The "interrogator" gained prominence as Saudis rushed to have their own servants hauled over the coals.
Often, the interrogator is called in when the domestic worker is suspected to have placed a curse on the household, or to have performed some kind of "black magic".
Other times, she is called in when the domestic worker is suspected of lying about their religion in order to get hired - or even for using their phone under "unauthorised" conditions.
Using the account 'Broonz2000', she films workers as she screams at them, terrifying them until they admit that they deserve to die and not be paid. Snapchat deletes clips posted after 24 hours, and so it is phone videos of her 'Stories' which have been doing the rounds online.
تقول "الجارية" الثانية بروحلها المشغل وراحتلهم وتصارخ عليهم تبي تفتش جوالاتهم وبالمشرط تهدد عشان شاكين انها بتطلع مع واحد #مفتشه_الشغالات pic.twitter.com/hoM278eRUT
— Sasha (@sashaksa) April 5, 2017
تضطهد العاملات الملبوسات على قولها اللي فيهم جني وسحر هالموسوسة #مفتشه_الشغالات pic.twitter.com/hO22RXrBeu
— Sasha (@sashaksa) April 5, 2017
The Saudi Twittersphere has erupted under the hashtag #TheHousemaidInspector.
Many shared the videos in an attempt to expose the interrogator, with calls for her to be banned and/or arrested:
تقدرون تبلغون عنها من هالرابط عشان يحذفون حسابها و توقف متاجرة من ورا هالمساكين وتجمع فلوس إعلانات #مفتشه_الشغالات https://t.co/wRH0GeRKMF pic.twitter.com/W80tv34EiA
— Sasha (@sashaksa) April 5, 2017
خوفو الله انتي #مفتشه_الشغالات https://t.co/IxoNimnMyh
— #PrayForSyria (@lovwel) April 5, 2017
One notable tweet called for a general boycott of hiring housemaids - saying it was "the same price as hiring a second wife".
#مفتشه_الشغالات
— #حسن (@Hasan1252) April 5, 2017
الان الشغالات صارو مكلفات جدآ
ورواتبهم عاليه
نصيحه بنفس المبلغ الي بتدفعه للشغاله تزوج الثانية
وخلها تساعد الاولى بشغل البيت
While many Saudis have condemned the the self-proclaimed "inspector", there have been few calls to end the sponsorship system that allows workers to be put in such vulnerable positions in the first place.
The controversial sponsorship regime, known as the kafala system, is widespread across the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East and North African region.
The system puts the employer in control of the visa status of workers, leaving them subject to deportation at any moment in time. It often, though not always, leads to workers being treated as property of their employers - leaving the worker vulnerable to exploitation.
Meanwhile, aside from addressing the system that subjugates domestic workers, some were more concerned with the investigator acting as a vigilante and "illegitimately" taking the law into her own hands...
#مفتشه_الشغالات مين سمحلك تهيني الخدامات بدي الطريقه تربية شوارع مستحيل في وحده متربية تتصرف بدا التخلف ان شاء الله نهايتك ع يدهم
— بيان (@Bayan_iiii) April 5, 2017
Who gave her permission to demean housemaids in this way? She was clearly raised in the streets, it's mpossible for someone who was raised in a proper household to act like this.
Dina Alghoul
