Unfree: Migrant Domestic Work in Arab States

by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas

"A stirring account of the experiences of migrant domestic workers, and what freedom, abuse, and power mean within a vast contract labor system. In the United Arab Emirates, there is an employment sponsorship system known as the kafala. Migrant domestic workers within it must solely work for their employer, secure their approval to leave the country, and obtain their consent to terminate a job. In Unfree, Rhacel Salazar Parre�nas examines the labor of women from the Philippines, who represent the largest domestic workforce in the country. She challenges presiding ideas about the kafala, arguing that its reduction to human trafficking is, at best, unproductive, and at worst damaging to genuine efforts to regulate this system that impacts tens of millions of domestic workers across the globe. The kafala system technically renders migrant workers unfree as they are made subject to the arbitrary authority of their employer. Not surprisingly, it has been the focus of intense scrutiny and criticism from human rights advocates and scholars. Yet, contrary to their claims, Parre�nas argues that most employers do not abuse domestic workers or maximize the extraction of their labor. Still, the outrage elicited by this possibility dominates much of public discourse and overshadows the more mundane reality of domestic work in the region.Drawing on unparalleled data collected over 4 years, this book diverges from previous studies as it establishes that the kafala system does not necessarily result in abuse, but instead leads to the absence of labor standards. This absence is reflected in the diversity of work conditions across households, ranging from dehumanizing treatment, infantilization, to respect and recognition of domestic workers. Unfree shows how various stakeholders, including sending and receiving states, NGOs, inter-governmental organizations, employers and domestic workers, project moral standards to guide the unregulated labor of domestic work. They can mitigate or aggravate the arbitrary authority of employers. Parre�nas offers a deft and rich portrait of how morals mediate work on the ground, warning against the dangers of reducing unfreedom to structural violence"--

Genres: Sociology

232 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Noora Al-Saai · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. I will do a detailed review of this book very soon.

[harvey ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the research Parreñas represents is clear, sound, and thorough, it was the conclusions and organization of this book that frustrated me. First, I don't think simply reducing slavery criticisms of domestic work in the UAE as "Orientalist" is productive. While I'm sure perceptions of the Arab world as "primitive" play a role in some people's views, the humans rights groups that organize around domestic work are full of much more formally informed and knowledgable people who are using "slavery" as a rhetoric device to attempt to change laws. Additionally, she claims it's the ideas that has to be changed since the kafala relies on informal culture. Rather, it is the system of informality that enables vulnerability of domestic workers in the first place (and she confirms as much in her own analysis). I also thought the evidence she provided in general didn't lend itself to her conclusion. Each chapter has an emphasis on the variety of experience of migrant domestic workers, which isn't really proof that kafala isn't "structural violence" like she argues. As someone who grew up learning of American chattel slavery and learning of slaves who did have relatively "kind" owners, it doesn't mitigate the fact that the system they existed in was still slavery.
That said, what I did like about this book was the detailed descriptions of the lives and experiences of domestic workers. Her evidence was well thought out and described, I just didn't think it lended itself to the conclusions she drew.

[Emma Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough research and analysis, and an interesting framework that rejects the most common narrative about domestic workers under the kafala system. I think the framework of Unfreedom as opposed to a binary freedom vs slavery makes sense as a valuable tool to highlight the systemic pressures that encourage moral ambivalence in employers, as well as the push and pull factors for voluntary worker migration.

[Natalie Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to this book, I had no idea the extent of the use of migrant domestic workers. The system in countries such as the UAE allow for the exploitation of migrant domestic workers and the only is regulated by the morality of the employers. If you have heard of this issue I recommend reading this book and if you haven't you really should read it.

[Odi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate it not taking an orientalist approach, but it still feels wayy too apologetic