New Saudi Arabia rules for maids

The Saudi Labour Ministry announced on Wednesday afternoon that it will stop issuing visas for domestic helpers from both Indonesia and Philippines starting from Saturday. The measure, which was announced by the ministry's spokesperson Hattab Al Inizi in a statement carried by the Saudi official news agency (SABA), was taken in response "to the impossible conditions" announced by the two Asian countries. He didn't elaborate on the reasons behind the move. However, the new Saudi regulation coincides with "great efforts" by the ministry to provide new channels to hire domestic helpers and housemaids from other countries, according to the official Saudi sources. Indonesia has 1.5 million workers in Saudi Arabia, most of them women, out of nearly six million workers abroad. Other Asian countries also have huge numbers of workers in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab Gulf region. Ruhati Binti Sapahi's execution A few days back, Indonesia said it was stopping all maids from going to work in Saudi Arabia after the beheading of a maid last week for murdering her allegedly abusive employer. The execution of 54-year-old Ruhati Binti Sapahi caused public outrage in Indonesia, prompting the government to call for the ban, and had a negative impact on relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia did not inform the Indonesian ambassador that the execution was going to take place but apologised afterwards for the "mistake", according to press reports. Twenty-two other Indonesian workers are also on death row in Saudi Arabia, the reports added.