Filipino workers have caused widespread discussions in Kuwait as many migrate there in order to work and send money back home. In fact, in 2016 out of the 2.4 million Filipinos that worked oversees 56.9% of them worked in the Middle East, and since when they are in these countries they are essentially forced to hand their passport into their employer and work without any promise of a day off, many of them have no choice but to work in extremely exploitative conditions. For example, back in January, a 29-year-old worker was found in the freezer of her employer and in another case a video of a woman clinging to a travelling-bus as people ridiculed her circulated online.
Luckily, new laws that gave Filipino workers the right to at least one day off per week, as well as the right to keep their passports, were recently put in place, however, many have spoken out against this, one of those people being the Kuwait-based social media star, Sondos Alqattan.
Specifically, she stated in a video “How can you afford a servant in your house who gets to keep their own passport, what if they run away back to their own country, how would I get a refund? And what’s worse is that for her to get one day off a week means that for 4 days per month she will be out, we don’t know what she will be doing with her passport on her.” Before adding: “What has human rights got to do with them keeping their passports. Even kids don’t get to keep their passports.”
Since then many have called her out and demanded that the beauty companies that are partnered with her break their business relationships. Although none have officially done so, several have distanced themselves. However, whats caused even more outrage is that since the fallout of her comments she has only double downed on her position in an Instagram post, you can read it below.
