Migrant labor is crucial to Bahrain’s expanding economy. Every year, thousands of women go to Bahrain from nations including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and Thailand. Their aspirations are to improve their family’s life and obtain a steady income. Many of them come with great expectations, but in reality, they are frequently exploited and mistreated.
Recruitment agencies in their home countries promise these women jobs as housemaids, cleaners, beauticians, or hotel workers. The agencies show them contracts that list fair wages and good living conditions. However, many of the women find that the promised employment is not available when they get to Bahrain. Their passports are revoked by employers, who also frequently delay or refuse to pay them. Some women are relocated to new companies or told to work in various locations without their permission. In some cases, women are coerced into engaging in illicit activities like prostitution or made to labor as long as 20 hours per day late into the night.
According to a report from Al Jazeera and the United Nations, recruiters trick women into engaging in forced labor or sexual exploitation. False promises, debt from recruiting fees, and control through threats and document seizure are common patterns in this process. The women are cut off from assistance as they enter a private residence or covert workplace. Since their legal status is controlled by their employers, they are afraid to report abuse, in anticipation of being punished.
The Kafala sponsorship system creates risks for migrant workers, because it ties each migrant’s residence permit into a single employer. The migrant women who leave their job without permission can lose legal status, face detention, or be deported. Bahrain has introduced some reforms, but domestic workers still have fewer rights than other employees. They lack explicit restriction on working hours, vacation days, and passport confiscation protection. Because they lack basic human rights, many suffer from long term mental health and trauma. In addition, employers and traffickers can exploit them because of the lack of this circumstance.
Bahrain’s Anti-Trafficking Law in 2018 makes human trafficking a crime. However, only a small number of cases reach court. Enforcement remains weak, and many victims stay invisible because they cannot speak out safely. Bahrain needs to reform the Kafala system to give migrant women freedom of movement and a fair job.