Migrant domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates (UEA) have been beaten, exploited and trapped in forced labor situations, a New York-based rights group stated in a report released on Thursday
igrant domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates (UEA) have been beaten, exploited and trapped in forced labor situations, a New York-based rights group stated in a report released on Thursday.
Human Rights Watch said in a 79-page report entitled "I Already Bought You: Abuse and Exploitation of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates'that the UEA government had failed to adequately protect female domestic workers from abuse by employers and recruiters.
The UEA's visa sponsorship system, known as kafala, paired with the lack of labor law protections exposed domestic migrant workers to abuse, the report found. The domestic workers, who are mostly from Asian and African countries, cannot leave before their contracts end without employer's consent, trapping them in abusive conditions, according to the report.
'The UAE's sponsorship system chains domestic workers to their employers and then leaves them isolated and at risk of abuse behind the closed doors of private homes,' HRW's researcher for Middle East women's rights, Rothna Begum, said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
'With no labor law protections for domestic workers, employers can, and many do, overwork, underpay, and abuse these women,' she went on.
HRW interviewed 99 female domestic workers and several recruitment agencies, lawyers and others in the UEA, which aims to assume an influential role in the International Labour Organization (ILO).
In the interviews, HRW said the domestic workers described not being paid, not having rest periods or time off, being confined in the employer's homes and of excessive workloads, with work days lasting up to 21 hours.
'They describe being deprived of food and reported psychological, physical and sexual abuse. Many said their employers treated them like animals, as if they were dirty and physical contact would be contaminating. In some cases the abuses amounted to forced labor or trafficking,' said HRW.
The report stated that at least 146,000 female migrant domestic workers from countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines worked in the UAE. Furthermore, many embassies or consulates in the UAE do not have shelters or adequate staff to deal with abused domestic workers. (ebf)(+++)
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