.

Of course a male dominated society might not be aware of this, but underwear shopping for women is a slightly different affair for women than for men.

Men discover their size (adjust it up with time) and choose the underwear type they prefer and that's pretty much it. They can shop blindly or even have other people do it for them. They don't really care.

Women have it harder of course. The look is very important and let's not even go into sizing. Every woman seems to have a unique body shape that only one of 1492654 brands caters for.

Ergo this requires a lot of discussion with the sales person to find out which brand that is, not to mention how the product actually looks.

Yet, in Saudi Arabia, because women are not allowed to work that easily, they have to contend with discussing their lingerie needs with a man.

So, unmarried women are generally not allowed to be in the same room with male strangers, but it's OK for them, under supervision of a male relative, to discuss their bra sizes and knickers?

Once again, I'd say that works out nicely for male sales people, although to be fair they have to be careful too so their job doesn't land them in jail for lewd talk with a woman.

It's a strange, strange world out there, but what do you expect from a country that forbids Valentine's gifts and roses?