DAMMAM — About 58 percent of housemaids working for Saudi families get involved in illicit relationships with strangers, according to a survey conducted by a number of King Saud University postgraduate students.
Only 4 percent of maids have illicit relationships with male domestic workers who work in the same place, Al-Hayat daily said quoting the survey.
Seven percent of maids allow strangers to enter the houses where they work for different purposes and 34 percent of maids have illicit affairs with a member of the family they work for.
When families find out about such relationships, their responses vary: 22 percent call the police, 41 percent forgive and forget while 37 percent tend to punish their maids by beating them, according to the survey, which covered various regions, including Riyadh, Dammam, Taif, Jazan and Tabuk.
When they are found out, 8 percent of maids run away from their employers while 8 percent end up inflicting physical harm on children, the survey said. It said 54 percent of maids physically attack their female employers while 11 percent use verbal abuse against their employers. Some 64 percent of maids who commit these crimes are Muslim while 36 percent are of other religions, according to the survey.
Fahad Al-Ghamdi, one of the researchers, told Al-Hayat the survey focuses on maids who work for Saudi families, their work and living conditions. The study will pave the road for a larger study on Saudi families and how they treat their domestic servants.
“We haven't mentioned the nationalities of maids in this study for fear they might end up being turned into targets for others. Such studies have a big impact on and can swing public opinion. We don't want maids to be targeted based on generalizations and stereotypes,” Al-Ghamdi said. Sociologist Fahad Al-Maqhum said authorities should pay attention to the fact that the illicit affairs maids have with strangers indicate that there is a cultural, moral and security problem.
“Families should treat maids nicely and kindly and grant them their rights, financial and personal,” Al-Maghum stressed.
