Saudi Women Fear Entrance of Moroccan Maids in Their Country

Here is an article from Arab News, It is a follow up of the last piece we posted. It seems that recent moves to facilitate the recruitment of Moroccan women to work in Saudi Arabia is causing alarm amongst some women in Saudi because of stereotypes of Moroccan women being "magicians, man-stealers and pliant." It is both an amusing and sad commentary on the state of things.
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Moroccan maids may ‘spell’ trouble, warn some women

By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 14, 2011 23:04 Updated: Sep 14, 2011 23:04

RIYADH: Saudi women have voiced reservations against recruiting domestic helpers from Morocco as suggested by the chairman of the Saudi recruitment committee.

This is due to an old belief that Moroccan women use black magic to lure men to marry them. Some Saudi women urged the Shoura Council to intervene, while others threatened to quit their jobs to look after their homes if housemaids from the country were brought in.

Najla, a 32-year-old teacher at a private school, said she felt threatened by the news, pointing out that Moroccan women are known for being pliant and willing to adjust to varying situations, and this posed a threat to a working wife who is not at home most of the day.

Raja is a housewife who hopes the move falls through. She said Moroccan women are known for their black magic and could use it in Saudi homes. “It is better to be safe than sorry,” Raja said.

“It all depends on the upbringing of the man,” said Nuha, a physician and mother of three young children. She expressed support for the initiative to bring in Moroccan workers and pointed out that any threat can come from workers of any nationality and not only one.

Sawsan, a 40-year-old housewife, sees no harm in the initiative as she believes Saudi women should have confidence in themselves. “If a woman knows how to keep her husband satisfied, nothing can threaten her home.”

Sameer, a divorced businessman, believes that “black magic” is the key phrase frightening people. “However, other nationalities, as we have experienced in the Kingdom, use black magic to control families.”

“I am against having a live-in domestic helper in general,” said Majed, a single lawyer, adding that having a stranger live in anyone’s home is not healthy and can cause many problems, especially in marriages. “It is like bringing in an alien seed and planting it in your garden. No one can predict the outcome.”

Umm Fahad, a 27-year-old mother of three, has worked with a Moroccan maid for seven years, and she thought it was the best experience.

“She was so clean, quiet and kind, and since she left I have been suffering with workers of other nationalities,” she said, adding that at least the maid spoke the same language and understood Saudi traditions.

On the other hand, PR manager Abdullah saw no harm in recruiting from Morocco provided that a minimum age for workers is set and that watchdogs control visa allocations closely to prevent any foul play.

Moneera, a single journalist, saw no point to the fuss surrounding this issue. “Many families have recruited Moroccan domestic workers for many years now and there might have been minor complaints about them, like any other nationality.”

“It is a ridiculous fear that is without base,” said marriage counselor and psychoanalyst Hany Al-Ghamdi, pointing out that if a man has no respect for his family, nothing will stop him from having an affair and that any concerns about nationality are invalid. It is a misconception, Al-Ghamdi points out, to stereotype in this way based on nationality.

“If there is to be a reasonable analysis, we should ask why Moroccan women know how to attract and keep their men,” said Al-Ghamdi, suggesting that Saudi women who feel threatened should take a closer look at themselves.

“There is no black magic in a relationship between a man and woman. But there is the magic of love, caring and tolerance,” said Al-Ghamdi, adding that some women do not know how to understand their men and show tolerance toward them.

Tolerance, according to Al-Ghamdi, means being able to overcome problems and disputes and show love and femininity.

Moroccan women, in his opinion, are feminine by default. “They feel and express their femininity and surrender to their husbands, which is in their nature, while other women might look at it as degrading,” said Al-Ghamdi, adding that marriages involving Moroccan women in the Kingdom are not a trend that could threaten Saudi women.

Teaching love, Al-Ghamdi believes, is one way to reduce Saudi women’s fear of being threatened by other women.

“Aisha, the wife of Prophet (peace be upon him), was the first to open a ‘school for women.’ She was teaching women about even the most intimate details of their lives with their husbands.

We need more of this teaching, instead of the rigid curriculum we are teaching girls in schools,” said Al-Ghamdi, stressing that even Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “there is no alternative for love but to marry.”

In his opinion this is a clear sign that there is love before marriage or at least strong admiration and desire, on which homes should be built to dispel any such threats.

Moroccan Women on Their Way to Work as Maids in Saudi Arabia

Here is a piece from Arab News about the establishment of new recruitment companies to facilitate the importation of Moroccan women to work as maids in Saudi Arabia.

Anyone familiar with the general treatment maids receive in Saudi and the way Saudis view Moroccan women will find little to feel encouraged about with this new development. Let us pray that the women will actually be treated humanely and not forced into other less honorable professions.
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Moroccan maids on their way

By ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 9, 2011 22:22 Updated: Sep 9, 2011 22:22

RIYADH: The recruitment companies that are to be established soon will be licensed to bring in housemaids from Morocco, East Asia and South Africa, Al-Watan Arabic newspaper reported Friday quoting Saad Al-Baddah, chairman of the recruitment committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Al-Baddah added a caveat to the recruitment process of housemaids from Morocco saying that immediate employment of Moroccan maids could prove an issue as there were no official recruitment offices in Morocco to process the papers of prospective domestic helps.

He, however, said there could be a way around the problem with the citizens being given work visas to bring housemaids from Morocco on their own.

The chairman warned Saudi citizens against contacting any offices claiming to be able to send housemaids from Morocco to the Kingdom.

“They are all fake. You should not heed the false claims of these fake offices,” Al-Baddah warned prospective employers.

The spokesman of the Labor Ministry, Hattab Al-Anzi, said the recruitment offices would grant citizens work visas for housemaids from Morocco.

“It is now the responsibility of the citizen to look for authorized private recruitment offices to bring workers from Morocco,” he said.

The spokesman said the new recruitment companies to be established soon would be licensed to import housemaids from Morocco.

Saudi Arabia Refuses Moroccan Women Visas for Umra Fearing Prostitution

We dont usually post pieces from blogs but there are no good news pieces in English on the Saudi ban on Moroccan woman obtaining visas for Umra ( the "lesser" pilgrimage). This is a reprehensible, hypocritical move by the government of Saudi Arabia that should be protested. Here is the Guardian blog piece. We have also pasted an Arabic language article from Aljazeera that gives more detail .
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Saudi ban on Moroccan women is a stereotype too far
In banning Moroccan women from a pilgrimage in case they are prostitutes, Saudi Arabia is failing in its Islamic duties

Nesrine Malik guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 August 2010 13.00 BST
We all like to stereotype. Whether it's about different regions in a country or other countries, we all indulge in a bit of reductionism and comic typecasting. The British laugh at the French, Europeans poke fun at Americans and it is all reciprocated in (mostly) harmless badinage.

In the Arab world, we have our memes too: the Sudanese are lazy, the Egyptians are jokers, the Lebanese are flamboyant, etc. Arabic TV is replete with comedy shows that paint wide brush-strokes (in some cases, quite literally, as actors are "blacked up" to act the roles of African Arabs) at the expense of different Arab nationalities.

Although this sometimes crosses the line firmly into the territory of the distasteful (it's not a very politically correct environment in general), it is usually accepted in good humour. The region is very much still in the Mind Your Language phase.

Recently, however, two Gulf countries – Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – have provoked Morocco's ire. The Kuwaiti channel, al-Watan, has apologised to Moroccans for the animated comedy series Bu Qatada and Bu Nabeel, which sparked outrage for its improper depiction of Moroccan women as scheming witches plotting to ensnare rich Kuwaiti husbands by casting spells on them.

Last month, in another, rather under-reported incident, Saudi Arabia banned Moroccan women "of a certain age" from umra (the lesser pilgrimage), for fear they would abuse theirs visas "for other purposes" even when they are accompanied by male relatives.

This is a reference to an underground sex industry that is believed to be staffed by Arab women smuggled in from the Maghreb and north Africa. Short of calling all Moroccan women prostitutes and their men pimps, there is little more that could have been done to summarily insult the nation. The implication that Moroccans will exploit a visa for a sacred religious ritual to trade and facilitate sexual favours only serves to rub more salt into the wound.

The francophone Maghreb, especially Morocco, is stereotyped by wealthier and more outwardly conservative Arab nations as louche in cultural disposition and morally lax through poverty.

Morocco, of course, is a popular destination for Gulf tourists – ostensibly because it is perceived to be morally lax and poor enough to accommodate demands that would not be met elsewhere. In 2007, in order to regulate marriages, a law was passed in Morocco obliging married Saudi men to have notified their Saudi wives first before entering into marriage with Moroccan women. These local second wives usually acquire demi-monde status as their husbands then abandon them, only returning for conjugal visits.

Instead of diverting resources to investigate and tackle the problem within Saudi Arabia, the blame and responsibility for the problem has been placed squarely on the shoulders of Moroccan women. This, if I may indulge in a little generalisation myself, is a characteristic way of dealing with issues that touch on morality. Sweep under the carpet, blame the other, and if all else fails, ban something.

Moroccan political parties have entreated parliament to intervene. Leaving aside the effrontery, Saudi Arabia has a duty to facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca for all Muslims worldwide. I would therefore suggest, in order to mitigate the problem and in the spirit of slanderous generalisation, that Saudi men be banned from Morocco, lest they use their tourist visas for "other purposes".
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سفارة الرياض تؤكد تطبيق الضوابط
الفتيات المغربيات ممنوعات من العمرة



القنصلية السعودية بالرباط بررت قرارها بـ"صغر سن" الفتيات المتقدمات للحصول على التأشيرة، واحتمال وجود نوايا أخرى غير العمرة (الجزيرة-أرشيف)


الجزيرة نت-الرباط


أثار رفض المصالح القنصلية السعودية بالمغرب منح تأشيرة العمرة لقريبات المعتمرين استياء كبيرا في الشارع المغربي، بسبب ما اعتبر أنه محاكمة لنوايا المعتمرات واتهامهن بطريقة غير مباشرة باتخاذ العمرة مطية لأهداف أخرى.


وقد حرم هذا القرار مئات من الراغبات في العمرة من التوجه إلى الديار المقدسة، رغم أنهن مرافقات بآبائهن أو أقاربهن، كما أن بعضهن تعودن التوجه إلى العمرة كل شهر رمضان.


وبررت الجهات القنصلية بسفارة المملكة العربية السعودية قرارها بـ"صغر سن" الفتيات المتقدمات للحصول على التأشيرة، و"احتمال وجود نوايا أخرى غير العمرة"، وهو الأمر الذي أثار حفيظة كثيرين رأوا في القرار اتهاما لشرف هؤلاء الفتيات.


واعتبر فريق حزب العدالة والتنمية الإسلامي بالبرلمان أن ما قامت به المصالح القنصلية السعودية يمثل "إهانة" للفتيات المغربيات الشريفات"، و"حطا من كرامة المرأة المغربية".

حق ديني
وطالب الحزب وزارة الخارجية المغربية بالتدخل عاجلا، لوقف "الشطط" في التعامل مع الفتيات المغربيات، ووضع حد لما سماه "الجروح البليغة" التي تركها القرار في نفوس عائلات هؤلاء الفتيات.


وقال رئيس فريق حزب العدالة والتنمية في البرلمان مصطفى الرميد إن حزبه تلقى شكاوى من مواطنين مغاربة، رفضت ملفات بناتهم، لمرافقتهم إلى العمرة بسبب ما اعتبره، محاولة "لتعميم صورة سيئة عن المرأة المغربية".


وعبر الرميد في تصريح للجزيرة نت عن رفضه للقرار السعودي، الذي "يحرم المرأة المغربية من حقها الديني" في العمرة، معتبرا أن حالات بعض الآباء المغاربة الذين عادوا من العمرة دون بناتهم هي حالات نادرة ومعزولة ولا يمكن تعميمها، ولا اتخاذها ذريعة لحرمان شريحة واسعة من النساء والبنات من التوجه إلى الأراضي المقدسة.


ضوابظ تنظيمية
في المقابل نفت سفارة المملكة العربية السعودية بالمغرب ما سمته بـ"التعامل بالنوايا" في موضوع منح التأشيرة، نافية في نفس الوقت وجود أي "تمييز" في منحها بين الرجال والنساء.

واعتبرت السفارة في بيان لها، أن ما يحسم في موضوع الحصول على التأشيرة من عدمه هو الخضوع للشروط والضوابط التنظيمية، وهو ما تطبقه جميع سفارات المملكة العربية السعودية في العالم، كما جاء في البيان.