Over 250,000 migrant women are employed by private households in Lebanon to carry out household tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and caring for children and the elderly.
The right to freedom of movement forms one of the cornerstones of the international human rights regime and the Lebanese legal system. It is a right that everyone ought to enjoy regardless of race, national origin, residence status, religion or any other criteria.
This study aims to shed light on the industry that profits from the recruitment of women from South Asian countries into domestic work employment in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Bangladesh, Jordan and Lebanon.
In most Arab countries, family matters including Domestic Violence continue to be handled by religious courts as civil legislation does not criminalise acts of violence within the family.
In recent years, the “sponsorship system” (kafala) in Lebanon and in other countries in the region has been identified as a core problem leading to the exploitation and abuse of migrant domestic workers.
The brief of this qualitative exploratory study was to conduct targeted interviews with female employers of migrant domestic workers, psychiatrists, lawyers and institutional stakeholders in Lebanon.
Human trafficking and its link to migrant domestic labor in Lebanon is a complex, sensitive, and challenging issue. It raises numerous questions and demands further exploration.
This study, prepared by Dr. Ray Jureidini, identifies practices and patterns that are the key causes for women domestic migrant workers' vulnerability in Bahrain and provide alternative approaches for effective means for action.
