Expatriate women prefer dad’s sponsorship to job

August 19, 2014

Riyadh, Aug 19: Many expat women are still reluctant to transfer their sponsorships from their male guardians onto their employers despite new Labor Ministry laws.

Abeer Aslam, a human resources consultant in Riyadh, said many expat women just don’t have the guts to leave their comfort zone of security under their family sponsorships.

“Most expat women have grown up here and cannot risk being sent out of the country if their visas get canceled,” she said.

“The implications of transferring sponsorships should be clearly stated. Such a step should be a source of security, not a source of anxiety.”

“In addition, there should be a comprehensive website containing information on how to transfer sponsorships and clear laws stating that women can revert to their original sponsors in the event they quit or are dismissed without having to leave the country.”

Private schools in the Kingdom are hiring Saudi teachers since many expatriates chose to not transfer their sponsorships.

Demand for female teaching jobs is the highest in the Kingdom in comparison to other career options.

A study by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) found that 76 percent of Saudi women have since been on the hunt for teaching jobs.

Hiba Khurshid, a Pakistani teacher, was previously working at a school in Riyadh, but lost her job because she remained on the sponsorship of her male guardian.

“I believe that the nationalization scheme within the female work force has caused more ethnic division among minorities,” she said.

Fresh graduates from universities in the Kingdom are also struggling to find jobs since companies are just as reluctant to sponsor expats for fear of upsetting the Saudi-expat ratio.

Afifa Khan, an architecture graduate from Effat University, is one such example.

“Companies are no longer as happy sponsoring expats for fear of being penalized under the Nitaqat nationalization scheme,” she said.

“We are also not well-paid and this affects the way we are treated. The constant fear of being sent on final exit is what stops many from leaving the sponsorship of their male guardians.”

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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