Plans afoot to bring in maids from Arab states

The Saudi Labor Ministry has announced plans to target new destinations in search of Arab housekeepers in order to reduce demand for Indonesian and Ethiopian domestic help.
The Labor Ministry took the initiative of contacting officials in 15 Arab countries despite the fact that most Arab countries have not officially agreed to send housemaids to work in the Kingdom.
Deputy Minister for International Affairs Ahmed F. Alfehaid confirmed that the ministry has already prepared a memorandum of understanding to be signed once any of the these countries agrees to send housekeepers to work in the country.
He said that while certain Arab countries are already sending maids, others consider this a sensitive issue. “We wanted to organize the process and make it more legal and systematic,” he said.
The Labor Ministry did not reveal the names of the countries it has contacted, and Arab News is still unsure whether maids from GCC countries will be recruited.
Hiring an Arab maid is almost impossible in Saudi Arabia for several reasons.
“I have been working in this field for 20 years and I don’t think Arab countries will agree to send maids to Saudi Arabia or any of the GCC countries. We will be waiting for a memorandum of understanding to be signed. However, we don’t expect demand for Arab maids to be high,” said Yehya Al-Ghamdi, the owner of a recruitment office in Jeddah.
He added: “Such a decision will only increase demand for Indonesian and Ethiopian maids since we don’t expect the salaries demanded by Arab maids to be similar to the salaries given to Indonesians and Ethiopians.”
Fatima Al-Zahrani, a Saudi mother of three, said she doesn’t expect any Arab country to send its maids to Saudi Arabia, but that she would still refuse to hire an Arab maid even if they do.
“I don’t think our society will accept hiring Arab maids since there will always be a risk of attracting the husband. Unfortunately, Saudi men wouldn't know how to treat Arab maids normally,” she said.
According to Al-Zahrani, Saudi women would not trust their husbands to be in the presence of Arab maids and especially good-looking ones.
Expat women living in the Kingdom also have the same prejudices.
“Arab women tend to be more dynamic and talkative. There is no language barrier, so by default, they will be more involved in family issues, which increases the likelihood of attracting male family members,” said Sarab Hassan, a Jordanian housewife living in Jeddah.
She added: “I used to have an Indonesian maid who dressed stylishly and wore attractive attire at night.” Still, Sarab maintains it would be difficult to hire a maid from a neighboring country or even a North African country.
“We use to have Jordanian maids in our home country, but they work as part-timers. We respect them and treat them like sisters or friends. In Saudi Arabia, maids are treated differently, especially when there are barriers like language, custom and religion,” she said.
Other expats found this a golden opportunity to bring in non-Saudi women under domestic help visas, then let them work in other domains.
“There is no doubt that many expat men will think about bringing their wives, friends or relatives on a maid's visa, then let those women work in other fields such as schools, nurseries, sales or even stay at home,” said Hassan Attiyah, an owner of a recruitment office in Riyadh.