Domestic workers in Lebanon try to escape an exploitative system

Since 2017, the activist organization This Is Lebanon has aided women caught up in Lebanon’s deeply entrenched kafala, or sponsor, system.

Under the system, in place since the 1970s Persian Gulf oil boom increased demand for labor, domestic workers arrive in Lebanon on visas that tie their residency directly to their employer and that offer fewer protections and rights than other visa categories do. A representative from This Is Lebanon says many workers face nonpayment of wages, poor labor conditions, and even physical and sexual abuse, with some sponsors confiscating workers’ passports and cellphones to prevent their escape.

In fall 2022, I photographed kafala workers who were trying to get out of the system. They lived in cramped apartments on the outskirts of Beirut, with as many as 15 women sharing the same quarters. As a result, close friendships developed among some of the women. Two years later, before the Israel-Hezbollah war began, I checked back with several of the women to see how their lives had changed. I also reached out after the November 2024 ceasefire.

Akakpo Marthe, a young woman from Benin, says her experience in Lebanon ended badly. She left her employer’s household before the war and got help from This Is Lebanon to return to her home country. “Now, I am undergoing cooking training,” she says proudly.

Salamatu Kargbo, a young woman from Sierra Leone, received help from This Is Lebanon but says she isn’t returning to her home country until she saves up some money. She doesn’t want her family to know how bad things are for her in Lebanon. “They’re probably already ashamed, and I can’t go back empty-handed,” Ms. Kargbo says. She works part time as a domestic worker, but for a different employer from her initial sponsor.

Embarrassment motivates many workers to stay in the kafala system. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell my parents about my situation here in Lebanon,” says Mariam Sesay, another young woman from Sierra Leone.

She rode out the war with other kafala workers she met through her volunteer work for the group Migrant Workers’ Action. During the war, “Many had taken refuge on the streets or by the sea,” Ms. Sesay says.

She plans to return to Sierra Leone someday but eventually come back to Lebanon because of the worsening situation at home.

“I focus on volunteering and advocating for migrant rights wherever I can,” Ms. Sesay says. “Yes, I’m a victim of the kafala system, but I don’t want to see myself as a victim.”

Adri Salido

SHOPPING TRIP: “Kafala” workers (from left) Mariama Dakuwa, Akakpo Marthe, and Salamatu Kargbo make purchases at a neighborhood supermarket.

Adri Salido

MEAL PREP: Zainab Conteh (left) and Ms. Kargbo, both from Sierra Leone, cook on their neighbor’s terrace.

Adri Salido

CRAMPED QUARTERS: Akakpo Marthe (left) and her sister Akakpo Elisabeth sit in their apartment on the outskirts of Beirut. Akakpo Marthe later returned to Benin.

Adri Salido

REST: Ramatu Kamara (left) lies in her bed. Many “kafala” workers stay in Lebanon because they don’t want to disappoint their families by coming home without money.

Adri Salido

DREAMS DASHED: “Kafala” workers who left their sponsors gather in their apartment. The women say they had come to Lebanon yearning for a better life.

Adri Salido

DOWNTIME: Ms. Sesay works out on an old elliptical machine while one of her roommates does another’s hair. Living in a small apartment has fostered strong bonds of friendship among some of the women.

Adri Salido

STARTING OVER: Ms. Sesay embraces Émilienne Ayassin, a woman from Benin who recently left her job as a “kafala” worker.

For more visual storytelling that captures communities, traditions, and cultures around the globe, visit The World in Pictures.