Soc Prob Paper 2 DS

Running Head: DOMESTIC WORKERS IN KUWAIT 1

Domestic Workers in Kuwait:

A Comparison to the United States

Drew Shawl

SOC 3400

Dr. Strassberg

2-14-2014

DOMESTIC WORKERS IN KUWAIT 2

Abstract

This essay focuses on the domestic worker social problem within Kuwait compared to the

United States. The essay explores how the social problem is constructed within both countries.

Special attention is paid to who the claimsmakers of the social problem are, and how they are

spreading their claims. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization actively makes claims

and creates policy to address the domestic worker social problem in Kuwait. They focus mainly

on reforming the Kafala sponsorship system, but their efforts to reform this system fail for a

number of reasons. The United States frames the domestic workers social problem under human

trafficking. This essay explores the effects of the policies effecting the social problem in both

countries.


Domestic Workers in Kuwait

The practice of hiring domestic workers is growing across the globe. As it does, the

mistreatment of these migrant workers is receiving more attention. Oftentimes domestic workers

migrate to foreign countries with hopes of starting new lives. Many domestic workers are

abused, under paid, and have little to no rights. Some might ask, if their working conditions are

so bad, why not return home? It is not that easy. Many domestic workers are dependent on their

employers for wages, food, clothing, and shelter. Since the employers control these essentials,

they have the power to dictate what their domestic worker can and cannot do.

The United States also has a domestic worker social problem, but it is framed within the

social problem of human trafficking which causes policymakers to focus on human trafficking

instead of domestic workers. This essay will address the domestic worker social problem inside

of Kuwait compared to the US, and who the claims makers are, how the claims are being spread,

what policymakers are proposing, and how the public reacts to these policies.

Identifying the Kuwait Situation

The practice of employing domestic workers is extremely engrained into the Kuwaiti

culture. Even before Islam spread throughout the Middle East, the use of slaves as domestic

housekeepers was prevalent. A study done by the John Hopkins School of Advanced

International Studies (SAIS) says that “From the 8th to the 13th centuries, there were military

slaves and agricultural slaves, but the majority of slaves were females who worked as domestic

servants” (Aaserud p. 11, 2013). Given the long history of domestic slaves in the Middle East, it

is not hard to see that this tradition has been modernized into the employment of domestic

workers.


Even though the label has changed, the mistreatment of domestic workers still resembles

the treatment of domestic slaves. Islam tried to regulate and humanize slavery at the beginning of

its spread (Freaman, 1998). However, there were still “accounts… of slaves being treated

unfairly or violently” (Aaserud p. 12, 2013). Slaves were considered property, and had limited

rights just like domestic workers in Kuwait today.

Domestic Workers Today

Kuwait has one of largest amounts of domestic workers per population in the world. The

SAIS found that Kuwait has “660,000 domestic workers in a population of 2.7 million” (Aaserud

p. 10, 2013). Even though majority of their population are foreign domestic workers, the Kuwaiti

government still limits rights to citizenship and gives them the legal status of “temporary

workers.” This means that domestic workers are exempt from all labor laws. Furthermore they

have limited legal rights to independence and movement outside of their employers’ home

(Aaserud p. 13, 2013).

To further worsen the situation, many of these domestic workers’ vulnerability begins

before they enter the country into which they are migrating. Economic reasons are the most

common cause leading to domestic workers’ migration. The workers come from poverty and

have few options to make a living in their home country, so they migrate to other countries. In

order to migrate, domestic workers often use loans. Employers, like the ones in Kuwait seek out

the domestic workers and promise a decent wage and livable conditions (Aaserud, 2013). This

means that as soon as the workers’ arrive they are dependent on their employers.

Once workers have arrived, they are often times subject to abusive treatment by their

employers. Domestic workers have very little chooses in these situations because they are


confined to legal regulation of their local kafala (sponsor). This makes domestic workers “a

group vulnerable to abuse” because they lack adequate legal representation (Aaserud p. 13,

2013). Without any voice or ability to protest their own situation because of their economic

vulnerability and legal representation, the domestic workers have no choice but to be victimized.

The Claimsmakers

The social problems process begins with the claimsmakers. The origin of these

claimsmakers is important in understanding the development of the social problem. Instead of

starting at the grass roots of the problem, the claimsmakers are external in the domestic workers’

situation. Domestic workers’ rights and movement are under so much regulation that it is nearly

impossible for them to come together in protest. This has resulted in the need for external

intervention by international human rights groups.

Many groups have taken it upon themselves to become the claimsmakers in this situation.

The most prominent of these claimsmakers is the Human Rights Watch (HRW). A HRW report

entitled “Walls at Every Turn” states that domestic workers in Kuwait are subject to “long

working hours without rest, and physical, sexual, and psychological abuse” (Walls at Every Turn

p. 3). They have constructed this problem as a violation of domestic workers’ human rights.

The blame for these actions falls unto the Kafala System (sponsorship system). This

system is responsible for many of the legal restrictions on domestic workers. In “Walls at Every

Turn,” the HRW outlines the system’s operations:

Kuwait’s kafala (sponsorship) system effectively shields employers from legal

responsibility to respond to charges of nonpayment, forced labor, or abuse by

allowing them to petition immigration authorities to cancel workers’ legal


residency, and by providing workers with few practical avenues for redress (Walls

at Every Turn p. 4).

This shows that the HRW has identified the Kafala system as the main problem. With the

cause of the social problem identified, many of their efforts focus on reforming the Kafala

system.

Spreading their Claims

One of the HRW’s tactics is the use of the internet. HRW website is host to a number of

social problems, including the issue of domestic workers in Kuwait. The HRW spreads facts by

using reports that detail the problems and state facts on the issue. A report available on their

website says that “In 2009, domestic workers from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, and

Ethiopia filed over 10,000 complaints about their treatment with their embassies in Kuwait”

(Kuwait: For Abused… n.p., 2010). Facts like this are spread as a way to draw attention to the

situation. Accompanying the HRW’s online reports are full reports made available on the HRW

website. The report “Walls at Every Turn” provides even more information on the Kuwaiti

situation. In addition to relaying the historical background, this report advocates for certain

changes and actions that the HRW believes would help domestic workers.

Policymaking

The HRW organization has proposed numerous policies to the Kuwait government in

regards to their sponsorship system, labor laws, and agencies to enforce laws with several goals

in mind. They advocate for the reformation of the sponsorship system concerning criminal

penalties. Another one of their goals is to prohibit the confiscation of domestic workers’

passports by their employers. The HRW also believes that Kuwait’s labor laws should include


domestic workers, and that all domestic workers should be informed of the labor laws.

Furthermore, the Kuwaiti government should empower the Ministry of Labor to address

complaints from domestic workers. Lastly, the HRW wants the Kuwait government to collect

data, provide shelters, create a domestic labor task force, and increase recruitment and funding to

meet these needs (Walls at Every Turn, 2010).

The Kuwaiti Reaction

The public’s reaction to claimsmakers in both the societal and political realms is mostly

negative. The Kuwaiti people provide a multitude of defenses to this claim. Many of them

believe that “domestic workers are a necessity of life” (Aaserud p. 15). This way of thinking

shows that the Kuwaiti society is so far entrenched into the practice of employing domestic

workers that they deem it a necessity instead of a luxury. This point of view only strengthens the

resistance to reform in the Kuwaiti society. Also the Kuwaiti people argue that there really is not

any harm being done to domestic workers, and that reform is unnecessary because “employers in

Kuwait treat domestic workers as members of their families” (Walls at Every Turn p. 4, 2010).

This illustrates how many of them deny the existence of any real social problem.

It is easy to see that there is even more resistance to change in the political realm than in

the societal realm. Even though many governments in the Middle East, including the Kuwait

government, claim that they are seeking change, they fail to implement any real reform. For

example, members of the Kuwait parliament “have publicly recognized the need for a law

governing domestic work… [but] the proposed draft (they made) fails to ensure full reform of

the problematic kafala system” (Walls at Every Turn p. 6, 2010). This shows great resistance to

claimsmakers because politicians know of the problem, but fail to actually make reform.


Domestic Workers and Slavery in the US

In the US, the domestic worker social problem is put into the category of human

trafficking. The United States Department of Justice found that there are 14,500 to 17,500 people

trafficked through the US every year (Smith, 2011). The United States Department of State

characterizes the crime of human trafficking:

Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act as amended (TVPA)… individuals

may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented,

participated in a crime as a direct result of being trafficked, were transported into

the exploitative situation, or were simply born into a state of servitude (What is

Modern Slavery?, n.d.).

Even with current acts like TVPA in effect, there are many claimsmakers that believe not enough

is being down to solve the human trafficking problem.

Claimsmakers

Claimsmakers tend to structure human trafficking in the US as a global problem. Among

these claimsmakers is Kevin Bales’ organization Free the Slaves. The Free the Slaves

organization releases videos which provide information about modern slavery and how best to

address the problem. One video entitled Top Ten Facts about the “S” Word provides facts about

human trafficking across the globe and ends with a call to action from the audience (Top Ten

Facts about the “S” Word, n.d.). The Free the Slaves organization’s website states “We liberate

slaves around the world and change systems that allow slavery” (freetheslaves.net). The website

also provides multiple means to get involved in the movement. Other small groups like the

United Methodist Women actively try to gain public attention on the issue of human trafficking.


In a document entitled Human Trafficking: Preventing, Protecting, Prosecuting, The United

Methodist Women provide facts on human trafficking, and gives ways in which to get involved

in the fight against human trafficking (Johnson, n.d.)

Policymaking

In order to combat human trafficking, the TVPA was enacted in 2000. The purpose of

this act is to eradicate human trafficking in the United States (Smith, 2011). However, Kendal

Nicole Smith argues that even though the TVPA “has made great strides in fighting this war on

modern-day slavery… human-trafficking rings have come to resemble other forms of organized

criminal enterprises” (Smith p. 790, 2011). Kendal Nicole Smith argues that since human

trafficking is becoming more integrated into organized crime, efforts to combat human

trafficking need the help of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO")

(Smith, 2011). These two acts are the main policies being used to combat human trafficking in

the United States.

Public Reaction

The issue of human trafficking is becoming more prevalent in media attention, but public

attention still has not reached the levels of other issues like abortion and gay rights. When

looking at media, we see some reports on human trafficking in the US. For example, CNN did a

report on two women who migrated to the United States with promises of education and other

economic benefits, but were enslaved instead (Human Trafficking, n.d.). Small stories like this

one show that media is giving the issue attention, but it still has not reached the level of

mainstream.

Comparing Kuwait and the US


There are a few differences in the construction of domestic workers as a social problem

in Kuwait compared to domestic workers in the United States. In Kuwait, the domestic worker

social problem is constructed as a human rights issue. The HRW actively fights to help domestic

workers gain civil and working rights in Kuwait. Their actions focus on policy at a domestic

level within Kuwait.

The US differs from Kuwait because the US claimsmakers and policymakers focus on

domestic workers as a part of human trafficking. Because human trafficking is the focus for the

claimsmakers and policymakers, the social problem has been constructed as a global issue.

Efforts of the TVPA are to abolish human trafficking instead of focusing on helping domestic

workers that already exist within the US.

One way that both social problems are similar is there position in the social problems

process. Both in the Kuwait and the US, the domestic worker social problem is at the

policymaking stage. The HRW actively tries to fight for more policies addressing the domestic

worker social problem in Kuwait just like the Free the Slaves organization advocates for policies

to end human trafficking. Now that the two social problems have been compared, we must look

into the policy making process and effectiveness of the policies addressing the two social

problems.

Modernization and Urbanization

The domestic worker social problem is not the only social problem Kuwait fails to

deal with. The world is becoming more global and connected. Globalization brings new

ideas and changes to traditional cultures. Modernization and urbanization of societies

changes the way they function, but oftentimes societal programs fail to deal with these


changes in society which is the case for Kuwait. We will focus on the problems that have

arisen due to urbanization and modernization as they are connected to the domestic

worker social problem.

Over the course of the past few decades Kuwait has become more modernized

and urbanized due to the exportation of oil. With modernization and urbanization, the

nuclear family has become more prevalent in Kuwait (Al-Kazi, 2008). As a cause of

modernization and urbanization, the role of the Arab woman has begun to change due to

the availability of higher education and employment opportunities. Al-Kazi states in his

study of divorce rates in Kuwait that women “were no longer restricted to performing the

“expressive” role of nurturing and providing emotional care but were also instrumental in

supplying income to the family budget” (Al-Kazi 2008, p. 241). Al-Kazi continues to

argue that the changing family structure caused an increase in divorce rates (Al-Kazi

2008).

The rise in divorce rates is one social problem modernization and urbanization

have caused. We will now look at how social programs seek to deal with rising divorce

rates. One of the graphs given by Al-Kazi shows that nearly 40 percent of Kuwait

marriages result in a divorce within the first four years of marriage (Al-Kazi 2008, p.

246). Many social programs dealing with the rise in divorce rates focus on supporting

divorced women financially. Al-kazi states that “59% and 57% respectively of Kuwait

women who got divorced are jobless (not working)” (2008, p. 246). Because many of

divorced women were previously dependent on their husband’s income while the women

attended school or other employment options, social programs provided try to support the

women.


In order to deal with divorced women’s unemployment and poverty, an allowance

system was created to financially support these women. A monthly allowance is given to

these women depending on their situation (Al-Kazi 2008). This allowance program seems

to have failed as divorce rates are still raising from when the program was initiated in

1987 (Al-Kazi 2008). The failure of the allowance program seems to be embedded in

how the program is dealing with social problems brought about by modernization and

urbanization. Because the allowance program does not address changing family

structures in Kuwait, the program does not address the real problem which is the

modernization and urbanization of Kuwait society.

Another social problem Kuwait fails to deal with is juvenile delinquency. In a

study done by Fawaz Alanezi, the social disorganization theory was applied to Kuwait to

see if rapid modernization and urbanization increased juvenile delinquency. The social

disorganization theory was originally applied to urban American cities to find out if

social changes and communities inability to deal with social changes was related to

higher crime rates. This theory has often been used to study juvenile delinquency (Lersch

and Hart 2011). Alanezi’s study found that areas with both disorganized neighborhoods

and low community involvement showed higher rates of juvenile delinquency (Alanezi

2010). This study on juvenile delinquency provides another example of how Kuwait

society fails to deal with new social problems.

Interconnected Social Problems: Kuwait

The changing Kuwait family structure is connected to the development of the

domestic worker social problem. We will look at how modernization and urbanization are


the macro problems effecting social problems in Kuwait. Families are shifting from an

extended family structure to a nuclear structure. With this, previous needs are not being

met by relatives, so families need to find other ways to meet the needs of nurturing

children and performing household duties. Al Kazi says “the social change transforming

society has shifted many functions previously performed by family to the public domain.

This process has weakened the influence of the family on an individual’s life” (Al-Kazi

2008, p. 251). With family functions entering the public domain, domestic workers are

put in a higher demand than before changes caused by modernization and urbanization.

When we look at the rise in divorce rates due to the changes in the family

structure because of the modernization and urbanization of society, we can see that

divorce rates affect juvenile delinquency. Amer Alsaleh conducted a study to see if

family transitions affected the conduct and self-esteem problems of elementary school

children in Kuwait. Alsaleh found that while family transitions like divorce did not affect

children’s self-esteem, it did affect their conduct in a negative way (Alsaleh 2013). This

misconduct is an attribute of juvenile delinquency.

Alsaleh’s study allows us to see how the social problems of domestic workers,

changing family structures, divorce rates, and juvenile misconduct are all connected.

Changing family structures has caused a higher demand for domestic workers. The same

changing family structures have also led to higher divorce rates. The higher divorce rates

are also attributed to juvenile delinquency among children of divorced parents. The

interconnected of these programs all fall under the macro problem of the Kuwait

society’s inability to deal with changes caused by modernization and urbanization.


In order to effectively deal with social problems created by modernization and

urbanization, Kuwait social programs need to focus on the real problem which is dealing

with modernization and urbanization. If social programs continue to fail to address the

real problem then we will continue to see the domestic workers’ human rights’ betrayed.

Divorce rates will continue to rise as family structures change. With rising divorce rates

more divorced women will need financial support. Also more children who are unable to

deal with family transitions like divorce will express their emotions through delinquent

acts. There is an ethical obligation here to help these people deal with the social problems

they face. Programs cannot seek to focus on each problem as its own problem. Instead

policymakers need to accept the fact that these social problems are all connected, and

they need to focus on the macro causes of social problems to prevent them from

occurring.

Interconnected Social Problems: United States

When examining different social problems in the US, the issues of poor education

and crime seem to be connected to human trafficking. While the US is host to some of the

best schools in the world, it also contains some of the worst schools in western society.

One of the reasons for the great disparities in the educational system is the lack of

national standards and universal funding. In Hani Morgan’s study on the educational gap

in the US, he found that disadvantaged schools scored lower than normal schools both on

the international level, and on the state level (Morgan 2012). Disadvantaged schools

giving students poor education seems has a negative effect on social problems.


The US’s poor education system’s failure leads to higher rates of juvenile

delinquency, crime, and incarceration. A study done by David S. Kirk and Robert J.

Sampson found that “among black male high school dropouts aged 22 to 30 years in

2000, approximately 65 percent were jobless. Half of the jobless were incarcerated” (Kirk

and Sampson 2013, p. 54). The study found that juvenile delinquency hindered

disadvantaged school students in their transition into adulthood. Among juvenile

delinquent students, enrollment into a four year college plan was greatly reduced (Kirk

and Sampson 2013). Furthermore, Philip A. Ikom’s study on the relationship between

high school dropouts and felony conviction found that high school dropouts were

significantly more likely to be convicted of a violent felony (Ikom 2010). These studies

show that disadvantaged schools not only produce higher levels of juvenile delinquency,

but also effect incarceration rates and college enrollment.

When looking at human trafficking in the US, one prevalent factor is organized

crime. A study characterized human trafficking in the US found that organized crime

groups profit greatly from human trafficking (Hodge 2008). Organized crime units are

the leading operators of the human trafficking market in the US. When we take into note

that the education system increases crime in the US, we can see the correlation between

education, crime, and human trafficking. The education system is creating dropouts.

Dropouts have a high incarceration rate, and are likely to commit felony offenses.

Therefore criminals, if members of organized crime units like gangs, are likely to operate

in some way with human trafficking.

The idea that the US education system is somehow related to human trafficking

seems ridiculous. However, the negative effects of the poor aspects of the US educational


system do play into human trafficking. There seems to be an ethical responsibility to

change the educational system so that it does not produce criminals. We as a society need

to realize the ramifications of the social problems in the US. Letting social problems

continue hinders our advancement as a society.


Works Cited

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(2013). The Protection of the Rights of Migrant Domestic Workers in a Country of Origin

and a Country of Destination: Case Studies of the Philippines and Kuwait Washington

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http://www.protectionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Domestic-Workers-

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Alanezi, F. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency in Kuwait: Applying Social Disorganization

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Bernard K. Freamon, “Slavery, Freedom, and the Doctrine of Consensus in Islamic

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Soc Prob Paper 2 DS