A new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report about the rights of migrant domestic workers focused heavily on the Middle East, and for a good reason: most regional governments do not include domestic workers under the protection of its labor laws, and the current regulations leave domestic workers open to e…
Archive for the ‘UAE’ Category
Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East: Exploited, Abused and Ignored
April 30th, 2010
Abusive employers Bahrain Housemaids Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Legislation Racism Rape Saudi Arabia Sponsorship Suicide Trafficking UAE Working conditions
Bill Clinton Claims the UAE Passed Legislation Giving Migrants “a Better Deal”
April 24th, 2010
Housemaids Sponsorship UAE Working conditions
In a recent interview to ABC’s “This Week” former US President Bill Clinton claimed that the UAE passed laws to give “imported workers… a better deal”. This statement is wrong on many levels, moral and factual. Here is the full quote (emphasis ours): The — ...
The Gilded Cage: Syed Ali on the UAE and Migrant Labour
April 4th, 2010
Leading UK daily The Times recently ran this article Dubai: Gilded Cage, reviewing sociologist Syed Ali’s new book of the same name on the paradoxes of life in Dubai. Ali digs beneath the surface of ‘brand Dubai’ to examine the lives of the people who make up the Emirate’s p...
Increase in Registered Cases of Abuse of Indonesian Maids in Abu Dhabi
April 2nd, 2010
Abusive employers Housemaids UAE
The Khaleej Times reported yesterday about a significant increase in the number of cases of abuse registered at the Indonesian embassy in Abu Dhabi. According to the embassy, most of the complaints are about unpaid wages and work overload while other complaints are about physical and sexual abuse. I...
Tales from the Gulf’s ‘Back End’
March 25th, 2010
Readers of Migrant Rights might be interested in this review of Drumbeat, a novel by Egyptian writer Mohammed Al-Bisatie. The novel, now available in English translation through AUC Publications deals with the lives of migrant workers in the UAE. The entire native population of a tiny, unnamed Emira...
Modern-Day Slavery in the UAE: Unpaid Filipino Maid Beaten and Starved for Years
March 2nd, 2010
Abusive employers Housemaids Slavery UAE
A Filipina housemaid was starved, abused, kept locked inside and not given salaries for three years by her employers in the UAE, Khaleej Times reported last month. The woman, Baina Mokalam (27) came to work for a Egyptian family in the UAE as a maid three years ago. Baina said that whenever she aske...
Maids Portrayed as Criminals in a UAE Paper
February 23rd, 2010
Abusive employers Housemaids Racism Suicide UAE
Migrant workers are often portrayed in regional media as criminals, unclean and dangerous, despite the fact that they are the weakest group in society and require protection and deserve gratitude for their hard work. The Khaleej Times recently published a rather skewed article about housemaids commi...
Migrant Responsibilities: UAE Publishes New Handbook for Guest Workers
February 14th, 2010
The UAE has just released a handbook for migrant workers which outlines their responsibilities while they are working in the country, according to this article in the Khaleej Times. The book, ‘The Worker: Rights and Duties’ is to be distributed to workers, NGOs and media outlets and will...
Chasing the ‘Dubai Dream’: New Novel on Indian Migrants
February 3rd, 2010
Indian author Shamlal Puri has just released a novel that follows that struggles of Indian migrants in the Gulf States. The novel, ‘Dubai Dreams: The Rough Road to Riches’ was released during the World Book Fair in New Delhi, and takes a human look at the impact of the financial crisis o...
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