In the current crisis, the situation of female labour migrants in Lebanon is deteriorating dramatically, with the kafala system driving increasing numbers into prostitution.
Due to the current crisis, the situation of female labour migrants in Lebanon is deteriorating dramatically, says feminist Ghina al Andary. In interview with Andrea Backhaus in Beirut, she talks about how the kafala system is driving more and more women into prostitution
Lebanon is experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history. Many people are threatened by poverty, the supply situation is catastrophic. How is this difficult situation affecting women?
Al Andary: It is devastating for women. In times of crisis, women run an even greater risk of being abused and exploited, especially in a country like Lebanon where patriarchal structures are deeply rooted. Exploiting women is becoming the norm.
Who is particularly affected?
Al Andary: Domestic violence against Lebanese women is on the rise. But migrant domestic workers are even more affected because they are wholly defenceless.
The kafala system is widespread in Lebanon. Kafala is Arabic and means bond. Lebanese have workers recruited in their African and Asian home countries and are responsible for them as guarantors. What does that mean for the employees?
Al Andary: It means their legal status and income is dependent solely on their guarantors. Their residence permit is tied to the fact that they work for the guarantor. If they leave one job, then they have to leave Lebanon or find another employer in order to stay in the country legally.
The guarantors pay for their employees' travel expenses, health insurance and accommodation. The migrant domestic workers come from poor backgrounds and are at the mercy of the guarantors. And the guarantors exploit the dependency and power afforded them by the kafala system.
Ghina al Andary is a Lebanese women's rights activist. She works for the non-governmental organisation KAFA in Beirut. KAFA is Arabic and means "enough". The organisation has been campaigning against discrimination against women and for the protection of children since 2005. "We have a hotline to help women who have been mistreated by their employers," says Al Andary. "We provide safe, secret accommodation for the women and help them find another employer or return home. We offer them legal and psychosocial help. And we support them to file a complaint with the police against their employers"
Mass exploitation
In what way?
Al Andary:They exploit the domestic workers who work for them. They take away their passports and often make them work seven days a week without breaks. They hardly give them anything to eat and drink and require them to sleep on the floor. It is common for family members to beat or verbally abuse the workers.
How many migrant domestic workers are currently in Lebanon?
Al Andary:Before the crisis started in 2019, there were around 250,000 migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, now there are less than 100,000 people. These are estimates, there are no official numbers.
In the years after the civil war (1975-1990), many Lebanese were financially well off and could afford foreign domestic help. Women earned well in Lebanon and could send money back home. Has that changed?
Al Andary: There are still Lebanese families who are financially well off and get foreign domestic help. Before the crisis, it was mainly Ethiopian women who came to Lebanon.
But the Ethiopian government has now banned its female citizens from working in Lebanon, so the Lebanese government no longer issues work visas to Ethiopian women. Other countries do not have such a ban. At the moment, it is mainly women from Kenya and Sierra Leone who come. They are exploited just like the Ethiopian women.
Human rights organisations describe the Lebanese state's abandonment of women to the arbitrary power of their employers as "modern slavery".
Al Andary: That's precisely what it is. Employers have to sign a contract with the women that is uniformly regulated. It clearly states that the women must get one day off per week, that they can take annual leave, are properly housed and provided with sufficient food and clothing. But most employers do not abide by these agreements and there is no means of enforcing them. The Ministry of Labour, which is responsible for women workers' rights, does not investigate such violations.
Why not?
Al Andary: Even before the crisis, state institutions were not fulfilling their responsibilities. They did not regulate domestic work or monitor the recruitment and working conditions of migrant domestic workers. Now Lebanon is a failed state. The system has collapsed. No one in the authorities feels responsible for anything anymore.
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"The crisis in Lebanon has made the situation worse"
According to a study by the Lebanese American University, two-thirds of female migrant workers in Lebanon have experienced sexual harassment in recent years. They have been touched or kissed unwillingly by their male sponsors, and some have even been raped.
Al Andary: The crisis in Lebanon has made the situation worse for these women. Many of the women are even forced into prostitution.
By whom?
Al Andary: By men from their own population group, but also by Lebanese or Syrian men in Lebanon. The kafala system is responsible for the exploitation of these women. It allows employers to cast women out onto the street, knowing they have nowhere to go.
Or it forces the women to flee from their violent employers without knowing where else they can find shelter. On the streets they meet people who continue to exploit and abuse them. These women come to Lebanon because they want to escape the poverty and hopelessness in their home country. They are particularly defenceless. That is precisely why these men target them.
And that wasn't the case before?
Al Andary: Yes, but it wasn't so obvious. We are in contact with many of the women. They accuse the staff of the agencies that placed them with the families in Lebanon of verbally and physically abusing them.
We suspect that the sexual exploitation of these women is systematic and begins in their countries of origin, or as soon as they arrive in Lebanon. It is striking that so many of the women leave their jobs such a short while later.
Why do you think that happens?
Al Andary: The agency staff lie to the women. They tell the women, for example, that they can live a carefree life in Lebanon and earn a lot of money. As soon as the women arrive in Lebanon, they realise the working conditions are very hard and they have no one to turn to.
Rare success story: with the help of the KAFA organisation, a woman from Nepal (pictured) successfully sued her former employer. The employer had locked the woman up in his flat for almost ten years and made her slave away day and night - while refusing to pay her even the agreed salary. The Attorney General ordered the employer to pay the woman the entire salary, a total of 15,000 US dollars, and he was forced to serve a custodial sentence. "Recently, there has definitely been an improvement in the way the Lebanese justice system deals with these women's allegations," says Al Andary. "But much remains to be done"
The women are then contacted by people who promise to help them if they leave their employer. These are men, for example, who offer the women a place to live if they pay off the rental costs through prostitution. Women are also involved in soliciting newcomers. These women are prostitutes themselves and are pressured by the men into recruiting other women. We have no evidence that this is happening systematically. But the women tell us these stories and we find them credible.
The kafala system drives women into prostitution
Prostitution is effectively illegal in Lebanon. What happens to the women when they are caught by the police?
Andary: The women are criminalised and often have to go to prison for several months. Only if the judge concludes that the woman is a victim and was forced into prostitution against her will is she released, but she has to return to her home country.
The men who forced the women into prostitution are rarely held accountable. At most, they serve a short custodial sentence, if at all. The kafala system drives women into prostitution, and through prostitution they become victims a second time over.
What options do the women have if they want to leave their employer?
Al Andary: They have no chance of leading a better life in Lebanon. Without employment, they lose their residence status and run the risk of being detained or deported. They are required by General Security to stay with their employer. While the employer can terminate the contract very easily, employees cannot.
Employees working for the placement agencies may also threaten the women with violence if they consider leaving their employers. These women have nowhere to go. Their situation will only improve if the kafala system is abolished and the Lebanese Labour Code is amended to apply to them, too. But this is difficult to implement, because so many people profit from the exploitation of these women.
How can your organisation help these women?
Al Andary: We have a hotline to help women who have been abused by their employers. We offer the women safe, secret accommodation and help them find another employer or return home. We offer them legal and psychosocial help. And we support them in filing charges against their employers with the police.
Al Andary: Not enough, unfortunately. The authorities hardly investigate the allegations. Even murders of these women are rarely solved, and they happen all the time. Many police officers are biased towards these women and do not take their cases seriously. Overall, women in Lebanon experience a lot of racism.
We train police officers and immigration officials. We want to sensitise Lebanese society to the plight of women through awareness campaigns. And let's not forget: some women have succeeded in asserting their rights.
One case, in particular, has attracted attention. Your organisation supported a woman from Nepal who was sueing her former employer. The employer had locked the woman up in his flat for almost ten years and made her slave away day and night - while refusing to pay her even the agreed salary. The Attorney General ordered the employer to pay the woman the entire salary, a total of 15,000 US dollars, and he was forced to serve a custodial sentence. Do you think there will be more success stories in the future?
Al Andary: Recently, the way the Lebanese justice system deals with these women's allegations has definitely improved. But much remains to be done. We must not forget that the legal system in Lebanon is barely functional in the current crisis. The opportunities for pursuing these cases in court are therefore very limited.
