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Greater cross-regional cooperation can help protect East African Women domestic workers in Gulf Countries
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Valeriia Oksinenko, Elisa Vari, Nancy Moloantoa, William Ntoina, Samrawit Solomon and Irene Shiundu
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Who is responsible when migrant women find themselves at risk of exploitation, trafficking, sexual abuse, and other forms of gender-based violence in Gulf Countries? Is it their country of origin, the countries where they work, or both? Recent analysis shows that improving cross-regional cooperation can make a difference for East African women domestic workers employed in the Gulf.
The numbers
In 2022, there were 4,5–5 million domestic workers in the Gulf Countries, with more than half of them coming from African countries. While both male and female migrants move to Gulf countries for work, a larger proportion are female, with some as young as 15. Yet, women domestic workers’ experiences often remain invisible.
A 2023 survey shows that more than 50 percent of women domestic workers returning from the Gulf reported at least one type of abusive situation. In addition, the women’s average pay is extremely low. In Saudi Arabia, it is equivalent to just USD 0.53 per hour, for a 16 to 18-hour workday.
Migrant workers, and particularly women domestic workers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, continue to suffer from abuse, exploitation, violence, cultural isolation, and other human rights violations at the hands of their employers in the Gulf, often with limited to no protections.
“I think about killing myself because I’m so stressed”; “I was locked inside, going outside was not allowed. I never left the house and did not have a day off,” are some of the statements made by women domestic workers to human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Under the unforgiving Kafala system, the sponsorship system tying workers to their employer, the latter has full control over the employee’s immigration status. This power dynamic often leads to situations of abuse, as migrant workers have little protection if their employer turns out to be exploitative or abusive.
Progress thus far
Human rights organisations and civil society have engaged in strategic litigation in national courts, issued reports, and letters aimed at government officials calling for increased protections for domestic workers, but little has been achieved.
For example, in 2021, the Saudi government announced a labor reform strategy to enhance wage monitoring, reduce employer dependency and provide victim-focused support, but five years on, UN experts are still calling for the implementation of the proposed reforms. Bahrain and the UAE have allegedly abolished the Kafala system, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman still maintain it.
In practice, human rights organisations continue to report widespread abuse.
Current critical gaps
Several gaps persist and continue to leave domestic workers in situations of abuse:
1. Domestic workers depart their countries with little to no information about what their work will look like once they arrive in their destination country.
2. Recruitment agencies in countries of origin and in countries of destination are not or are loosely regulated, and often provide little to no support to migrant women once they leave their home country.
3. The Kafala system continues to put domestic workers in situations where they are completely dependent on their employers and often trapped in this power dynamic. This is also the case for countries where this system has been abolished or relaxed, like in the UAE and Bahrain.
4. Proposed reforms have little impact on established cultural and social norms in Gulf countries related to the treatment of migrant and domestic workers.
5. Protections in the face of abuse are limited: reporting mechanisms are weak, and there are no coordinated efforts between local police, embassies, or other actors in providing support to the domestic worker.
6. Support for returnees after facing abuse is also nonexistent.
7. Disaggregated statistical data related to the number of women domestic workers traveling to the Gulf, facing abuse, and/or returning to their country of origin is unavailable.
8. No coordinated plan or response to an issue shared across East Africa and the Gulf currently exists.
Four areas of improvement that could help protect femal domestic workers in the Gulf
All actors involved can and should implement measures that protect domestic workers before, during, and after their migration journey. State actors can play a key role in stepping up protections along labor migration pathways. Here are three steps to uphold the rights of female domestic workers in the Gulf.
1. Agency for domestic workers: establish a dedicated, well-regulated system for domestic worker migration that ensures comprehensive pre-departure and post-arrival support, including clear information on rights, obligations, and working conditions; access to psychosocial services; and the provision of safe, accessible reporting mechanisms—such as hotlines and digital platforms.
2. Remedy and redress for survivors:
- Coordination between local police and embassies in the Gulf Region to ensure that any matter affecting domestic workers is addressed promptly and effectively.
- Psychosocial support and health services for domestic workers, both in the country where they work and the country of origin upon return.
- Access to legal aid for filing court cases against exploitative employer(s).
- Provision of comprehensive, gender-responsive reintegration support that combines livelihood opportunities, skills development, social protection, psychosocial care, and accessible legal, health, and GBV services, alongside targeted post-return training to enhance financial inclusion and expand employment options.
3. Comprehensive cross-regional regulatory frameworks.
- Establish and enforce robust regulatory frameworks for labour brokers and recruitment agencies in countries of origin and destination countries, including mandatory licensing, regular monitoring and inspections, transparent and standardized employment contracts, caps on recruitment fees, and strict penalties for malpractice, to prevent exploitation.
- Cross-regional reforms, with policy frameworks translated into action: strengthen Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements with governments of origin and Gulf countries, including domestic workers in the formulation of these policies and reforms, to ensure their voices are part of the conversation.
4. Disaggregated data to support reforms and protection: Enhanced data collection, reporting, and tracking; data needs to be disaggregated by age, gender, religion, and geographical location at the points of origin and destination. Data needs to be coordinated and shared with all levels of government and provided in an accessible format so programming can become more evidence-based and outcomes can be effectively monitored and evaluated.
These four key factors can be a catalyst for better protection for migrant workers across genders, age, status, abilities, and migration journeys.
Valeriia Oksinenko is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Economics and Finance at Bratislava University of Economics and Business. Her research interests include migration economics, labor mobility, and economic policy analysis. She has authored several studies on the impact of labor market integration within the Eurasian Economic Union.
Elisa Vari is a human rights lawyer with recognized expertise in forced migration, refugee and immigration law, and legal investigations. She has published articles on gang-related and gender-based asylum claims in the US and on border externalization efforts in Europe. She currently provides direct legal services to refugees seeking resettlement and other forms of protection in Amman, Jordan.
Nancy Moloantoa is a social justice and philanthropy professional with over a decade of experience advancing gender equality, migrant and refugee rights, and social inclusion across Africa. She leads the People on the Move programme at Porticus, supporting initiatives that strengthen the rights, participation, and inclusion of migrants and refugees through grantmaking, partnership building, and policy engagement. Nancy is passionate about fostering inclusive societies and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities in decision-making processes.
Samrawit Solomon is a seasoned practitioner in Gender Equality, Social Inclusion, Gender in Emergencies, Protection, Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention and Response, Safeguarding, PSEAH, Community Mobilization, and Menstrual Hygiene and Health.
Irene Shiundu is a Migration and Displacement Legal Expert with over 10 years’ experience across East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region. Her leadership managing donor-funded programmes has consistently shaped reforms, strengthened multi-partner coordination, and promoted evidence uptake in humanitarian and development nexus programming.
William Ntoina is the Director Investment and Co-operative Development at the County Government of West Pokot.
This Short is part of a series of pieces published in the framework of the first edition of the East Africa Migration Academy, a course organised by the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa), the Migration Policy Centre, and the African Migration and Development Policy Centre (AMADPOC) with the support of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Horn of Africa. It took place in Nairobi from 4 to 8 May 2026.
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