RIYADH — Around 1,200 Saudi women have been employed as workers in a number of school cafeterias and also as cooks, caterers and cashiers in Saudi Arabian Airlines, local Arabic daily Al-Madinah reported on Wednesday. Deputy chairperson of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry's social committee for women and children Huda Al-Ruwaishid said the employment of Saudi women as workers was part of the committee's program to support productive families. She said: "Many women were, for the first time, employed as farmers to look after the gardens of Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University and also as laundry workers in King Fahd Medical City." She said the committee has initiated the Masakin (houses) program to accommodate needy families and widows with underage children. "We furnish these houses and provide them with all the necessary materials for their sustenance." Al-Ruwaishid said the committee is facing a number of difficulties, including the lack of identity papers for some families. She questioned why the Ministry of Labor would issue recruitment visas to import female workers in the maintenance sector when there were many Saudi women who could take up these jobs, especially in girls schools and universities. She complained about the shortage of funds for these programs and said the committee largely depends on the financial contributions of Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah and his wife Princess Fahdah Bint Hussain Al-Adhl, who is chairperson of the committee. Princess Fahdah revealed that there were plans to turn the committee into a charity organization. She said: "Papers on this issue have already been submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs." The chairperson said if it becomes a charity organization, the committee could easily reach a large number of needy families, expand its activities and be eligible to receive donations. Prince Fahdah said the committee was currently in the process of purchasing two additional buildings as part of its Masakin program to accommodate widows with children and needy families whose monthly income does not exceed SR3,000. She talked to the newspaper following a meeting on the impact of partnerships among welfare workers in achieving sustainable development with Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manie, member of the Saudi Authority of Senior Scholars. When asked if it was advisable to give charity to road cleaners instead of beggars gathering around traffic lights, Sheikh Al-Manie said these workers deserve Zakat and sadaqa money. He also asked the Ministry of Labor to monitor companies that delay paying the salaries of cleaning workers. "Delaying the payment of monthly salaries may drive these workers to seek other illicit means to make money." He commended the committee for accommodating 1,200 needy women and providing training and jobs for them.
