{"id":1301671,"date":"2025-10-23T08:36:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T03:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1301671"},"modified":"2025-10-23T08:37:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T03:07:19","slug":"saudi-arabia-ends-50-year-old-slavery-system-for-migrant-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/saudi-arabia-ends-50-year-old-slavery-system-for-migrant-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia Ends 50-Year Old Slavery System For Migrant Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Saudi Arabia has dismantled the <em>Kafala<\/em> system, a controversial framework that bound millions of migrant workers to their employers. Announced in June 2025, this decision represents a historic step toward labour freedom and human rights reform in the Gulf. The change will impact nearly 13 million migrant workers, mainly from South and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"465\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-1-8.jpeg\" alt=\"Saudi Arabia Ends 50-Year Old Slavery System For Migrant Workers\" class=\"wp-image-1301682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-1-8.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-1-8-300x140.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-design-1-8-768x357.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Was the Kafala System?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Introduced in the 1950s, <em>Kafala<\/em>\u2014derived from the Arabic word for \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/world\/story\/saudi-arabia-abolishes-kafala-system-to-improve-migrant-worker-rights-glbs-2806350-2025-10-22\">sponsorship<\/a>\u201d\u2014granted employers, or <em>Kafeels<\/em>, sweeping control over foreign employees. They could decide whether workers could switch jobs, travel abroad, or seek legal help. Over time, the system enabled exploitation, as employers often confiscated passports, withheld wages, and restricted movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rights groups have long compared <em>Kafala<\/em> to \u201cmodern-day slavery,\u201d citing cases of abuse, forced labour, and denial of basic freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pressure from Rights Bodies and Global Watchdogs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Kafala<\/em> system faced growing global condemnation. Human rights organisations and the International Labour Organization (ILO) repeatedly urged Gulf nations to dismantle it. Domestic workers\u2014especially women\u2014were among the most affected, often facing isolation, long working hours, and limited access to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saudi Arabia\u2019s decision follows similar reforms in Qatar, which revised its labour laws before hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A New Era for Migrant Rights<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of <em>Vision 2030<\/em>, Saudi Arabia will replace <em>Kafala<\/em> with a modern, contract-based employment system. Workers can now change jobs freely, leave the country without an exit visa, and approach labour courts without employer approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reforms are expected to align Saudi labour policies with international standards, improve migrant welfare, and boost the kingdom\u2019s global image as a modern, worker-friendly economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saudi Arabia has dismantled the Kafala system, a controversial framework that bound millions of migrant workers to their employers. Announced in June 2025, this decision represents a historic step toward labour freedom and human rights reform in the Gulf. The change will impact nearly 13 million migrant workers, mainly from South and Southeast Asia. What [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1301682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[8861,7880],"class_list":["post-1301671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-kafala","tag-saudi-arabia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Saudi Arabia Ends 50-Year Old Slavery System For Migrant Workers - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/saudi-arabia-ends-50-year-old-slavery-system-for-migrant-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saudi Arabia Ends 50-Year Old Slavery System For Migrant Workers - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saudi Arabia has dismantled the Kafala system, a controversial framework that bound millions of migrant workers to their employers. 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