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What is the Kafala system?
The Kafala system is a sponsorship-based framework implemented in several Middle Eastern countries to regulate the employment of migrant workers.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
In simpler terms, a workers' legal and residential status is completely tied to their employer (under Kafala, the employers are known as the Kafeel ). So, the employer will have significant control over multiple aspects of a workers' life and even expands into critical areas such as being able to change jobs, leaving the current country, accessing essential rights and protections which often leaves many workers' vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
The history of Kafala
The Kafala system has its origins in the early 20th century in the Gulf region (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).
At the beginning, it was developed to control labor in the pearl industry and later expanded during the 1950s to combat the growing need for foreign workers in oil-rich Gulf economies. This system was designed to provide temporary labor during periods of economic growth, with the expectation that workers would return to their home countries when no longer needed. The Gulf countries had smaller populations and therefore relied on foreign labor to assist in larger projects and boost the economy. The word kafala comes from Islamic jurisprudence (human understanding of the divine Islamic law as in the Quran and the sunnah), where it mainly related to guardianship or holding responsibility. As time passed, it evolved into legal work that would tie a migrant workers' residency and employment to their local sponsor (a.k.a Kafeel). Eventually, it began to be used to establish an asymmetrical power dynamic.
Based on history, this system leaned in favor to Arab workers from countries like Egypt or Yemen. Due to geopolitical shifts and economic severity in the mid-1980's, the preference of workers' turned towards lesser skiller Asian laborers. This happened because of fear that Arab workers were planning to spread propaganda that threatened the monarchies in the Gulf. There are other events, for example the Gulf War in 1990, that solidified the preference in favour of Asian migrants.
As aforementioned, the Kafala system started out as something to implement trust and protection of migrant workers coming into the region. For someone with a new enviornment and nothing to lean on, the local sponsors were supposed to be that blanket of safety for them. Unfortunately, instead it became a helping hand in exploitation. Despite the meaning of the term, it is now being referred to as "Modern-Day Slavery".
Who does Kafala affect?
This system primarily affects any migrant workers who are in Middle Eastern Countries and the GCC. These workers often come from African or South Asian countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or the Philippines. They are employed into sectors that nationals of the country normally avoid like construction, domestic work, hospitality, and other low-wage industries. This impacts low-wage migrant laborers, particularly domestic workers due to their legal and residential status being controlled by their Kafeels (employers) who have total rule over their mobility, employment conditions and even their access to basic rights. So what do these entail? Kafeels have the power to restrict the worker from changing jobs, leaving the country without their consent, and even going as far as their access to healthcare OR legal protections.
While some reforms have been introduced in certain countries to address these issues, enforcement remains weak. As a result, millions of migrant workers continue to face systemic exploitation under this framework.
How does it put workers at risk ?
Migrant workers under the kafala system face a range of abuses due to the excessive control employers have over their legal and employment status. Additionally, women migrant workers face heightened risks of abuse under the Kafala system. Many women work as domestic helpers in private homes and report cases of physical violence, verbal abuse, forced labor, and isolation. They are often excluded from protective labor laws and subjected to exploitative practices such as non-payment of wages or excessive working hours.
Wage Theft and Financial Exploitation
Workers often are put into situations where their wages are delayed and sometimes not even paid which leads to not being able to support themselves in their day to day lives or their families. Many workers are also put in a position of having to pay large sums as a recruitment fee and therefore create debt bondage which forces them to stay in jobs that are abusive.
Forced Labor and Restricted Movement
As mentioned, workers are restricted by the Kafeel due to their residential and legal status being tied to the employer. This gives the employers the ability to confiscate the workers' passports, identity cards and drivers licenses which prevent them from being able to escape abusive situations or be able to go back home. Apart from this, to be able to change jobs or even resign, a worker would need their employers consent even if the reasoning was due to mistreatment which always traps a worker into forced labor and terrible conditions.
Physical, Verbal, and Sexual Abuse
Migrant workers, particularly women and domestic workers, are vulnerable to physical violence, verbal abuse, and sexual exploitation. Many reported being subjected to physical violence, verbal abuse, and sexual harassment.
Poor Living and Working Conditions
Workers often endure excessive work hours(particularly domestic workers who stay with the employer), inadequate housing, lack of privacy, and unsafe working environments. In some cases, they are forced to perform tasks beyond those outlined in their contracts.
Health Risks and Lack of Access to Care
Migrant workers usually lack access to healthcare and face risks such as extreme heat exposure in Gulf Countries. This exacerbates their vulnerability to illness and injury.
Arbitrary Detention and Deportation
Workers without valid residency documents are at risk of arrest, indefinite detention, and deportation. These situations often arise due to employer negligence or deliberate withholding of legal documentation.
Psychological Impact
The isolation, abuse, and lack of rights lead to significant mental health challenges for many workers.
A perspective of Bahrain's reform on Kafala
In August 2009, Bahrain announced its intention to dismantle the Kafala system and established the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) to be responsible for sponsoring migrant workers, a role usually held by private employers. Despite this, while the LMRA oversees work processes and post-recruitment matters, it has not fully taken on the role of sponsor, leaving the kafala system largely intact, though with certain modifications. What do these reforms include?
Reduced Employer Dependency: Migrant workers are no longer reliant on their employers for entry and exit permits.
Increased Employment Mobility: Workers are allowed to change employers without requiring written consent from their current employer. Initially, this reform was seen as a significant step toward safeguarding workers’ rights by enabling them to leave abusive or exploitative workplaces. However, in 2011, a new law imposed a one-year waiting period before workers could legally change employers, undermining this progress. This change was introduced following lobbying efforts by recruitment agencies.
Right to Seek Alternative Employment: Workers are permitted to remain in Bahrain while searching for new employment, provided they give one month’s notice prior to the expiration of their current contract.
While these measures have introduced some flexibility into the system and reduced certain dependencies, they fall short of fully dismantling the kafala framework. Migrant workers continue to face structural barriers that limit their autonomy and leave them vulnerable to exploitation. Hence the worldwide known movement: #AbolishKafala
Endnotes
Sources:
[1] The Middle Eastern Consensus on the Kafala System https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/blogs/99-the-middle-eastern-consensus-on-the-kafala-system
[2] Full article: Racialised institutional humiliation through the Kafala https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1876555
[3] The Kafala System in the Middle East - Al Fusaic https://www.alfusaic.net/blog/amplify/the-kafala-system-in-the-middle-east
[4] What Is the Kafala System? | Council on Foreign Relations https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system
[5] Migrant rights and the Kafala system in the United Arab Emirates https://www.adhrb.org/2024/05/briefing-paper-migrant-rights-and-the-kafala-system-in-the-united-arab-emirates/
[6] The Kafala System Is Facilitating Labor Abuses in the Middle East https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-kafala-system-is-facilitating-labor-abuses-in-the-middle-east
[7] The Kafala System as Racialized Servitude https://pomeps.org/the-kafala-system-as-racialized-servitude
[8] Sponsorship reform and internal labour market mobility for migrant ... https://www.ilo.org/resource/other/sponsorship-reform-and-internal-labour-market-mobility-migrant-workers-arab
[9] Migrant workers are abused and ignored under the Kafala system https://www.msf.org/lebanon-migrant-workers-are-abused-and-ignored-under-kafala-system
[10] Life under the kafala system | Walk Free https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/spotlights/life-under-the-kafala-system/
[11] The Kafala's Work System and Its Impact on Human Rights Violation ... https://jurnal.polteknaker.ac.id/index.php/imside/article/view/49
[12] Unveiling Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Kuwait https://www.adhrb.org/2023/11/unveiling-exploitation-of-migrant-workers-in-kuwait/
[13] Q&A: Migrant Worker Abuses in Qatar and FIFA World Cup 2022 https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/12/18/qa-migrant-worker-abuses-qatar-and-fifa-world-cup-2022
[14] Migrant Worker Abuses in the UAE and COP28 | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/03/questions-and-answers-migrant-worker-abuses-uae-and-cop28
[15] The systematic exploitation of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia https://www.adhrb.org/2025/01/the-systematic-exploitation-of-migrant-workers-in-saudi-arabia-the-plight-of-east-african-migrants-in-saudi-arabia/
[16] Lebanon: Migrant workers are abused and ignored under the Kafala system https://www.msf.org/lebanon-migrant-workers-are-abused-and-ignored-under-kafala-system
[17] Forced Labor Complaint Exposes Saudi Arabia's Migrant Worker ... https://www.adhrb.org/2024/07/forced-labor-complaint-exposes-saudi-arabias-migrant-worker-abuses-amid-vision-2030-ambitions/
[18] [PDF] Exposing the migrant workers' discrimination in Saudi Arabia https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=12078&file=EnglishTranslation
[19] REFORM OF THE KAFALA (SPONSORSHIP) SYSTEM https://webapps.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/docs/132/PB2.pdf
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