HRW: Migrant domestic workers exploited and abused in UAE

Human Rights Watch has released a report entitled  “‘I Already Bought You’: Abuse and Exploitation of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates" documenting the brutal conditions of some domestic workers in the UAE.

“The UAE’s sponsorship system chains domestic workers to their employers and then leaves them isolated and at risk of abuse behind the closed doors of private homes,” said Rothna Begum, Middle East women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“With no labor law protections for domestic workers, employers can, and many do, overwork, underpay, and abuse these women.”

The group criticised the new move of the International Labour Organisation to accept the UAE on its governing board.

“As it takes its seat on the ILO’s governing body, the UAE needs to make labor rights a reality at home, including for migrant domestic workers,” Begum said.