Maid in Qatar
This is probably the most culturally alien society that I have ever experienced. Paradoxically, the parallels between Gulf culture and American culture are very strong. They are really quite similar in a broad sense.
Culture shock hits you hard the moment you set foot in Qatar. It’s not limited to superficialities… appearance, dress, customs etc. It goes right to the core…how people think, what motivates them, and their value system. I have lived in the first, second and third worlds; Qatar is something else entirely.
The most obvious differences of course are the superficial stuff, which in turn are predicated on deeper issues. Dress is the most striking thing you will notice. Men wear white flowing robes (called a “thobe” here) and a gutra… typical Gulf Arab headdress. Women wear abayas… long black flowing robes, and niqab, or veil, over the face. Some older women wear a small brass mask over the face instead. Male and female guests are entertained separately in a typical Qatari household. Usually the men will stay in the majlis, or alternatively the house will be divided in some fashion by closing doors. Maids may go back and forth between the two sides, or they may just stay on the women’s side, depending upon the household. Children usually go back and forth a lot! The typical Qatari woman has never met her brothers in law, though she has seen them. They have probably never seen her face.
Women drive here, work, attend university etc. They tend to be highly educated. For males, speaking to a Qatari woman is generally a faux pas. There are plenty of exceptions, for instance you may always speak to a woman in her official capacity…post office clerk or whatever. You may also speak to them over the phone to a certain extent, and you may speak to them indirectly through children. On the few occasions that Qatari women have spoken to me I have been mildly shocked, it seems so unnatural after you have been here awhile. Like most things in Qatar, these things are flexible too, custom rather than the law dictates most social protocol. As long as you aren’t impinging upon others you may more or less do as you please with these issues.
Women are very safe here (except maids). A woman in an abaya commands an enormous amount of respect from those around her. Among the poorer Asian workers she almost inspires fear. No one would dare be rude to her or touch her. The police are pretty laid back here for the most part, but one thing they won’t tolerate is rudeness towards women. Maids are another story. They are near the bottom of the social hierarchy, and as such are at risk in certain situations. The few stories I have heard regarding sexual harassment or (rarely) rape have involved maids. A couple of cases I heard about involved maids trying to flag down a ride or a taxi alone. The other thing you hear about is a maid being harassed by members of the household that employs her. Neither is terribly common though, and the embassies of these women tend to do what they can to help.
Maids usually come from, in descending order of prevalence, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Ethiopia. Each nationality has certain typical advantages and disadvantages associated with them. A minimum wage is set by the government for each nationality. Indians earn the least at QR 500 per month (minimum, you can pay them more if you wish). Philippinos get the most at QR 600 per month, though few will work for less than QR 700. Philippinos typically have the best English skills, though few know Arabic. Indonesians usually speak passable Arabic, and work cheaper than Philippinos and as such they are the most common nationality you will currently find working as maids. Indians run a close second.
The prospective employer has several options in hiring a maid. The most common is importing someone from abroad through an agency. There is a hefty fee associated with this, but it pays off over time. The disadvantage here is that you don’t get to meet your maid in advance. You may interview her over the phone in most cases, and you do get to read a resume of sorts, but it’s hard to get a feel for what kind of person she is. In this scenario she gets a two year visa, and she is yours for the duration. If you fire her you send her home, or you may transfer her sponsorship (you are her “sponsor” on her visa) to another person with the approval of the government. Single males cannot sponsor females; only families can import maids.
Another option is to hire someone who is already here, either through sponsorship transfer, or someone who has a visa on her own. This last type costs more, but is good for someone who wants a maid part-time, or for less than two years. Transferring sponsorship has its own problems. Typically this is a situation in which a maid and her sponsoring family did not get along, and you have to discern whether or not she will work out in your household.
In our own search for a maid, we eventually chose the transfer of sponsorship route. The primary responsibility of a maid in our household is to help with childcare, and with a newborn on the way, we decided that meeting the prospective maid was essential. We ran an ad in a local paper, and had an enormous response.
We selected a lady from Indonesia who was great at cleaning and cooking, and very good with the children, but as it turned out she had agoraphobia. We didn’t pick up on it at first because of language and cultural differences, we thought that she was afraid to go outside because of her visa status, the culture of the Gulf etc. A week passed, and with the help of an Indonesian phrasebook (Indonesian is actually pretty easy, btw!) we determined that she had always been this way…she was just agoraphobic. She had panic attacks when we asked her to accompany us to parks, restaurants etc. We tried to compromise a bit on it, but the fact is we needed someone who could go out with us at least once in a while. After a little more than a week we had to send her back to her sponsor (who in turn would have to palm her off to someone else, or send her home). A fee is usually involved in visa (sponsorship) transfers, so it’s likely that a maid’s sponsor will try to minimize her faults. This experience only confirmed our desire to hire someone that we had already met, we were thankful that we had not brought her over ourselves.
Our next prospect is now our maid. We are still clearing up her visa status, but those things take time. Her name is Norcaida. She is from the Phillipines, … a muslim, from Mindanao. She is unmarried, which was one of our criteria, so we are not separating a family (a woman with grown children would have been acceptable too). She is great with the children, can read to them… a major coup! And she can’t cook worth a darn… oh well. As we speak I am the official cook, but at least I have a bottle-washer. She has a separate apartment out back. So far we are getting along fine, and the kids love her.
Culture shock hits you hard the moment you set foot in Qatar. It’s not limited to superficialities… appearance, dress, customs etc. It goes right to the core…how people think, what motivates them, and their value system. I have lived in the first, second and third worlds; Qatar is something else entirely.
The most obvious differences of course are the superficial stuff, which in turn are predicated on deeper issues. Dress is the most striking thing you will notice. Men wear white flowing robes (called a “thobe” here) and a gutra… typical Gulf Arab headdress. Women wear abayas… long black flowing robes, and niqab, or veil, over the face. Some older women wear a small brass mask over the face instead. Male and female guests are entertained separately in a typical Qatari household. Usually the men will stay in the majlis, or alternatively the house will be divided in some fashion by closing doors. Maids may go back and forth between the two sides, or they may just stay on the women’s side, depending upon the household. Children usually go back and forth a lot! The typical Qatari woman has never met her brothers in law, though she has seen them. They have probably never seen her face.
Women drive here, work, attend university etc. They tend to be highly educated. For males, speaking to a Qatari woman is generally a faux pas. There are plenty of exceptions, for instance you may always speak to a woman in her official capacity…post office clerk or whatever. You may also speak to them over the phone to a certain extent, and you may speak to them indirectly through children. On the few occasions that Qatari women have spoken to me I have been mildly shocked, it seems so unnatural after you have been here awhile. Like most things in Qatar, these things are flexible too, custom rather than the law dictates most social protocol. As long as you aren’t impinging upon others you may more or less do as you please with these issues.
Women are very safe here (except maids). A woman in an abaya commands an enormous amount of respect from those around her. Among the poorer Asian workers she almost inspires fear. No one would dare be rude to her or touch her. The police are pretty laid back here for the most part, but one thing they won’t tolerate is rudeness towards women. Maids are another story. They are near the bottom of the social hierarchy, and as such are at risk in certain situations. The few stories I have heard regarding sexual harassment or (rarely) rape have involved maids. A couple of cases I heard about involved maids trying to flag down a ride or a taxi alone. The other thing you hear about is a maid being harassed by members of the household that employs her. Neither is terribly common though, and the embassies of these women tend to do what they can to help.
Maids usually come from, in descending order of prevalence, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Ethiopia. Each nationality has certain typical advantages and disadvantages associated with them. A minimum wage is set by the government for each nationality. Indians earn the least at QR 500 per month (minimum, you can pay them more if you wish). Philippinos get the most at QR 600 per month, though few will work for less than QR 700. Philippinos typically have the best English skills, though few know Arabic. Indonesians usually speak passable Arabic, and work cheaper than Philippinos and as such they are the most common nationality you will currently find working as maids. Indians run a close second.
The prospective employer has several options in hiring a maid. The most common is importing someone from abroad through an agency. There is a hefty fee associated with this, but it pays off over time. The disadvantage here is that you don’t get to meet your maid in advance. You may interview her over the phone in most cases, and you do get to read a resume of sorts, but it’s hard to get a feel for what kind of person she is. In this scenario she gets a two year visa, and she is yours for the duration. If you fire her you send her home, or you may transfer her sponsorship (you are her “sponsor” on her visa) to another person with the approval of the government. Single males cannot sponsor females; only families can import maids.
Another option is to hire someone who is already here, either through sponsorship transfer, or someone who has a visa on her own. This last type costs more, but is good for someone who wants a maid part-time, or for less than two years. Transferring sponsorship has its own problems. Typically this is a situation in which a maid and her sponsoring family did not get along, and you have to discern whether or not she will work out in your household.
In our own search for a maid, we eventually chose the transfer of sponsorship route. The primary responsibility of a maid in our household is to help with childcare, and with a newborn on the way, we decided that meeting the prospective maid was essential. We ran an ad in a local paper, and had an enormous response.
We selected a lady from Indonesia who was great at cleaning and cooking, and very good with the children, but as it turned out she had agoraphobia. We didn’t pick up on it at first because of language and cultural differences, we thought that she was afraid to go outside because of her visa status, the culture of the Gulf etc. A week passed, and with the help of an Indonesian phrasebook (Indonesian is actually pretty easy, btw!) we determined that she had always been this way…she was just agoraphobic. She had panic attacks when we asked her to accompany us to parks, restaurants etc. We tried to compromise a bit on it, but the fact is we needed someone who could go out with us at least once in a while. After a little more than a week we had to send her back to her sponsor (who in turn would have to palm her off to someone else, or send her home). A fee is usually involved in visa (sponsorship) transfers, so it’s likely that a maid’s sponsor will try to minimize her faults. This experience only confirmed our desire to hire someone that we had already met, we were thankful that we had not brought her over ourselves.
Our next prospect is now our maid. We are still clearing up her visa status, but those things take time. Her name is Norcaida. She is from the Phillipines, … a muslim, from Mindanao. She is unmarried, which was one of our criteria, so we are not separating a family (a woman with grown children would have been acceptable too). She is great with the children, can read to them… a major coup! And she can’t cook worth a darn… oh well. As we speak I am the official cook, but at least I have a bottle-washer. She has a separate apartment out back. So far we are getting along fine, and the kids love her.
posted by dervish at Wednesday, December 08, 2004
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