June 2015, Kuwait passed new law’s for domestic workers, were they are granted one day off a week and 30 days of annual paid leave, without doubt this legislation is a positive step forward for domestic workers; nonetheless, there is still a long road ahead, towards not only creating and reforming laws, but as well as reshaping perceptions of domestic workers and their role within society. Without discrediting the new advancements there are still practices that need revision and reconsideration, such as the Kafala system, sponsorship system, which is currently implemented in Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE.
The article below by the Media Line written by Jacob Wirtschafter brings up important issues in the current situation of domestic workers in the Middle East, such as the mentioned above Kafala system, the recent action by the Ugandan government to ban their citizens to migrate to work in Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s particular situation of being placed on the spotlight due to hosting the 2022 FIFA world cup, and possibly motivating them on reforming current legislations that may enable human rights violations.
media covers legal proceedings, seeking exposure of […]
Source: Abuse of Domestic Workers Scourge of Affluent Gulf Residents – The Media Line
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