Adama’s leg is deeply scarred, a reminder of her job as a housekeeper in Kuwait. She left Sierra Leone to find a well-paying job and instead discovered the abusive world of indentured domestic servitude.
An estimated 47 million domestic workers around the world -- the vast majority of them women -- are denied basic employment rights. Working abroad is one of the only options to stay employed for many women from developing nations. However, a lot of them find that once they arrive in their host nation avoiding abuse can be as difficult as returning home.
Gender neutral employment equality benefits both men and women. Because traditional gender roles keep women primarily at home, some developing nations are limited economically because of their smaller labor force. If those women worked outside the home and earned equal wages to men, the global economy would increase $17 trillion.
What is it like to be a domestic worker?
Many women go abroad because recruiters promise employment opportunities in coveted, high-paying fields, such as nursing and the hotel industry. The first shock these women experience -- too late -- is that they will actually be employed in private homes as domestic workers.
Slavery is a more accurate description of most foreign domestic work. It’s common for workers to face extreme work hours without being allowed to leave the house. Employers withhold wages, confiscate documentation and restrict contact with families.
Physical, sexual and verbal violence are also very common. An estimated 83 percent of domestic workers employed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, report physical abuse and 17 percent report sexual abuse. In Hong Kong, 58 percent report verbal abuse. Some workers are able to escape this abuse, but others are not as lucky.
Lila Aacharya’s children tried to persuade her recruiter to allow her to return to Nepal after they found out she was being beaten by her host family. Shortly afterward, her body arrived at the local airport in a coffin.
When many women try to return home they discover they are shackled to their new country by heartless laws. For example, if an abused domestic worker seeks refuge at any embassy in Kuwait, Kuwaiti law requires the embassy to notify the abusive host family, cancel the worker’s visa and confine them to a “shelter.” Workers are not allowed to leave the premises and can be forced to wait years before being flown home. Adama was one of these women.
Where is this happening?
Domestic slavery is not limited to the Arab Persian Gulf -- where some states’ populations are almost one quarter domestic workers -- although those nations are the most notorious hosts. Domestic worker abuse also occurs in Asia, Europe and the United States.
In the United Kingdom, 67 percent of workers report seven-day work weeks and 60 percent say they are not allowed to leave the home alone.
It’s tough at home... really tough.
Women often face barriers to employment in their home countries. Worldwide female employment has dropped in the last 30 years, even though gender equality has become a global issue.
On average, developing nations have more jobs for men than women. Developing nations used to have agriculture-based economies, and women were a large part of this labor force. But as nations rapidly urbanize, many women are forced to look overseas as a means to supporting their families.
Some developing nations have rigid gender roles that are kept alive by patriarchal cultures and religion. The International Labor Organization speculates that gender roles are a barricade to female employment, and at the very least make full time employment more difficult, since women are expected to take care of their families as well.
Additionally, girls don’t have access to equal education in many developing nations, which makes it much harder for women to find well-paid jobs or develop a career.
What about the women who are fully employed in their home nations, but still choose to leave? Despite low wages for domestic workers abroad, favorable exchange rates mean more money for their families. For example: 1 Kuwaiti Dinar equals 14,531.70 Sierra Leonean Leones. To put that in perspective, 1 Dinar is worth $3.31 in the United States, while 1 Leone is worth .00023 cents.
So what’s being done?
Human rights and workers’ rights should be synonymous. It’s essential to establish laws that keep workers safe, regardless of nation or culture.
Cultural norms often are a culprit in domestic worker abuse. Many workers in the Arab Gulf states discover that under the cultural tradition of the kafala system, they cannot even quit their job without their employer’s permission.
The establishment of the International Labor Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention in 2011 was a watershed moment. The treaty established basic rights for domestic workers, including freedom from abuse, standardized minimum wage and reasonable work hours.
Unfortunately, the next step is getting universal compliance to these standards of decency. Some nations refused to sign the treaty, including the United Kingdom, which abolished slavery 182 years ago.
Adama's scars show the cost to domestic workers when countries don't demand humane worker protection -- let stories like Adama’s jolt hesitant nations to action.
Domestic bondage is still slavery. Workers should expect basic human rights, no matter the nation.
