Activist wants rights of maids secured
Web posted at: 6/12/2007 2:17:13
Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA • The issue of domestic workers, especially housemaids in the GCC countries came up for a lively discussion at the regional conference on migrant workers which concluded at the Millennium hotel yesterday.
Two papers presented at the meeting by two women human rights activists were devoted to housemaids in the GCC countries and the impact of the sponsorship system on their lives.
In her paper titled “female domestic workers under the Kafala (sponsorship) system” Kanwal Tariq Hameed, a Bahrain-based journalist and human rights worker said, many elements of the slavery system which was officially abolished 200 years ago, can be found in the situation which female domestic workers live under the Kafala system.
Activist wants rights of maids secured
Web posted at: 6/12/2007 2:17:13
Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA • The issue of domestic workers, especially housemaids in the GCC countries came up for a lively discussion at the regional conference on migrant workers which concluded at the Millennium hotel yesterday.
Two papers presented at the meeting by two women human rights activists were devoted to housemaids in the GCC countries and the impact of the sponsorship system on their lives.
In her paper titled “female domestic workers under the Kafala (sponsorship) system” Kanwal Tariq Hameed, a Bahrain-based journalist and human rights worker said, many elements of the slavery system which was officially abolished 200 years ago, can be found in the situation which female domestic workers live under the Kafala system.
“The Kafala system was drawn from a concept of “guardianship” by which domestic workers are given a place in their employers abode, and under this system labour laws in GCC countries as well as Lebanon and Jordan do not cover domestic workers – although we heard about some provisions in Lebanon and Kuwait yesterday which perhaps are not being implemented,” said Kanwal.
Because of the domain in which they work – households – domestic workers also do not fall under any other national laws, and are essentially not legally classified as workers. Because of their ‘unrecognised’ status, and even their unrecognised work, it is difficult to scrutinise and regulate their working and living conditions, she added.
Many women are exploited or trafficked on false premises by recruiting agents, either in their home country or the country which receives them. Many of them, even before they start working, become hugely indebted to recruiters.
Their work is unspecified and often there are multiple forms of work: women are often babysitters, kitchen helpers, cleaners, they work inside the family home and in their relatives homes too.
According to a 2005 ILO study, in Bahrain the average number of hours worked per week was 108, in Kuwait 101, in the UAE 105. These women had an average of one day off per month. They all spoke of control on their freedom of movement.
Every single one interviewed reported that their passport was held by their employer. None of them were given renumeration for working overtime. In each country, more than 40 per cent of the women interviewed reported physical, verbal or sexual abuse, said Kanwal.
The result of these violations creates what are described as “illegal” “runaway” or “free visa” workers. Many of them are then arrested as “illegal” workers, detained, and then deported.
“My conclusion is that not only does this system generate violations of human rights for those living under it, but by creating these inhumane conditions it contributes to the issues which the governments of the region claim to be working against,” she added.
Mumtaz Lalani, PhD candidate at Oxford University, in her speech called for efforts to create a political consensus on minimum employment rights within the GCC which are in accordance with international standards.
Most of the participants in the discussion that followed the speeches agreed with the views expressed by the two speakers. Some participants however cautioned against only looking at the negative aspects of the issue and advised to be more realistic in analysing the problem.
At the session, papers were also presented on the situation of migrant workers, including domestic servants in Hong Kong and Malaysia.