8.7 per cent of the global total of domestic workers aged 15 and over are employed in the Arab States. While many opportunities provide migrants with safe working conditions, they often face vulnerable and unstable situations. Low wages, legal gaps, and discrimination foster exploitation, especially within the Middle East’s Kafala system.
What is the Kafala system?
Kafala is a sponsorship programme in Jordan, Lebanon, and all Arab Gulf states, where private citizens and companies have almost total control over migrant workers’ employment and immigration status.
Iraq, Israel, Egypt and Libya do not formally utilize the legal sponsorship framework known as the Kafala System, which typically binds a migrant worker’s legal residency and employment to a single specific employer. This structure is primarily found in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Lebanon, and Jordan. However, in practice, the treatment of foreign and migrant laborers in Iraq, as well as Israel and even Egypt often mirrors the severe exploitation associated with the Kafala System. The situation of migrant workers in Libya is uniquely bad. Migrants, frequently employed in domestic work, construction, and the service industry, often face modern slavery-like conditions, restricted movement, passport confiscation, and wage withholding by private companies or individual employers.
Kafala, prevalent in the GCC states of Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain (though both Bahrain and Qatar claim to have abolished the system, reforms are poorly enforced and don’t amount to abolition), grew out of the demand for low-cost labour in the region and the desperation of migrant workers seeking work to sustain a better life. Under this system, employers control migrant workers’ ability to change jobs or leave, stripping them of their freedom of movement and decision-making, and they are regarded as their employers’ property. Compared with other migrant workers, those under Kafala are excluded from labour protections because the system operates outside labour ministries. Workers often remain unprotected by the country’s labour laws, resulting in abuses and poor working conditions.
Gender-based violence and racial discrimination are prevalent among domestic workers in the Middle East, most of whom are women from South Asia and Africa who often find themselves unable to escape abusive work situations or seek help for fear of deportation.
Ethiopia and Kafala
Ethiopia is one of the largest source of low-paid domestic workers in the Middle East. While many Ethiopians migrate through legal channels, unlicensed employment agencies and brokers often fail to disclose accurate service fees. Misleading recruitment practices and excessive fees frequently lead to debt bondage. Although employers must pay a fee to hire these workers, many still exploit their domestic help by shifting costs onto them, leaving them in debt to the recruiter. Employers frequently withhold or reduce wages as punishment for non-compliance with their demands. Upon arrival in the host country, passports are often seized; as a result, many Ethiopian domestic workers are forced to work long hours for low wages in inhumane conditions, with limited avenues for justice.
Many workers leave Ethiopia in search of better opportunities but end up facing worse living conditions in the Middle East. When workers question their unpaid labour, they face threats of deportation, physical abuse, or even disappearances. When families contact the employer to enquire about a missing family member, they are often met with excuses and misinformation. Consequently, as these migrant workers are isolated from their families, some tragically take their own lives amid the extreme circumstances they face.
This system also affects access to healthcare, as Ethiopian migrant women rarely seek assistance due to the stigma attached to sexual, reproductive, and mental health services. Combined with the fear of deportation for seeking help, many migrant workers are left without adequate healthcare. Racism and colourism also affect the wages of domestic workers in the Middle East. As a result, many workers are assigned specific roles based on their racial or ethnic identity, irrespective of their skills.
The Role of the Government
Both home and host countries have a responsibility to ensure the safety of migrant workers. Yet, the lack of adequate protection and support further entrenches migrants’ vulnerability in the Middle East. Although the Ethiopian government has prohibited labour migration to the Middle East since 2013, the ban was lifted in 2018, albeit under stricter regulations. Ethiopia now has bilateral labour agreements with several Middle Eastern countries; however, few agreements cover domestic workers, leaving them with weak protections, and some are unable to join or form trade unions. Despite international pressure to dismantle the Kafala system, these efforts have not succeeded.
Independent organisations have excelled at supporting Ethiopians in the Middle East by effectively managing labour migration for Ethiopian domestic workers; however, this requires support from all parties involved. Governments must target illegal recruitment agencies and ensure that migrant domestic workers receive the same protections as other labourers to address systemic exploitation and abuse within the Kafala system.
This issue affects more than Ethiopian migrants; all countries with workers abroad should develop agreements to protect their citizens’ rights. While opposition to the Kafala system exists, further steps are needed to hold countries accountable. This includes stricter regulations and monitoring to ensure compliance with international labour standards. Protecting workers and creating fair migration systems requires providing migrants with support and resources to seek legal protection.
