Fewer Maids Run Away this Ramadan

Qatar's leading English Daily have the impressive headline about a falling number of runaway maids - obviously a national concern. With only four days left of Ramadan, not more than 30 Indonesian household helpers have escaped their masters. Maids are known to complain about overwork and harassment, as well as lack of sleep. Last year, some 150 girls went home without their sponsors' approval. So what are the Qatari's doing better this year? Improved working conditions? Lesser hours? Maid-Unions? Not quite; recently introduced recruitment rules is making it more difficult to get them into the country in the first place. "“It is extremely difficult to recruit an Indonesian maid after the new regulations were put in place recently and that explains why there is a drop in runaway cases,” officials said. Tough life. Big News.

Update: Filipino guest workers who had converted to Islam while working in the Middle East are an emerging threat, Australian counter-terrorism official says. Jihadi Maids? Watch out for the exploding broom.