- Home » Expat News » Daughters of expats in Saudi forced to quit work and stay home
Daughters of expats in Saudi forced to quit work and stay home
| Published: | 13 Sep at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
A recent law in Saudi Arabia prevents the daughters of expats working in the kingdom from being employed, even if they were born and raised in the state.
The new rule prevents the daughters of expats from transferring their sponsorship from their fathers or guardians to an employer, a move necessary before employment can be taken. Brothers and mothers of expat workers are not affected by the ruling.
One such daughter of a Yemeni worker told the media she had received her public school education and gained a BA in Arabic Studies whilst in Saudi, adding that she regarded the kingdom as her own country. Marginalising women in this way, she said, leaves us feeling unwanted and isolated in society.
She feels that an amnesty similar to that recently granted to illegal workers in the country would be in order, so that a case can be made for expat workers’ daughters which might result in a correction of their status. A Syrian teacher who has lived in Saudi for decades also spoke to the press, saying that she was originally sponsored by her father, with her brother taking over her iqama after her father died.
She is worried that she is not listed as a wife, nor as a daughter, and has no idea how to proceed in order to keep her job. She added that granting exemptions for sisters and daughters would at lease ensure that those affected could continue to benefit Saudi society in more productive ways than could new expat workers unfamiliar with the kingdom.
Other women ordered to stay home include a school administrator who is unable to leave the country as her entire family is here. A beauty salon owner is concerned that she will lose her expat customers now her younger, hard-working expat employees have quit their jobs, and isn’t sure that her clients will accept Saudi beauty therapists.
The new rule prevents the daughters of expats from transferring their sponsorship from their fathers or guardians to an employer, a move necessary before employment can be taken. Brothers and mothers of expat workers are not affected by the ruling.
One such daughter of a Yemeni worker told the media she had received her public school education and gained a BA in Arabic Studies whilst in Saudi, adding that she regarded the kingdom as her own country. Marginalising women in this way, she said, leaves us feeling unwanted and isolated in society.
She feels that an amnesty similar to that recently granted to illegal workers in the country would be in order, so that a case can be made for expat workers’ daughters which might result in a correction of their status. A Syrian teacher who has lived in Saudi for decades also spoke to the press, saying that she was originally sponsored by her father, with her brother taking over her iqama after her father died.
She is worried that she is not listed as a wife, nor as a daughter, and has no idea how to proceed in order to keep her job. She added that granting exemptions for sisters and daughters would at lease ensure that those affected could continue to benefit Saudi society in more productive ways than could new expat workers unfamiliar with the kingdom.
Other women ordered to stay home include a school administrator who is unable to leave the country as her entire family is here. A beauty salon owner is concerned that she will lose her expat customers now her younger, hard-working expat employees have quit their jobs, and isn’t sure that her clients will accept Saudi beauty therapists.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
