In 2017, a nurse from Karnataka landed in Saudi Arabia drawn by the promise of a Rs 25,000 per month salary, only to be trafficked and enslaved by her kafeel (sponsor/employer). After enduring starvation, backbreaking work, threats of violence, and slavery, her ordeal ended with a fight for freedom that dragged on for months. Saudi Arabia has now scrapped the 50-year-old kafala system that enabled the Indian nurse's exploitation and torture.
advertisement
Though the kafala chapter might be over in Saudi Arabia, it persists in several other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Around 24 million workers still live under kafala-style control across Gulf nations, with Indians making up the biggest chunk with 7.5 million people, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Human Rights Watch (HRW).
In a landmark move last week, Saudi Arabia scrapped the much-criticised kafala sponsorship system. The reform is expected to impact nearly 13 million migrant workers, including more than 2.5 million Indians who form a massive chunk of the Saudi workforce. The system, widely criticised by rights groups as "modern-day slavery", bound workers to a single employer, requiring their sponsor's permission to change jobs, exit
Continue Reading on India Today
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.