‘Make maids feel at home’

Kindness and respect go a long way in reducing cases of maid-related violence in the Kingdom, said several Saudi experts.
“We have to make maids feel at home in our families,” one said.
Experts have voiced their professional opinion amid recent calls made by Saudis for maid-free homes in the wake of increasing cases of violence involving domestic workers in the country.
A foreign maid in Meesan, south of Taif, recently killed her Saudi sponsor, while another maid stabbed to death her Sudanese employer in Jeddah. Several reports have also surfaced about maids beating and abusing Saudi children.
Many Saudi families depend largely on foreign maids for various services.
More than 2 million maids work in the Kingdom.
According to the Labor Ministry, nearly 715,000 maids were recruited in 2013 alone.
Maids have become part and parcel of the Saudi social set-up and most families with working women are unable to live without them.
Fuad Kawther, a Saudi aviation engineer, said his family has never faced any problem with their maid since they assign her specific duties.
“Unfortunately, some families treat their maids like slaves and ask them to do all sorts of work. They have to cook, look after children, clean the house and even take care of domestic pets, among countless other chores. This is the crux of the problem,” he told Arab News. He said many families would not be able to get rid of maids for several reasons.
“Even Aysha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), reportedly used to employ maids, so there is nothing wrong in having maids, but we have to treat them properly. We should not overburden them like we often do now.”
Wala Al-Ashry, a psychologist with Princess Nora University in Riyadh, stressed the need to study maids’ mental and social conditions before recruiting them.
“Maids may abuse children for several reasons, including depression, personal problems and mental diseases. Cultural difference may also pave the way for behavioral changes. Some of these maids may simply be too young to know how to take care of children properly,” she said.
She said geographical and environment factors also affect behavior.
Harsh housemaids will negatively impact the children they come into contact with and affect their overall upbringing, she said.
Families should also make sure maids are free from mental and contagious diseases, she said.
“We have to deal with maids politely, give them free time and allow them to keep in touch with their families back home regularly. In short, we should never forget that maids are human beings just like us with needs and moods.”
Fahd bin Ali Al-Zahrani, a crime researcher, said people commit crimes for several social factors. “Many families do not treat maids properly, leaving them depressed and vengeful against children and other family members. Most families leave their children with maids all the time, increasing tension and depression and with it, the risk of violence.”
Nawal Hausawi, a psychological consultant, said many families can avoid employing maids if their men are ready to support their women in handling various household affairs. “Saudi women demand maids because they cannot do all the work at home alone without their husbands’ support,” she said.
Hausawi stressed the need to provide proper training to newly recruited maids for three months. “We should not allow our children to abuse domestic workers. Some cultures consider children giving orders to older people an insult, even if that person is a maid. We have to teach our children to depend on themselves and respect elders.”
She said Saudi families can do many things to alter negative attitudes.
“We can ask them to join us while eating at restaurants, give them money from our yearly charity obligations or simply, try to make them feel at home. At the same time we can install cameras inside our homes, since kindness does not equate with compromising our safety.”