http://www.emirates247.com/news/maid-in-morocco-no-thanks-say-saudi-housewives-2011-09-14-1.418358?ot=ot.PrintPageLayout

Maid in Morocco? No thanks, say Saudi housewives
Feel Moroccan women are beautiful and could snatch their husbands
Published Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A few weeks after uniting against a long-standing ban on female car
driving, Saudi women are again joining hands in another common
cause—this time against the recruitment of housemaids from Morocco.
Their excuse is that Moroccan women are beautiful and could snatch
their husbands off them.

While the campaign against the driving ban came too late, their
reaction to government plans to import Moroccan maids was too swift
and decisive.

The Shura council (the Gulf kingdom’s appointed parliament) said it
had been deluged by demands from Saudi women urging it to veto plans
by the government to turn to Morocco to get housemaids following the
suspension of domestic workers from the Philippines and Indonesia.

“Many Saudi woman have objected to plans to import domestic workers
from Morocco…they say the Moroccan women are beautiful and this will
cause continuous anxiety and concern in Saudi families,” 'Sharq' daily
said.

“Some of them said Moroccan women are so attractive that their
husbands could easily fall for them…others said Moroccans are good at
magic and sorcery and that this could enable them to lure their
husbands.”

In comments last week, a Saudi chamber official said Saudi Arabia, the
largest Arab economy and the world’s top oil exporter, could turn to
Morocco and other countries to get its domestic workers following the
dispute with the Philippines and Indonesia, the largest suppliers of
housemaids to the Gulf countries.

“We are considering turning to countries which allow their domestic
workers to move to other countries without preconditions…these include
Morocco, east Asia, and some south African countries,” said Saad Al
Baddah, director of the labour recruitment committee at the Saudi
Chambers Federation.

“For the time being, we face a problem regarding Moroccan domestic
workers as there are no official recruitment centres…temporarily,
Saudis can travel to Morocco and bring in housemaids directly.”

A labour ministry official said Saudis are allowed to hire Moroccan
housemaids directly in the absence of official or private recruitment
offices for that country.

“We can provide Saudis with a visa for one Moroccan domestic worker
but they have to bring them in or look for government offices in
Morocco…this procedure is temporary pending the establishment of such
offices in Saudi Arabia,” labour ministry spokesman Hattab Al Anzi
told local newspapers.

Riyadh’s plans to turn to new domestic labour sources followed the
suspension of recruitment of housemaids from the Philippines and
Indonesia in June over disputes on wages and other terms.

Officials said last month they could soon lift a ban on maids from the
Philippine once a final deal is signed between the two countries.

Employment offices across Saudi Arabia said they were already
negotiating with other countries to supply maids and offset a shortage
resulting from the boycott of Philippine and Indonesian domestic
workers.“Many Saudi women have asked the Shura council to intervene to
stop plans to bring in housemaids from Morocco,” 'Sharq' said.

“Some women threatened to resign their job and stay at home so their
husbands will not be left alone with the Moroccan maid.”More than 1.5
million housemaids from the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and
other Asian and African nations work in Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom has been under fire from local and foreign human rights
groups over the death of some housemaids, who have been reportedly
killed by their employers. Pressure mounted in late 2010 following
news that an Indonesian housemaid was severely tortured by her female
employer.

The case of the 23-year-old maid, Sumiati Salan Mustapa triggered
furor through the Kingdom and other countries after she was
hospitalised with severe head and body injuries because the torture by
hot iron.


-- 
-Laye
==============================
"With fair speech thou might have thy will,
With it thou might thy self spoil."
--The R.M

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