Saudi Arabia fails to address the root of its domestic abuse problem

  In 2015, Saudi Arabia’s Justice Ministry stated that its courts saw 8,016 domestic violence cases in a one-year period. The majority of these cases were reported in Riyadh, Mekkah, and the Eastern Province, and included reports of psychological and physical abuse of both women and children. Because so many cases of domestic violence go[…]

Recent Mall Fire in Qatar Highlights Human Trafficking Abuses

On 20 July 2016, a fire broke out at the construction site of Tawar Mall near Al Duhail, Qatar. Hundreds of construction workers, most of them migrant workers, evacuated the site. While the Qatari Ministry of Interior reported no casualties, it remains unclear whether the thick, black smoke that billowed from the scene affected any[…]

Kuwait First in GCC to Implement Minimum Wage for Domestic Workers

On 14 July 2016, the Kuwaiti government set a minimum wage for the over 660,000 domestic workers within the country. The Ministry of Interior published the notice, which specifies the new minimum wage as 60 Kuwaiti dinar per month. Before the implementation of the minimum wage law, domestic workers in Kuwait earned less than 20[…]

For Saudi women, political and social change has yet to come

The participation of Saudi men and women in the 2011 Arab Spring protests placed significant pressure on the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia to make social, political, and economic reforms. In particular, women’s rights activists leveraged the influence of social media on the Arab Spring to bring attention to the lack of women’s rights granted by the[…]

A Victim’s Crime: Forced Prostitution in the UAE

The majority of women working as prostitutes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are victims of human or sex trafficking; some are victims of both. Prostitution is an established and growing industry in the country, with the Guardian reporting in 2010 that an estimated 30,000 prostitutes worked in the emirate of Dubai alone. There are[…]