Kholood, a female teacher, only gets to bed late at night after an exhausting working day which includes taking care of her children, cooking, cleaning house, catering to the demands of her husband and preparing for the next day. The daily struggles of Kholood were reported by Al-Riyadh Arabic daily on Saturday. She only sleeps a few hours and then rises at the call for Fajr, the dawn prayer, and has to wake her young children so that she can make breakfast and prepare them for school. Like many children in the early morning, they are moody, irritable and half-asleep: One child does not want to drink milk, the other forgets his pencil and eraser and the other leaves the house keys behind. This is quite stressful for Kholood. It is often in this state that she leaves home and her driver takes her through the heavy Riyadh morning traffic, with its non-stop honking and erratic drivers, to her school. When she gets to school, she has to take a few deep breaths to calm herself for the start of her classes. On this particular morning, she teaches a lesson, “Honestly performing one's duties”. She teaches three classes until 10:30 A.M., and then spends the rest of the school day in the teachers' staff room. Extra stress She then travels home along the congested Riyadh roads. She has barely time to relax when duty calls again and she has to cook for the family. She is a good mother and does not want a domestic worker to be responsible for cooking the family meals. When her husband arrives from work, he shouts, “What's this chaos? Why is Humood's backpack on the floor?” As if Kholood needs this extra stress. This goes on and on until Kholood almost collapses from the pressure. Kholood is one of many female teachers who have to juggle family obligations with their work. This often affects their performance. The education system does not take these factors into account. It overlooks the fact that many female teachers have taken on many new tasks because of tough economic conditions. Some female teachers work in remote areas and have to take care of a sick parent or relative while also earning money for the family. These teachers also have to travel long distances, on poorly-maintained roads, which includes the danger of stray camels and other animals. No one seems to care about them. Flexibility Dr. Ahmad Al-Sinani, a sociology professor at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, said socio-economic changes have resulted in women taking on new roles, in addition to their traditional roles. Female teachers who are mothers have an enormous responsibility to care for their families, often with little assistance, Al-Sinani added. If the system does not become more flexible this will negatively affect women in their roles as mothers and educators, he warned. Dr. Hanan Hassan Attallah, assistant professor of education at the Department of Psychology at King Saud University, said women in Saudi society have a lot of responsibilities. Men want their wives to cook and be responsible for house chores as well. “Teachers who are mothers don't get rest all day. They have to go to school and when they come back they have to cook and take care of their children.” “Schools should allow female teachers to leave once they have finished their classes so that they can go home and take care of their families.” Attallah said the current laws and system do not take into consideration the circumstances of teachers who are mothers and housewives. “Women work a lot at school and home and get tired. This affects their performance as mothers and teachers.” It is not fair for a teacher who is a mother, to leave her three-month-old baby with a domestic worker because the system does not give her a longer vacation, Attallah added. Such teachers should be given a longer vacation and part of their salary; and substitute teachers should replace them temporarily, Attallah suggested.
