Hafiz program: Women are major beneficiaries

By DIANA AL-JASSEM | ARAB NEWS
Published: Dec 22, 2011

JEDDAH: With the implementation of the first phase of the Hafiz unemployment program on Dec. 31, 700,000 Saudis will start receiving their monthly allowance.

Reports issued by the Ministry of Labor confirm that the list consists of 560,000 Saudi women against 140,000 Saudi men, a discrepancy that has sparked the debates on unemployment among Saudi women. Some Saudi men accuse women of registering in Hafiz without ever having looked for a job.

Arab News raised the question whether women registered in Hafiz are involuntarily unemployed or if they simply prefer not to work. Do women participate in Hafiz because they are in need of a job or did they find Hafiz a golden opportunity to earn money for doing nothing?

Aisah Natto, a Saudi businesswomen and board member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), confirmed there were two important reasons for the large number of unemployed Saudi women benefitting from Hafiz.

“The first is that there are not many work opportunities available for women in Saudi Arabia. It is well known and statistics prove that unemployment is widespread among Saudi women, because they are only allowed to work in the education and medical sectors,” she said.

“However,” she continued, “the second reason is that some women prefer not to work. They decide to stay home to take care of children, especially given that most salaries provided for them are estimated between SR2,000 and SR3,000. Hafiz encouraged them to register and receive a monthly payment from the government without doing any effort. It is expected that those women have never searched for a job opportunity.”

According to Natto, the second group of women will be exposed when the Ministry of Labor finds job opportunities for them and they refuse these.

“For these cases, the Ministry of Labor created a number of punishments, like cutting SR200 or more from the monthly salary,” she said.

Natto stressed that such mistakes were expected to accrue from Hafiz and that women would snatch many opportunities from men, but the salary would be given for only one year. After the year finishes, more men can profit from the allowance and get job opportunities.

Nadia Al-Sheikh, co-owner and regional director of a public relations company, believes that unemployment expands among women because they have less job opportunities in the Saudi market.

“Although more companies start creating job opportunities for women, some major companies still don’t offer any, especially for those who carry certificates in business and communication. Those women find jobs in schools and hospitals, but these don’t suit their educational degree,” she said. “In such cases, most women prefer not to work, unless they find a job opportunity that suits their qualifications and skills.”

According to Al-Sheikh, it is expected that some women benefit from Hafiz despite the fact that they never searched for jobs and they prefer to stay at home to take care of their children.

“Such women, who deceive the government and claim they have searched for jobs, should be punished and the government should stop paying them the monthly allowance,” she said.

Natto, the Saudi businesswomen and JCCI board member, confirmed that Saudi people still did not understand the aim of the unemployment allowance. Hafiz, she stated, is a program that helps Saudis until they find a job opportunity, and not a charity from the king.