A new scientific study has warned against the negative impact of housemaids on young Saudis and their families. The study recommended that the role of the family be included in the school syllabi besides coming up with a strategy to deal with the phenomenon in such a way as to reduce the impact of housemaids on Saudi families and future generations. Apart from this, the study called on members of the society to secure workers or cleaners to work on hourly, monthly or yearly basis besides recruiting nannies meeting the conditions required for this kind of work. Additionally, the study recommends issuing of legislations and systems caring for women and families such as giving a working woman maternity leave at least for the first years besides issuing obligatory decisions for all government agencies having more than 100 employees to provide nursery facilities and providing transportation at nominal fees. The study highlighted the negative implications of foreign manpower on the social security, a matter that necessitates collective efforts from all strata of the society to trace and tackle the root cause of the problem. It also called upon officials in information and education sectors in the Kingdom to project certain points mainly focusing on creating awareness that to bring up the children is the sole responsibility of the families and that parents are directly responsible for monitoring their children rather than leaving them at the mercy of the housemaids. It should also be understood, the study says, that the task of housemaids is just limited to cleaning the house and keeping it in order. Thus it is highly recommended that awareness campaigns should be organized to shed light on this particular issue. However, the study proved that Saudi families have experienced lot of changes because of their full dependence on house helpers which has badly affected the family structure since most of the housemaids have been forced to assume the role of mothers at home. Also this has caused children to acquire peculiar habits and traditions that do not suit the nature of our conservative society. The study said families should admit that the housemaids have affected the behavior of our children as they are influenced by the alien cultures of housemaids. This clearly explains the reasons behind the spread of juvenile delinquency and the rate of crime in the Kingdom, it said. The study conducted by Dr. Hatim Abdul Mon'em, Dr. Saleh Al-Sighayyir, Dr. Muhammad Hamid Abdullah, Dr. Saleh Al-Khudhairi, Dr. Ali Musallam and Dr. Asma Abdul Aziz, and published by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) referred to the negative aspects of house helpers manifested in demeaning the society's values and customs. They pointed out that these negative aspects have distorted and disfigured the national entity. The study suggested three points to benefit from the positive aspects of house helpers: First, their number should be cut down and secondly, strictly observing the task for which they have been hired. The thrid point is that housemaids should not be allowed to assume the role of mothers, avoiding situations wherein mothers are fully dependent on housemaids in the upbringing of the children.
