There are few Saudi homes in the Kingdom without housemaids. While many people regard a housemaid as essential for running the household in a systematic and stress-free way, others view these foreign women with anger and fear because their customs and traditions differ so vastly from those of the Saudis who employ them.
Commending on the housemaids’ role in our family life, Dr. Maryam Al-Isa of the Girls’ Education College in Tabuk said they had played a significant role in our development. The acts of a few, unfortunately, have given a bad name to the many.
She attributed the rising number of housemaids in the Kingdom to the refusal and unwillingness of Saudi women to do such jobs.
The housemaids should be chosen with care. They should possess good character and be healthy. They should not come from societies or cultures which lack ethical values. People coming from backgrounds in which social disturbances and violence are common may tend to violence themselves.
Recruiting agencies should take responsibility for avoiding these problems but, unsurprisingly, they seldom, if ever, do.
One Saudi housewife says she has been dealing with housemaids for a long time and has found it necessary to change them often. She underscores the importance of dealing gently and sympathetically with them as most of them come from very poor backgrounds.
It is also important that their salaries and other dues be paid on time. If punishment becomes necessary, it should be within the legal limits by canceling their contract and deporting them. Beating them or denying them their rights solves no problem and blackens the reputation of those who commit such injustices.
Psychologist Dr. Abdul Fatah Abdul Rahim believes that frustration is the basic cause of the violence, ill-treatment of children or theft committed by some housemaids. Employers can avoid such situations and get the best from the housemaids by treating them with kindness and sympathy.
Social worker Afaf Al-Habri points out that flaunting an army of domestic helpers has become part of our social snobbery. Some families compete with others to employ more maids and nannies, which in turn reduce the role of mothers in bringing up their children.
