(Image source from: News18.com)

This month, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it has eliminated the controversial 50-year-old kafala labor sponsorship system, often criticized as a form of modern slavery. This system allowed employers, known as kafeels, to have extreme control over their workers, such as taking their travel documents and deciding when they could change jobs or leave the country. In some cases, like that of Jacintha Mendonca, a 46-year-old nurse from Karnataka who was promised a good job in Qatar but was instead trafficked to Saudi Arabia in 2016, workers might even be held for ransom; her kafeel asked for 4.3 lakh rupees. Her release was achieved through diplomatic and legal efforts. Mendonca's story is one among many concerning young Indians attracted to the Gulf in hopes of earning wealth quickly in dinars or riyals and returning home. However, now such terrible events should not take place, as they have been made illegal in Saudi Arabia, similar to Israel and Bahrain.

The kafala system continues to exist in various forms in Gulf countries like Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, and Qatar. Nearly 25 million foreign workers are living under the authority of their kafeels in these nations, with Indians being the largest group, around 7.5 million. In June, Saudi Arabia announced its intention to end this system as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 reforms. This is a multi-trillion-dollar initiative aimed at improving the country's image to attract foreign investment, especially before major global activities, such as the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Approximately 13 million foreign workers, including 2.5 million Indians, will benefit from this change. The kafala system was introduced in the 1950s to manage the flow of skilled and unskilled labor from India and other Southeast Asian nations. This workforce was essential for building the Saudi economy, as many worked in construction and manufacturing.

To prevent an influx of cheap labor from overpowering the economy, all incoming workers were linked to a kafeel, a person or company acting as the worker’s 'sponsor.' This 'sponsor' was granted excessive power over the foreign worker, controlling various aspects of their life, including job assignments, wage theft, and housing decisions. Even worse, the worker could not report abuse without the kafeel's consent, a regulation that must have seemed strange, if not entirely unreasonable, to the Saudi administration at the time. Skilled or white-collar workers faced somewhat better conditions under the system. Not surprisingly, labor and human rights advocates condemned the kafala system. The International Labour Organization and other international organizations accused Gulf nations employing the kafala system of allowing human trafficking disguised as 'sponsorship.'

Women were clearly the most severely impacted. Advocacy organizations have reported occurrences of sexual violence by the kafeel. For instance, in 2017, a woman from Gujarat was subjected to sexual exploitation by her 'sponsor' while in Saudi Arabia, before she was repatriated by the Indian government. In another instance from that same year, a woman hailing from Karnataka, who was promised a job with a salary of Rs 1.5 lakh per month, faced physical violence and was thrown from the third floor of a building in Dammam. The government had to intervene once more to assist her. Advocacy organizations, including global entities like Amnesty, claim that there are countless similar situations, involving individuals from India, Nepal, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Ethiopia. International influence was a factor, as were reports from worldwide non-profits and humanitarian organizations, along with negative reactions from prospective foreign investors. Ultimately, though, it was a choice made by the Crown Prince, a decision driven by Saudi Arabia's aspirations on the world stage.