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Saudi Arabia has officially abolished its decades-old Kafala system , a legal framework that has governed the employment and residency of migrant workers, including millions of Indians, across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states for decades.

While originally intended to regulate the flow of foreign labour needed for the oil boom economies, the system has devolved into one of the world’s most criticised labour structures, often likened by human rights organisations to modern-day slavery.

The Mechanism of Control

The core problem of the Kafala system lies in the absolute power it grants to the employer, or kafeel. This arrangement ties a migrant worker’s legal status—their visa, their right to reside in the country, and their ability to work—entirely to a sing

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