Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers
Women migrant domestic workers (WMDWs) constitute 7.7 percent of migrant workers worldwide, of whom more than a quarter live and work in the Arab region. In Lebanon, as in other Arab countries, WMDWs are recruited through the sponsorship system, Kafala. Under this system, a potential migrant worker...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Brief |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning
2023
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140195 |
| _version_ | 1855534507012128768 |
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| author | Abdulrahim, Sawsan Cherri, Zeinab Adra, May Hassan, Fahed |
| author_browse | Abdulrahim, Sawsan Adra, May Cherri, Zeinab Hassan, Fahed |
| author_facet | Abdulrahim, Sawsan Cherri, Zeinab Adra, May Hassan, Fahed |
| author_sort | Abdulrahim, Sawsan |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Women migrant domestic workers (WMDWs) constitute 7.7 percent of migrant workers worldwide, of whom more than a quarter live and work in the Arab region. In Lebanon, as in other Arab countries, WMDWs are recruited through the sponsorship system, Kafala. Under this system, a potential migrant worker can only obtain legal residency and a work permit in the country of destination if she is sponsored by a specific employer. Once in the destination country, the worker cannot transfer to a new employer unless granted permission by the original sponsor. The system heightens the social, economic, and legal vulnerability of WMDWs and has been described as unfree or bound labor and a system of racialized servitude. Yet, Kafala is not a written policy but rather a collection of administrative procedures, customary practices, and socially acceptable norms that are maintained by various players throughout the migration process. The question then arises as to whether advocacy efforts that focus on abolishing Kafala as a legal term would mitigate employers’ exploitative practices that violate the workers’ rights and freedoms, particularly in a country like Lebanon. This policy brief is based on a study carried out under the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Work in Freedom project designed to mitigate the exploitation and forced labor of women migrating from South to West Asia to work in the domestic and garment sectors. This brief explores knowledge, awareness and attitudes to Kafala by employers in Lebanon. |
| format | Brief |
| id | CGSpace140195 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning |
| publisherStr | Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1401952025-11-06T07:10:47Z Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers Abdulrahim, Sawsan Cherri, Zeinab Adra, May Hassan, Fahed gender migrant labour employment migration domestic work women legal system Women migrant domestic workers (WMDWs) constitute 7.7 percent of migrant workers worldwide, of whom more than a quarter live and work in the Arab region. In Lebanon, as in other Arab countries, WMDWs are recruited through the sponsorship system, Kafala. Under this system, a potential migrant worker can only obtain legal residency and a work permit in the country of destination if she is sponsored by a specific employer. Once in the destination country, the worker cannot transfer to a new employer unless granted permission by the original sponsor. The system heightens the social, economic, and legal vulnerability of WMDWs and has been described as unfree or bound labor and a system of racialized servitude. Yet, Kafala is not a written policy but rather a collection of administrative procedures, customary practices, and socially acceptable norms that are maintained by various players throughout the migration process. The question then arises as to whether advocacy efforts that focus on abolishing Kafala as a legal term would mitigate employers’ exploitative practices that violate the workers’ rights and freedoms, particularly in a country like Lebanon. This policy brief is based on a study carried out under the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Work in Freedom project designed to mitigate the exploitation and forced labor of women migrating from South to West Asia to work in the domestic and garment sectors. This brief explores knowledge, awareness and attitudes to Kafala by employers in Lebanon. 2023-02-01 2024-03-14T12:09:04Z 2024-03-14T12:09:04Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140195 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134673 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136639 https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2022.2059448 Open Access application/pdf Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning International Food Policy Research Institute Abdulrahim, Sawsan; Cherri, Zeinab; Adra, May; and Hassan, Fahed. 2023. Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers. CEDIL Evidence Brief 7. London, England; and Washington, DC. Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning (CEDIL); and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.51744/CEB7. |
| spellingShingle | gender migrant labour employment migration domestic work women legal system Abdulrahim, Sawsan Cherri, Zeinab Adra, May Hassan, Fahed Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| title | Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| title_full | Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| title_fullStr | Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| title_short | Beyond Kafala: Employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| title_sort | beyond kafala employer roles in growing vulnerabilities of women migrant domestic workers |
| topic | gender migrant labour employment migration domestic work women legal system |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140195 |
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