Millions of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are trapped in the kafala system where they are underpaid, overworked, and in my case, forced to pay a $100,000 extortion fee in order to go care for my sick wife in India.

Financial giants like BlackRock and HSBC pour billions into companies and projects that enable these abuses - quietly fueling the Kafala system.

Tell global investors: divest from Kafala and stop funding modern-day slavery.

 Sign the petition 

John,

My name is Ahmed Abdul Majeed - after 40 years of hard work in Saudi Arabia, the Kafala system nearly destroyed my life.

At the height of COVID-19, the company I worked for (which is owned by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman) fired me, confiscated my passport, and forced me to pay $100,000 in order to leave the country to tend to my sick wife in India. My son had to sell our home in order for me to escape the prison that is Saudi's Kafala system.

This experience was devastating for our family and continues to haunt us to this day. 

Behind abuses like mine are financial giants like BlackRock, Allianz, and HSBC - pouring billions into new projects in Saudi Arabia and fueling a system that traps workers and strips them of their humanity. These companies claim to care about human rights - if that's true, they must immediately stop funding modern-day slavery. Will you help me raise an outcry?

Sign the petition: demand justice for me and my family - and help put an end to the Kafala system.

Behind the glittering Gulf skylines is a hidden web of abuse - from the construction workers who are building stadiums for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, to domestic workers trapped in homes across the region - Kafala is modern-day slavery, giving employers total control over a worker's life, freedom, and fate. 

When global investors pull their money, MBS feels it. Divesting from the system built on exploitation puts real pressure on him to end Kafala. Money is the one language this government understands - take it away, and change becomes impossible to ignore. 

I am old. I am sick. I don’t know how much time I have left. But I know this: if you support our efforts to end the Kafala system, companies will not be able to ignore us forever. For five and a half years, I fought alone. Today, I’m asking for your help. 

Sign now to demand an end to the Kafala system and justice for me & every exploited worker.

Human rights groups, the International Labour Organisation, and international watchdogs have already exposed the truth: Kafala is exploitation, not employment. With your voice, we can make it impossible for governments and corporations to hide behind their polished PR while profiting from abuse.

 Sign the petition 

Thanks for all that you do,
Ahmed Abdul Majeed and the team at Ekō


More information:

No, Saudi Arabia has not abolished the Kafala system
The Migrant Rights Research Open Repository 29 October 2025
The wage slaves of the Kafala system
Open Democracy 15 November 2024
 
 

 

 


Ekō is a community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations. We want to buy from, work for and invest in companies that respect the environment, treat their workers well and respect democracy. And we’re not afraid to stand up to them when they don’t.

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