Families try new options, African maids fill the shortage

As many countries stopped sending housemaids to the UAE, the UAE families are trying new options, according to a recruitment company official.

Now, most of the housemaids in the UAE are from African countries after restrictions were imposed by many Asian countries on recruiting of housemaids, said Taj Al Sir from Al Diwan.

Ethiopia is one among the favourite suppliers of domestic helps to the UAE now. “Recently we started to bring maids from Uganda and they are well-accepted in the market. Now, more people are demanding Ugandan domestic helps,” he said.

Hassan Ali from Al Hassani recruitment agency said getting maids from Ethiopia has become difficult after strict regulations imposed by the country. “So recently we started getting maids from Uganda. Before four years, we used to get some from Kenya but still they are of very low percentage of the total domestic helps. Another option was Eritrea, but there also the local government has made regulations stricter. Even if we overcome the legal hazards, many women do not like to come to the UAE because of the cultural differences. Hussain Zaker from Al Naseem recruitment office said Ethiopian housemaids have started coming again to the UAE after the country’s government removed some of the restrictions. “There were strict restrictions during 2012-2014. However, as the market still requires a lot more domestic helps, we are depending on other African countries, including Uganada and Kenya.”