Voice Against Domestic Worker

In Kuwait, it's against the law for a domestic worker to run away from an employer----even if the employer hits her, locks her up, or refuses to pay her wages.

A new Human Rights Watch report shows how domestic workers in Kuwait, even those trapped with abusive employers, face criminal charges and deportation if they leave their jobs without their employer's permission.

Tilkumari Pun, a 23-year-old domestic worker from Nepal, worked for 13 months without getting paid. She repeatedly asked the family employing her for the wages she was owed so she could return to Nepal, where her father needed a heart operation. Ultimately, she went to the police. But the officers detained her because her employers had reported that she ran away.

Kuwait recently announced it would abolish its sponsorship system, which binds migrant workers to their employers. But the government didn't indicate whether this step would cover domestic workers.