On
9th January 2013, for the first time the International Labor Organization (ILO)
launched its global report related to domestic workers around the world. The
report entitled "Domestic Workers Around the World" states that there
are currently about 53 million domestic workers in the world, of which 83
percent are women and girls, and many of them are migrant workers. This means
that more than 43 million women have been hired as caretakers, cooks,
housekeepers, and maids. According to data from the mid-1990's, this figure of
53 million, reflects a drastic increase of 19 million people employed as
domestic workers over the last 18 years. Moreover, according to Martin Oelz,
labor law expert of ILO, this report based upon a survey conducted in 117
countries is an underestimation of the actual number of all domestic workers
around the world. The actual number could be tens of millions higher. This
report, he said, didn't include the data of child domestic workers under 15
years old which the ILO reported in 2008 amounted to 7.4 million children.
Sadly,
alongside the finding of the size of this work sector, is the key finding that
female domestic workers (FDW) are often exposed to violence and exploitation in
their workplace. Sarah Polaski, Deputy Director of the ILO stated that these
FDWs (foreign domestic workers) often have to work longer than the normal
working hours, and in many countries do not have the same rights to rest time
as workers in other sectors. Besides this, she stated that the high dependency
to the employer and the nature of domestic work which is closed from public
makes these women extremely vulnerable to exploitation and violence. Their
workplaces are hidden behind doors as they work for individuals, households,
and families, and not in open regular work sites such as offices, shops, or
factories. Furthermore, most of the FDWs are migrant workers who are unfamiliar
with the local language and culture in which they work. Hence, we can say that
40 million women are extremely vulnerable to physical and sexual violence and
even murder. There have been numerous accounts of violence against migrant
FDWs, including being beaten to death, burned with a hot iron, raped,
imprisoned and so on. For example in Indonesia, the number of cases of violence
against migrant workers abroad including murder is increasing every year. Data
from Indonesia Migrant Care reveals that the cases of violence against migrant
workers reached 5314 in 2009, while in 2010, the death rate of these workers
reached 1075.
Most
people might ask and wonder what is the cause of this huge rise in number? Why
do tens of millions of women still want to work as FDWs, even though they have
to migrate thousands of miles away to work in this risky profession often for a
miserly wage? The answer is no other reason other than poverty and global
inequality of wealth. Poverty and lack of welfare for millions of women in
their countries have forced them to leave their homes and their children to
make ends meet. Most of these FDWs come from third-world countries, including
the Muslim world, where lack of access to good quality free education,
healthcare and other services that should be provided by the state also leads
to many women seeking work abroad to provide education or medical treatment to
their children or families. The largest number of FDW's are from the Asia
Pacific (21.4 million), followed by Latin America and then the Caribbean with
19.6 million. No doubt, global inequality in wealth and poverty are the causes
of the phenomenon of the global domestic workers industry. It is the global
implementation of capitalism with its interest based financial model and free
market system with its liberal principle laissez faire-laissez passer, that has
caused wealth to be concentrated in the hands of the few and consequently the
spreading of desperate poverty in the Muslim world and third-world countries.
This has subsequently caused the mass transnational migration of domestic
workers including women in search of work to survive, exposing them to
exploitation.
THE
EXPLOITATION OF VULNERABLE PEOPLE UNDER CAPITALISM
The
implementation of the Capitalist ideology has created a global inequality
between the developed and developing countries, including in the Muslim world,
and has generated widespread poverty among Muslims. The high levels of
unemployment amongst men, rising prices of basic needs, and the high cost of
living in the country has caused millions of women to feel that they have no choice
but to work as FDWs abroad to survive. This is worsened by the Capitalist
paradigm which views women as objects that can provide cheap and diligent
labour for this domestic work. Furthermore, under capitalism, women are also
seen as sexual objects and money-making machines, all of which promotes
economic exploitation of women.
The
fundamental values of capitalism contribute a great deal to building an
exploitative mind-set on the poor and vulnerable people. Capitalism with its
basic principles -secularism, pragmatism, and hedonism- as well as the economic
principle of freedom of ownership has nurtured a selfish and exploitative
society. Many members of this kind of society will always calculate the 'cost'
and 'profit' of any social relations and practices of the life they lead,
superseding all other values, whether it is humanitarian, moral or spiritual
values.
The
values of this detrimental and exploitative capitalist system have greatly
influenced every level of capitalist societies - from the individual to the
state – for example, the dictatorship of many employers against their workers,
giving them the minimum wage without considering the impact on the workers; or
domestic worker recruitment companies which manage their business in such a way
to make a profit from the suffering of people; or capitalist governments
throughout the Muslim world who are not only incompetent in creating prospering
for their people, but ignores the rights and wellbeing of these workers who
they send overseas, viewing and using them like commodities for the sake of
bringing in economic remittance and revenue for the country. As a result, these
women have become victims of two major causes of exploitation:
(1)
The exploitative and tyrannical labor
policies of capitalism, and
(2)
The absence of the state's role in
protecting their rights as workers as well as citizens
The
first cause, i.e. women as victims of capitalism's labor policies, is evidently
shown by these three patterns of exploitation:
(1)
long working hours, almost without
adequate rest periods
(2)
low salaries, which are often not paid
on time
(3)
Arbitrary actions of employers who physically
and sexually abuse them.
All of these issues
actually stem from the labor problem that has always faced countries that
implement Capitalism. From the outset, the capitalist labor paradigm and
policies has created an asymmetrical relationship between workers and
employers. Workers and employers are placed in distinct stratas or classes that
tend to discriminate against the workers who have less power and a lower
bargaining position, than the employers who own the capital. Besides that,
Capitalism makes living cost as the standard for setting wages. Cheap labour
policies that the idea of the 'minimum wage' is based, results from the flawed
method of determining wages. It has prevented workers from earning their real
wages that should be based upon the effort they exert and the skills they have
rather than receiving an amount suitable to just sustain their lives.
Therefore, these labor problems will always exist as long as the relationship
between workers and employers is built based on this system, and the workers
will always experience poor working conditions and insufficient legal
protection.
As
for the second cause, the absence of the role of the state in protecting the
rights of its workers and citizens has become the primary cause of the
exploitation of millions of women as FDW in the Muslim world. The leaderships
of these states have utterly failed in:
(1)
ensuring the prosperity of the people
under their rule
(2)
Guaranteeing the protection of those who
work abroad.
These puppet rulers
have been proven incompetent in addressing poverty in the country and providing
decent jobs for its people. In addition, they have failed to solve their
country's problems, such as corruption, dependence on the West, and foreign
debt, as well as demonstrating a complete inability to manage their natural
resources effectively. All this is not surprising for they have embraced and
implemented the flawed capitalist system upon their states. Leaders of the
Muslim world are only concerned in their national economic interests – which
includes making their own women commodities in the demand for domestic labor
abroad to secure government revenue, without any consideration of the misery
suffered by these FDWs, nor any serious efforts to ensure the legal protection
of the rights of these workers abroad. The Muslim world was also poisoned by
the corrosive idea of nationalism that has dehumanized those who are not of
their nations, contributing to their mistreatment. Thus, this absence of the
role of the state in protecting the rights of women in the Muslim world is the
main cause that makes millions of women experience extreme suffering due to exploitation
as FDWs.
These
two aforementioned conditions, namely exploitative, tyrannical labor policies
of capitalism and the absence of the role of state, has caused many efforts and
global initiatives to solve this problem of the exploitation of FDWs to always
hit a dead end. These two conditions are the reasons for why various efforts at
all levels, such as the revision of labor laws, agreements between sending and
receiving countries of domestic workers, and the establishment of workers
unions, have failed and never touched the root of the issue, including the ILOs
initiative of establishing a convention on domestic workers no. 189 2011 which
regulates aspects of ensuring decent work for domestic workers around the
world. This convention is severely challenged by the multipolar world order.
This is tangibly seen from the willingness of only about 4 countries in the
world to ratify the convention, while in fact based on ILO survey the problem
of domestic workers befalls at least 117 countries. This global initiative
obviously will not work because most states would always put the interests of
their national economy above the rights of domestic workers. As long as
capitalism and its exploitative value system and poverty-creating economic
principles continue to apply in these countries, all these efforts will never
bring a resolution to this problem.
LABOR
POLICIES IN ISLAM
Islam
is diametrically different from the capitalist ideology. Islam as an ideology
strongly rejects the values of materialism and hedonism that come from the
point of view of Capitalism. The true Islamic society under the Khilafah system
is built purely upon Islam that has a primary focus on the implementation of
God's laws, as according to the Words of Allah (swt):
"I have only created jinn and men so that they
may worship Me." (Adz-Dzariyyat: 56)
Unlike
Capitalism, Islam builds its society upon the foundation of the Islamic
Aqeedah. Its view of the purpose of life is to obey the Commandments of Allah
and avoid His prohibitions, and its view of happiness is seeking the Pleasure
of Allah (swt).
The Islamic value system creates a distinctive identity in the community, which
defines the status of people upon their taqwa, and not their wealth or any
other physical attributes. The Islamic values of life would never put the
material value above morality, or place money above the dignity of human
beings, regardless of the scale of economic gain. This breaks the materialistic
personality, whose focus is only on money and material matters regardless of
the consequences upon others, minimizing exploitative and unjust behaviour
towards others.
The
Islamic value system gives a unique color to the society at all levels. This
color is seen from how Islam fosters a mentality of responsibility in women as
the mothers of children by giving them an understanding of the vital importance
of this role as women such that they will not easily leave their families and
children in search for work abroad. Likewise, the values and laws of Islam
subject the business life function upon the principle of halal and haram,
without exploitation or taking advantage of others' suffering. In addition, the
Khilafah state places the fulfillment of the basic needs of the people as one
of its top priorities, alongside creating prosperity for the society and
enabling individuals to access luxuries through the comprehensive application
of the Shari’ah, that includes its sound Islamic economic system.
Regarding
employment, Islam has a distinctive approach to the issue, different to any
other ideology in the world. Some of Islam's most important principles of labor
policies that addresses the problem of exploitation of domestic workers
include:
1.
The unique equal relationship between
employers and workers
2.
The work to be performed should be
strictly halal
3.
No workers stratification
4.
Determination of fair wages
The
first principle of Islamic employment or labor policies is reflected in the
composition of the Islamic society that has never split into two classes, the
working class and business class, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the
patron with the client, etc. No, Islam does not recognize this at all. It
builds a unique equal relationship between the worker and the employer, which
is based upon the sense of responsibility to fullfil the rights and obligations
of each other as Islam ordered. According to the Islamic view, partnership
between the employer and employee is a relationship that should be mutually
beneficial. It is not allowed for a party to wrong or to be wronged by the
other party. Imam Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurairah (ra), the Prophet (saw)
said, Allah (swt) said: "Allah said: There are three
persons whom I will oppose on the Day of Resurrection: a man who gives his word
by Me but proves treacherous; a man who sells a free person and consumes the
price; and a man who employs a worker and receives a completed job but he does
not pay him his wages." [Sahih Bukhari, Number 430]
In
order to maintain the good partnership and ensure that all parties involved are
mutually benefited, Islam organizes the employer-employee relationship in a
clear and detailed way with the laws related to ijarat al-ajir (the employment
contract). In fact Islam states that an unclear agreement point within an
ijarat transaction qualifies it as a fasid (broken) agreement. With clear and
detailed provisions in the ijarat al-ajir transaction, each party understands
their rights and obligations, and is a protection against tyrannical employers
forcing workers to work outside their defined hours as in the case of domestic
workers.
The
second principle is that the jobs performed can only be halal in nature,
because Islam does not recognize the concept of freedom of ownership that
allows people to do any work, regardless of whether the job is halal or haram.
This protects women from employment that exploits their beauty or bodies as the
means to make a sale, provide a service, or increase profits. Rafi bin
Rifaa(ra) narrates: "The Prophet (saw) forbade
us (from some things) today and he mentioned some things. He forbade us from
the earnings of the slave-girl except that which she earned with her two
hands." [Sunan Abu Dawood, Number 4319]
The
third principle, Islam does not make a distinction between so-called
white-collar workers and blue-collar workers. This is because all of them are
called ajir (employees), whether the work they do is more intellectual in
nature such as doctors, lecturers, or journalists, or physical in nature such
as maids and factory workers. As mentioned in Hizb ut Tahrir's draft
constitution for the Khilafah, Article 154 states, "Company employees and the self-employed have the same
rights and duties as employees of the State. Everyone who works for a wage,
irrespective of the nature of the work, is considered an employee..."
The
fourth principle is determining fair wages for workers. Islam has a unique
method regarding this matter because the standard used by Islam for deciding
wages are the benefits of the effort (manfa'at al-juhd) given by the workers,
not their lowest living cost. This is one reason why exploitation of workers by
the employer will rarely happen as the employer will be subjected to the rules
of Islam to provide decent wages and pay it on time according to what is agreed
in the employment contract. If there is a dispute between the worker and the employer
in determining wages, then the expert (khubara') will be the one who determines
the fair wage (ajr al-mitsl). This expert is chosen by both parties, if they do
not find an agreement, then the state will take over and choose the expert for
them.
KHILAFAH
PROTECTS WOMEN AND THE VULNERABLE
Islam
stands in stark contrast to the capitalist system that curbs the role of the
state and emphasizes the role of the market. The Prophet (saw) said: "An Imam is a shepherd (ra'in) and he is responsible for those in
his care."
Therefore
the state's role is vital in Islam in taking care of the needs of the people.
Its main task is to serve and take care of the needs of every citizen, protect
the vulnerable, and prevent any injustice. This fundamental principle ensures
that labor problems will be minimal under the Khilafah and resolved swiftly
through the application of the Shari’ah rules upon any employment problem if
they do arise. Under this system, the migrant labor problem that victimizes
millions of women will not be tolerated and the state will seek to eradicate
it.
The
Khilafah is a state which implements a sound economic system that rejects the
flawed capitalist interest-based financial model, bans hoarding of wealth, and
prohibits the privatization of natural resources as well as foreign party heavy
investment in the development of infrastructure, agriculture, industry and
technology. The foundation of its policies are directed to seek an effective
distribution of wealth in order to secure the basic needs of all citizens, and
at the same time create economic productivity to solve mass unemployment as
well as allow individuals to obtain luxuries. The Khilafah with its straight political
vision will be able to overcome labor problems with systematic and anticipatory
steps focused on its responsibilities towards the public, as is reviewed as
follows:
(1)
The Khilafah protects women and the
vulnerable people. Islam is an ideology that is focused on the protection of
the vulnerable people. The Prophet (saw) once said, narrated
by Abu Huraira: "I am more closer to the
believers than their own selves, so whoever (of them) dies while being in debt
and leaves nothing for its repayment, then we are to pay his debts on his
behalf and whoever (among the believers) dies leaving some property, then that
property is for his heirs." [Sahih Bukhari, Number
723]
Hence, in Hizb ut
Tahrir's draft constitution for the Khilafah, Article 156, reads: "The
State is to guarantee the living expenses of the one who has no money, no work
and no relatives responsible for his financial maintenance. The State is
responsible for housing and maintaining the disabled and handicapped
people." Besides that, women in Islam should also be seen as a dignity
that must be financially maintained with dignity and NOT seen as cheap labor.
Islam commands that women should always be guaranteed provision by their male
relatives, and if they do not have any male relative, then the state will ensure
their financial needs, according to the words of Allah (swt):
"...the father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother's
food and clothing on a reasonable basis. No person shall have a burden laid on
him greater than he can bear. No mother shall be treated unfairly on account of
her child, nor father on account of his child. And on the (father's) heir is
incumbent the like of that (which was incumbent on the father)."
(Al-Baqarah, 2:233)
(2)
The Khilafah places the main basis of
its economic policy upon meeting people's needs. The Khilafah will implement
the Islamic economic system that ensures the fulfillment of all basic (primary)
needs of every individual in society and enables them to acquire luxuries. In
the book of al-Amwaal of Abu Ubaidah, it’s told that Khalifah Umar ibn Al-Khattab
once told his employees in charge of distributing sadaqah: "If you do give, make it
sufficient" then said again: "Give alms to them repeatedly even
though one of them had a hundred camels." Masha’Allah! As
the ruler of the state, he implemented the Islamic economic policy which
guarantees the fulfillment of the primary needs of the people. He also funded
the marriage of Muslims who could not afford to get married, paid their debts,
and provided financial support to farmers to cultivate their lands.
(3)
The Khilafah is responsible for
preventing injustice in all its forms. Specifically in the area of employment,
Islam enforces strict laws upon anyone who enacts injustice, whether employers
or employees. Creating a safe and non-exploitative work environment for workers
is also the responsibility of the state. The Shari’ah laws ensure that there
should be no injustice of one party against another and the state is obliged to
remove any oppressive act, whether it is committed by employers against workers
or vice versa. Letting injustice happen is a sin and immoral, and is forbidden
by Allah (swt). If the state allows injustice to takes place, then it is an
obligation upon all Muslims to account the ruler by commanding the Ma'ruf and
forbidding the Munkar in order to rectify the situation and get rid of the
injustice. If people are not able to correct their ruler, the matter is
transferred to the Mukhamat Al-Madhalim (the court of unjust acts) that will
force the ruler to remove the corruption, injustice, or oppression from the
state.
Thus,
the Khilafah will provide a comprehensive provision guarantee for every woman
and man as well as provide full protection for all citizens from exploitation
and injustice. Millions of vulnerable women and men today, who are facing
economic exploitation in the Muslim world, will have a completely different
story under the shade of the Khilafah system which has a credible and
time-tested approach to tackling poverty, protecting the vulnerable, and
maintaining the honor of women.
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