Has anyone else seen the hoopla over the comments by Instagram makeup girl #SondosAlqattan? Apparently the Kuwaiti beauty expert expressed her indignation over Filipna maids being granted a single day off in the week, and about employers not being allowed to confiscate their passports. Of course everyone is lambasting her for what she said, and for her subsequently standing by her remarks; and now she is losing endorsement deals with cosmetics companies and losing followers.
My question is…when you were following her on Instagram, and when you were giving her endorsement deals…what did you THINK she thought? She is a rich Gulf Arab! What she expressed is absolutely the standard viewpoint in the Gulf towards not only Filipino domestic workers, but all domestic workers, indeed, all workers in general, and all people from lower income countries. There is nothing unique about Sondos Alqattan. Her views are the norm. Why do you think they NEEDED to enact the laws she objects to?
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar…I mean, did you THINK they believe in workers’ rights? In equality? They believe in Sondos’ version of equality when she argued ‘why should a Filipina maid treated better than an Indian maid?’ in other words, they should all be exploited and oppressed EQUALLY. There is nothing shocking about what she said, what she thinks, and not even about the fact that she lives in such a bubble that she doesn’t even KNOW she shouldn’t publicly express views like this without expecting a severe backlash. What is shocking is that anyone is shocked. OF COURSE she thinks like this, for crying out loud, why on earth would you expect her not to?
What is really ridiculous is condemnation coming from UAE vlogger @KhalidAlAmeri, as if the UAE is any different. Employers confiscate the passports of workers in the UAE as SOP, work them to death, and keep them in prison-like labour camps often not paying their wages for months on end. Give me a break with the forehead-slapping disbelief at Sondos’ horrendous views…yeah, they are horrendous, but they are absolutely typical in the Khaleej…how can anyone not know this?