Women from Sierra Leone ’sold like slaves‘ into domestic work in Kuwait
Recruitment agents are accused of duping women into working as housemaids, leaving them isolated and abandoned in private households
Pete Pattisson in Kuwait City
In the basement of an old tower block near Kuwait City, recruitment agents brandish files full of healthy, work-ready domestic workers. “Choose the one you want,” says one agent with a smile. “I will give you a hundred days’ guarantee. If you don’t like her you can send her back.” In Kuwait the domestic workers business is booming, with nearly 90% of Kuwaiti households employing at least one foreign maid. Yet while dozens of recruitment agencies are pulling out the stops to attract potential employers – including parading women in front of potential employers who can take them home on the spot – they are also being accused of selling women and duping them into a life of domestic servitude.
