A sea of red in Saudi shops but no mention of Valentine's Day

RIYADH • Red clothing and underwear are displayed in Saudi shopfronts, but the increasingly popular Valentine's Day promotions are missing one thing: the festival's name.

While sales surge and Valentine's gifts become more common among the youthful Saudi population, the word "Valentine's" is nowhere to be seen.

"Management has asked us to decorate the window display with red lingerie... but without mentioning anywhere Valentine's Day," said a saleswoman at a mall in the capital Riyadh, who did not want to be named as she was not authorised to speak to the media.

The displays represent change in Saudi Arabia, where stick-toting religious police once cracked down on sales of Valentine's Day paraphernalia and even on people wearing red during the Feb 14 festival.

Valentine's Day has vague origins dating back to Roman times, when several Christian martyrs were named Valentine.

The celebration for lovers, marked widely around the world, was firmly off limits in conservative Saudi Arabia, which would mark only Muslim holidays and its September national day.

But the country has been undergoing social change as it attempts to present a more appealing image and diversify its oil-dependent economy. It has curbed the feared religious police and given women more freedoms. Among these, they now have the right to drive and can add colour to their dress beyond the traditional plain black abaya robe.

But these changes have come alongside a crackdown on dissent that has seen clerics and women's rights activists detained.

"We can now put red clothes on view comfortably and even put them on the window display," said another saleswoman at Granada Mall, who also spoke anonymously.

"There are many customers requesting red lingerie. We have discounts during this time, but we don't call them Valentine's Day offers," she added.

Not everyone is comfortable with underwear being on show, finding it a jarring sight after decades when such items were kept strictly behind closed doors.

"I don't want to see these things," said a woman, fully veiled in black except for her eyes, who did not want to give her name.

"They bother me, but there are people who like it and this is their freedom of choice."

Times are changing, though, and many in Saudi Arabia - with more than half the population under the age of 35 - are embracing Valentine's Day, whether they call it that or not.

"People did not celebrate Valentine's Day, but now many Saudis do," said Ms Khuloud, 36, a Saudi saleswoman who did not want to give her last name. "There is a huge demand for clothes during this time, and customers are often asking for the colour red and profits have also been huge."

The saleswomen said red lingerie is most in demand during the Valentine's Day period. Shops have also offered discounts on perfume and make-up, while gift stores put red hearts in their windows, also without mentioning Valentine's.

One shopper, Ms Reem al-Qahtani, 22, said Saudi society is "gradually" starting to accept Valentine's Day, even if it remains nameless for now. "Right now, we celebrate quietly in cafes and restaurants, but we hope that it gains traction in the coming years."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE