Saudi Gazette report WORKING women in the Kingdom face numerous challenges balancing their work and responsibilities at home as mothers and wives. For public school teachers, these challenges are often amplified due to the grueling demands of the teaching profession, leaving many stressed and emotionally exhausted teachers looking for a way out of the teaching profession. According to a report in Al-Riyadh daily, every year a growing number of teachers, particularly those who have been on the job for at least 20 years, want to take early retirement. They typically cite mental and physical exhaustion as their motivation to retire. Proponents of early retirement say it gives fresh graduates a chance to begin their career. According to one primary school teacher, the current retirement system has not been considered in a way that treats fairly female teachers who have spent a long time in the field. On the contrary, the system makes teachers' lives more difficult and puts them under a lot of pressure. "The drastic solution to such a system is to reduce the number of the years of service just like some Gulf countries have done out of appreciation for the role of female teachers. Early retirement can also help in reducing unemployment among women," said Fatima Al-Jameel. "Teaching is not an easy job. After spending so many years in the field and bearing the pains of labor and giving birth, we will start to feel exhausted. We hope that authorities will take our situation into consideration and allow us to retire earlier," Al-Jameel added. Al-Hanouf Al-Amro, another teacher, agreed with Al-Jameel and said early retirement will help reduce the unemployment rate among women but pointed out that financial responsibilities often prevent many from retiring. "Countless female graduates continue to be jobless because of the lack of opportunities in the field. So allowing teachers to retire early will clear up space for them but I believe the problem lies in the fact that many female teachers do not want or cannot retire early because they have financial obligations to fulfill such as loans and they need the money," she said. Teacher Umm Layan had a different perspective on the matter and said most female teachers want to retire early because they do not trust their maids to take care of their children at home. "I have my husband and three children and an elderly woman relative who is disabled to take care of, and on top of that I have my job as a teacher. I don't and can't trust my housemaid to do all of the house chores and take care of my family," she said. "When a woman reaches 40, her mental and physical capabilities start to diminish and she no longer feels as strong as she did when she started her career. I hope female teachers are allowed to retire early and given full salaries as a pension," she said. Zahra Al-Omari, a high school teacher, disagreed with Umm Layan and said regardless of age, teachers can give a lot in terms of teaching. "Giving retired female teachers a full salary will be burden on the state," she said.
