Walls at every turn

Foreign domestic workers play an essential role in nearly every Kuwaiti household. More than 660,000 foreign domestic workers from Asia and Africa, the majority of whom are women, work for Kuwait's 1.3 million citizens, as well as for foreign residents living in the country. While some employers develop an affectionate and caring bond with the women who care for their children, cook their meals, and clean their homes, others take advantage of weak legal protections and an isolated home environment that shields human rights abuses from outside scrutiny. The sponsorship system, through which Kuwait currently regulates domestic labor migration, prevents workers from changing employers without sponsor consent and criminalizes workers for leaving their workplace without employer permission. These restrictions make it very difficult for a worker to terminate her employment with an employer, and effectively pressure workers to remain in the employment of even abusive employers. In particular, the 'absconding provision' in the implementing regulations of the Aliens' Residence Law penalizes workers whose employers report them as 'absconding' with up to six months in prison, or KD 400 in fines, or both of these punishments. This report makes recommendations to Kuwait's Parliament and government ministries regarding ways these issues may be addressed.