Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Sumayya Kassamali

Sumayya Kassamali is assistant professor in anthropology and the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto.

Understanding Race and Migrant Domestic Labor in Lebanon
Workers hold placards and chant slogans during a parade to support the rights of migrant domestic workers, on May Day in downtown Beirut, 2016. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
MER Article

Understanding Race and Migrant Domestic Labor in Lebanon

The dire financial and political crises in Lebanon have made migrant domestic workers even more vulnerable to abuses of the kafala system of sponsorship. Kassamali explains the history of this labor system in Lebanon and the intersecting roles of race, class, nationality and gender in the hierarchie
Sumayya Kassamali • 12 min read
Understanding Race and Migrant Domestic Labor in Lebanon
Workers hold placards and chant slogans during a parade to support the rights of migrant domestic workers, on May Day in downtown Beirut, 2016. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
Current Analysis

Understanding Race and Migrant Domestic Labor in Lebanon

The dire financial and political crises in Lebanon have made migrant domestic workers even more vulnerable to abuses of the kafala system of sponsorship. Kassamali explains the history of this labor system in Lebanon and the intersecting roles of race, class, nationality and gender in the hierarchie
Sumayya Kassamali • 12 min read