migrant women in the United Arab Emirates

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The second Filippina seemed very comfortable, and at ease. She smiled and did not talk for a couple of minutes. Then she said, “Before I did not tell any one. I allowed him what he wants. After a while, he stopped. The lady [of the house] was angry with me. Now that he has stopped, she is fine. I do not know if he will try again” (#6). In the same household, the other housekeeper, who was an old Indian lady, answered, when asked the same question, that she avoided her male employer, and did not talk to him at all (#5). Besides these two cases of sexual abuse, there were two other cases of sexual harassment. The difference as understood in this report between sexual abuse and sexual harassment is the sexual act in itself. In both cases foreign female domestic worker were sexually coerced into having forced sexual intercourse. However, in the cases of sexual abuse the act took place, while in the other it did not. In one of the cases complaining of sexual harassment, it involved a male driver who worked in the household, but when the foreign female domestic worker reported him to her employer, they fired him (#7). The foreign female domestic worker in the second sexual harassment case said she had been harassed by the older brother in the house, and that since then, she had avoided him and did not enter the “inside part” of the house when he was there. She stayed mostly in the kitchen or in her room (#8). Foreign female domestic workers reported two other cases, involving other foreign female domestic workers who were either sexually abused or sexually involved with their employers. The one who said she knew somebody who was sexually involved with her employer said, “I knew what the previous maid did, and she got fired as a result. I did not want to do the same” (#8). The second foreign female domestic worker reported, “My employer is very good, but I knew somebody here in the neighbourhood who used to get raped by her employer” (#22). The most dramatic stories of sexual abuse reported by the foreign female domestic worker in the sample were stories of incidents occurring in houses of previous employment. They were all complaints referring to instances of sexual abuse in Saudi Arabia, each one perpetrated by old men. One respondent was a very young Sri Lanka girl who seemed to have great pride and integrity. “In Saudi Arabia they used to hit me, make me work a lot and did not give me enough money. Then the old man come to me, he says, “You want money, I give it to you. You are here for money”. But I did not let him. I used to lock myself in. I would tell him, “You are a hajji (someone who performed pilgrimage), you are 65 years old, what do you want from a young girl like me?” I was very afraid of him. Once I told a friend of mine. I asked for advice. She said, “Kill him”. I said, “No, I will leave”. The previous maid in their house was from Sri Lanka, and she used to let him do what he wanted for money. He thought we are all the same. For me, this money is haram (forbidden). One day I threatened him to tell “mama” his wife, but I did not, because they would not have believed me” (#20). The second story depicted a very traumatic experience. The foreign female domestic worker involved was from Indonesia, and had experienced actual, brutal rape as she described. When she spoke, she shivered. She said, “He was horrible. I will not forget it all my life. I still hear him knocking on my door. I still have nightmares. I used to see a doctor in Indonesia, but nothing seems to help me” (#32). The last example was reported by a foreign female domestic worker from Sri Lanka, who also related that the incident had occurred in Saudi Arabia, where she was then employed. This respondent recounted, “He raped another housemaid in front of me. I also saw their son bringing women inside the house. One day I got the courage to tell mama (the female employer) who I think knew, but could not do anything. After she had finished her prayer, [I said], “Why are you praying? What is the use of your prayer? What is the use of your veil, if your son and husband do what they are doing?” (#16). 30 UAE Working Paper_1
Despite its sensitive nature, foreign female domestic workers do talk about sexual abuse and their isolation, degradation and humiliation at work. Talking fulfils a need, because the type of life they live is very isolated, even in the best of situations. UAE Working Paper_1 31
Page 1: GENPROM Working Paper No. 10 Series
Page 5 and 6: Contents Page Foreword.............
Page 7: Acknowledgements A special thank yo
Page 10 and 11: 1. Overview of the socio-economic c
Page 12 and 13: Table 2: Changes in the workforce (
Page 14 and 15: Table 4: Economically active people
Page 16 and 17: United Arab Emirates citizenship is
Page 18 and 19: Table 6: Domestic workers in the Un
Page 20 and 21: 2. A growing trend of foreign femal
Page 22 and 23: Even though no official information
Page 24 and 25: Nationality 1997 1998 1999 2000 200
Page 26 and 27: 3. The situation of women migrant w
Page 28 and 29: exercises. Happily, the foreign fem
Page 30 and 31: Households where more than one lang
Page 32 and 33: in their home countries. One of the
Page 34 and 35: Benefits Generosity is a strong soc
Page 36 and 37: itself 22 . The least frequently re
Page 40 and 41: 4. Structural and legislative frame
Page 42 and 43: Legal context As stated previously,
Page 44 and 45: employment of the foreign female do
Page 46 and 47: 5. Private initiatives for protecti
Page 48 and 49: Three domestics were interviewed th
Page 50 and 51: 6. Institutional framework 6.1. Bod
Page 52 and 53: 6.7. Migrant workers’ assessment
Page 54 and 55: Embassies and labour offices level
Page 56 and 57: ILO Programs and studies The ILO ne
Page 58 and 59: Goodson, Rodger. 1993. “The Attra
Page 61 and 62: Appendix 1 Profile of the foreign f

migrant women in the United Arab Emirates

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