Spinsters to Saudi: Menopausal Moroccans get green light for maid jobs

A long time dispute between Morocco and Saudi women is rearing its dirty head again. 

With the need for low cost labor in a Saudi home paired with the fear from Saudi women that their husbands will be too attracted to the young Moroccan maids, Morocco has agreed to continue supplying help…just not any that could be too young or attractive to Saudi men.

In recent years, the women of Saudi have joined forces against the domestic workers to be invited into Saudi en mass. In a previous Al Bawaba article, some Saudi women were quoted as saying “Moroccan women are so attractive that their husbands could easily fall for them”.  Some of them also said “Moroccans are good at magic and sorcery and that this could enable them to lure their husbands.” 

The Moroccan government has responded to recruiting offices in Saudi with the statement that maids below 45 years of age would not be allowed to fly to the Saudi Kingdon, Okaz newspaper reported. (Emirates 24/7)

“The conditions also include that the Saudi family seeking to hire a Moroccan maid must be a big rather than a small family,” it said.

The cost of one Moroccan maid is approximately SR 15,000. After the recruitment process is complete, their monthly salaries are around ST 1,500 to SR 1,800.

The reason behind the Moroccan maid issue links back to Saudi Arabia’s disputes between Indonesia and the Philippines.  In the past, these two countries provided the majority of domestic workers.  Two years ago, both countries stopped the travel of domestic workers to Saudi Arabia.