A HOTLINE for domestic workers to report abuse during Ramadan will be launched next week.
It is part of a social media campaign, ‘Mercy for Housemaids’, to be spearheaded by Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) from Sunday.
In previous years, extended working hours and allegations of general mistreatment during the holy month were blamed for a large number of domestic workers fleeing their employers and seeking shelter.
“We hear of this problem every Ramadan and it is very difficult to monitor or record the incidents even by officials as it is not legally possible to inspect inside homes,” BHRWS secretary general Faisal Fulad told the GDN.
“A few days before Ramadan we will publish posters, hold workshops and liaise with embassies, social workers and community volunteers groups to publicise the campaign.
“We hope to educate the domestic workers about their rights during the holy month.
“A hotline (36633882) and an email (manama555@hotmail.com) have been set up for anyone in distress to reach out to us.”
Mr Fulad said during Ramadan the workload on domestic workers often increased as there are majlises and family gatherings.
“The maids and other domestic workers have to work longer hours and they are often not compensated.
“Unfortunately, this category of workers don’t come under the labour law and a good number of them don’t have regular working hours.
“In some houses, one person does everything – cooking, washing, cleaning and taking care of children.
“A large number of maids are Muslims, especially from Indonesia, and they are fasting as well, but they do not get enough rest.
“Non-Muslims are not allowed to eat and they face the same situation and in some households, the workers are subjected to abuse.
“All of these force them to run away or kill themselves.
“Ramadan is a time to show mercy and we urge employers to be merciful to their employees.”
There were 98,905 domestic workers in the country during the last quarter of 2017, including 75,861 females, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority announced last month.
The top three nationalities of housemaids were Indians (24,485), Filipinos (22,960) and Ethiopians (19,945).
“The number of domestic workers including housemaids, drivers, gardeners and nannies is huge and it is very difficult to keep track of the abuse cases,” said Mr Fulad.
“Most of them earn like BD60 to BD70 a month and they don’t have stipulated working hours or a regular day off.
“In the past there have been claims that non-Muslims were not allowed to go to churches or temples.
“This constitutes denial of human rights and we urge embassies, social workers and volunteers to join us in spreading awareness among the workers.
“We also urge the Labour and Social Development Ministry to launch similar campaigns before reports of abuse of domestic workers harm the reputation of Bahrain internationally.”
A report in 2015 said domestic workers make up approximately 8.5 per cent of the population in Bahrain, living on subsistence wages of as low as BD70 a month, if paid at all.
It also said that some have even complained that during Ramadan they were left at home without food.
The GDN reported in March that the National Human Rights Institution had launched a probe into a manpower agency after it posted a picture of an Ethiopian housemaid as part of a Ramadan “offer”.
The advertisement posted on social media stated there was a “special Ramadan offer for Ethiopian workers for BD330 only”, alongside a photograph of a woman.
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