Global Labor Market and Islamic Economic Ethics: A Critical Evaluation of the Economic Exploitation of Migrant Women under the Kafala System

Abstract

This study provides a critical evaluation of the economic exploitation faced by migrant women workers, particularly domestic helpers, under the contemporary Kafala (sponsorship) system within the global labor market framework. Operating primarily in the Gulf region, this administrative structure grants employer’s asymmetrical legal authority over workers, trapping vulnerable migrant women in institutional dependency. Analytically examining this structural imbalance, the paper details how practices such as the non-payment or delay of wages, arbitrary salary deductions, passport confiscation, and excessive working hours severely restrict female labor autonomy and plunge them into economic paralysis. This research contrasts these capitalist exploitations with a robust conceptual framework of Islamic economic ethics, rooted in the core pillars of Adl (justice), Ihsan (benevolence), and the universal injunction of avoiding mutual harm (La Tazlimuna wa la Tuzlamun). The analysis reveals that the current institutionalized Kafala framework fundamentally contradicts Islamic principles of human dignity and fair labor compensation, diverging sharply from the historical, protective concept of sponsorship in Islamic law. Concluding with actionable structural reforms, the study advocates for direct state-backed regulatory oversight, a legally enforced minimum wage, and independent legal assistance to align modern labor practices with comprehensive human rights and Islamic economic justice.

Keywords: Kafala System, Islamic Economic Ethics, Migrant Women Workers, Economic Exploitation, Labor Rights