The power of law for women migrant workers in Bahrain

Since August 2012 the Labor Law in the private sector elevated the legal status of female domestic workers to a developed level, being accorded conventional workers’ rights such as 24 hours’ weekly vacation, an 8-hour work day without continuous working for more than 6 hours, yearly vacations or compensation and a legal contract of employment. These rights ensure labor rights in general, and gave women migrant workers basic standards of rights and safety. This shift came after a long period of migrant domestic workers lacking the legal status of conventional workers. 

We are running the fourth year of amendments to this law yet women migrant workers still lack most of the legal rights they have been accorded. A survey shows that two in ten families give one or two of these rights to female domestic workers, while the rest still resist giving the rights in full, such as yearly or weekly vacations and limited working hours. This is due to either a lack of knowledge and awareness of this law or a rejection of its authority in the domestic sphere. 

This gap between the law and it implementation reflects a serious problem, whereby the government moves clearly and strongly toward universal human rights standards in the case of migrant workers and other fields, but lack of awareness or inherent resistance and apathy among some citizens prevents the serious implementation of laws and decisions.  Even though the law has power, cases such as domestic workers are buried in the private sphere of citizens’ homes, where authority interference is rare. Moreover, behind closed doors, women migrant workers in private homes are totally reliant on their employers for food and necessities, which prevents them from making any self-protective measures to seek their rights, even if they are aware of what these are and how to theoretically obtain and claim them. In this regard the language barrier is a major obstacle, as such migrants are rarely fluent in either Arabic or English, which also prevents them from connecting with the concern authorities.

This raises the need to promote human rights and respect for law in the culture of citizens, especially the younger generation, to contribute positively with government effort to bring more equality, rights and safety. This awareness cannot work individually; there should be strict action towards who do not obey to these laws and inspections to ensure the fulfillments of the law. There are social voluntary associations that support women migrant domestic workers, such as the Association to Protect Migrant Workers in Bahrain, and other government-backed institutions such as Dar Al-Amman for women who face violence, however, reaching these bastions of government help is still fraught with problems for domestic workers in Bahrain, as most families prevent them leaving the house, and the women themselves are generally afraid of making such contacts.

The Kingdom of Bahrain supports women’s equality, safety and participation in developing the country. To continue flourishing in the future we must bring the status of women domestic workers up to international standards, with guaranteed legal rights that reflect the contribution they make to national life.