The human rights impacts of COVID-19 on migrant workers in the Gulf
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Equidem Nepal's Deepika Thapaliya writes for Nepal Live Today highlighting issues that Qatar needs to address to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Nepali workers in the region.
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Thompson Reuters highlights Migrant Forum in Asia's report highlighting cases of wage theft against migrant workers during COVID-19.
Worker rights in the hospitality sector is one of Equidem’s high priority focus areas. In the first half of 2021, Equidem interviewed migrant workers in Qatar’s hospitality sector for the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) report “Checked Out: Migrant Worker Abuse in Qatar’s World Cup Luxury Hotels.” Interviews were conducted between April and June 2021 with workers at hotels in Qatar who originated from countries in East Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia. The men and women interviewed were employed by enterprises of major target hospitality brands and by their sub-contractors and suppliers.
Following this, Equidem also helped the BHRRC team with data management and analysis of the findings and testimonies from workers for the report. Equidem has a long association with the BHRRC, including past research and advocacy collaboration regarding migrant worker rights in the Gulf countries.
Equidem is a human rights and labour rights charity working globally and locally to promote the rights of marginalised communities, accountability for serious violations, and building the human rights movement. Our team of experts and field investigators expose injustice, provide solutions for the most intractable human rights challenges and work closely with grassroots and regional civil society to empower the individual and the community.
Deepika Thapaliya
Projects Manager
Deepika is a qualified lawyer in Nepal with experience working as a Legal Assistant for a respected law firm and undertaking human rights research for Amnesty International Nepal. She is also a founding member of a local Senior Citizen Service Community, a non-profit organization that protects and promotes senior citizens’ rights. Deepika speaks English, Hindi and Nepali.
Dennis Dome
Kenya Researcher
Dome is responsible for designing, implementing and supervising research projects in East and Horn of Africa and labour migration corridors to the Gulf countries. His experience includes data mining on engendering inclusivity for UNWOMEN and conducting violent extremism research for USAID. He has also been involved in a range of projects for clients including Core Group Polio Project, Kenya’s Ministry of Education, Save The Children and CARE International.
Eiffel Abedin
Bangladesh Researcher
EiffeI has extensive experience as a social researcher and journalist including previously as the Diplomatic Correspondent for Bangladesh News and Dhaka Tribune, and reporting for Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua, China Central Television and Al Jazeera Arabic. He covered the Rohingya refugee crisis for US-based magazine Politico and has worked as a Special Correspondent for The Los Angeles Times.
Mini Mohan
Investigator, India and the Arab Gulf
Before joining Equidem, Mini spent 25 years working with civil society organisations and trade unions in India and the wider region. As a long-term advocate for workers’ and migrants’ rights in industries such as fishing, construction and farming, Mini works closely with people from marginalised communities, including low-wage workers, women, children, disabled and transgender people.
Mustafa Qadri
Chief Executive Officer
Mustafa Qadri is the Founder and Executive Director of Equidem, providing overall strategic direction and managing all our projects. He is a human rights research and advocacy expert with 20 years of interdisciplinary experience in government and public international law, journalism and the non-governmental sector.
Namrata Raju
India Director
Namrata is responsible for the successful leadership, management and oversight of Equidem’s work in India and regionally. She is a labour researcher with over a decade of experience working in South Asia and the Arab Gulf. Namrata has provided research inputs to an array of public and private sector actors across India and the Gulf. First as a fellow from Harvard's Women and Public Policy programme, and later as an advisor to their Labour Migration unit, Namrata also worked closely with the ILO-Sri Lanka country office in Colombo.
Nani Baral
Projects Assistant
Nani is an experienced office manager and is responsible for a range of administrative and project management functions for Equidem and Equidem Nepal. She brings a range of expertise to Equidem from working in the media and financial services industries in Nepal for over a decade. She has experience in investigative reporting, documentation of human rights and social issues, working with communities and rights holders, and conducting motivational trainings.
Nikhil Eapen
Special Projects Researcher
Nikhil has broad experience spanning human rights research and advocacy, campaigning and mobilisation, investigative reporting and fundraising. Nikhil is the author of the landmark Amnesty International report Exploited dreams: Dispatches from Indian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. He has a background in labour rights and a proven track record of building and leading large teams that deliver on strategic outcomes.
Rameshwar Nepal
South Asia Director, Nepal Director
Rameshwar has worked on human rights for over two decades, becoming Amnesty International’s longest serving director in Nepal before leaving to join Equidem in 2017. He now manages our work in Nepal, including four field investigators, and coordinates our work across South Asia.
Sharib Suhail
Media Officer
Sharib Suhail is a Media Officer at Equidem. He is responsible for developing and implementing the organisation’s communication strategies across a variety of platforms. Before joining Equidem, Sharib worked for the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. He has over six years of experience delivering digital and multimedia communication strategies for global think tanks and non-profits. He began his career as a journalist and has worked for leading media organisations like BBC India, Indian Express and ABP News.
Vipitha Vijayan
Assistant Researcher
Vipitha Vijayan is an Assistant Researcher in Equidem’s India team, where she works on research design and data analysis. Vipitha helps Equidem answer complex labour rights questions through rigorous research and analysis. She has an MPhil from the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and is currently completing a PhD. Vipitha has worked closely with various marginalised communities advocating for land rights and labour rights. Her work revolves around caste, social exclusion, spatiality, subalternity, gender and labour issues.