Facebook campaign targets 'heartless' maids

A campaign to raise awareness against the demands of housemaids as Ramadan approaches has been launched on Facebook, titled in Arabic, “Our life is better off without a maid,” by Saudi journalist Manal Faisal Al-Sharief.
“The idea of creating this campaign occurred to me after my maid (who does the cooking) refused to transfer her sponsorship unless I agreed to pay her SR 3,000, while she is currently receiving SR 2,300,” said Al-Sharief told Arab News.
Al-Sharief says she chose this time for her campaign as most illegal housemaids are fleeing from their sponsors and allegedly blackmailing their owners by demanding higher salaries.
As Ramadan is just round the corner, Al-Sharief says housemaids are demanding higher salaries to take advantage of the current situation.
“The main objective of the campaign is to eliminate the gap that is seen between members of most Saudi families because of their addiction to watching TV and staying long hours in front of computers and on phones, spending time chatting on social networking sites,” she said.