Modern slavery: Abuse of domestic workers continues in KSA

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Times
26 Dec 2022 21:11

A new report by The Times urges action as migrant housekeepers are being subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse in Saudi Arabia.

Migrant worker in Saudi Arabia (AP)

The Kafala system, in which a Saudi national is legally accountable for the employee and should draft their contracts and visa conditions, allows foreign workers to live and work in Saudi Arabia, which has the third-largest migrant population in the world, as per a report by The Times.

The 2030 Saudi Vision strategic framework, which was allegedly going to offer greater freedoms, including allowing workers to open bank accounts, change jobs, and leave the country without permission, was announced by the Saudi government in 2021. However, the report argued that the "new freedoms" have only been given to "those working in private sectors," such as oil and gas.

Four million women and men who work as domestic helpers, farmers, and drivers "are still restricted" because every "seller" acknowledged that they had been denying laborers' passports, among other things.

The report revealed that several human traffickers admitted to employing "physical punishment" to punish their victims if they "talked back," and they demanded that the maids work nonstop for as little as $6 per day.

It is also worth noting that at least 50 million people will be living in modern slavery globally in 2021, with 28 million of them being forced to labor and 22 million being coerced into forced marriages, as per the UN's International Organization for Migration.

Despite the fact that Asia and the Pacific accounted for 65% of cases, the prevalence is highest in the Arab States, where the study found that 4.8 out of every 1,000 people live in forced marriages.

Such harrowing but familiar tales of employer abuse are only one phase of Saudi violations of human rights.

This comes shortly after UK lawmakers expressed increasing fear of Saudi Arabia preparing a Christmas execution spree while the West is preoccupied with festivities in a cynical effort to avoid diplomatic "blowback".