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Home / Lifestyle

Kuwaiti Instagram star dropped by Max Factor over workers' rights rant

By Anneta Konstantinides
Daily Mail·
25 Jul, 2018 07:05 AM4 mins to read

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Sondos Al Qattan had complained that her 'servants' would be given one day off every week. Photo / Instagram

Sondos Al Qattan had complained that her 'servants' would be given one day off every week. Photo / Instagram

A Kuwaiti Instagram star who slammed new laws that improve conditions for Filipino domestic workers in her country has refused to apologise, despite being dropped by high-profile collaborators.

On Monday, Sondos Al Qattan addressed the backlash against her on Instagram, where she dismissed it as 'rumours', saying she treats all her employees fairly and does not 'impose long working hours'.

However, she stopped short of an apology - opting instead to thank critics who called her 'beautiful from the outside.'

View this post on Instagram

Don’t judge a person without full understanding of the situation. Just because you don’t agree, doesn’t mean that you’re right!

A post shared by Sondos Alqattan سندس القطان (@sondos_aq) on Jul 23, 2018 at 3:02pm PDT

'The fact about having the passport of an employee in the possession of the employer does not in any way give an indication about a human being,' she wrote.

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Al Qattan, who has 2.3 million followers, sparked an outcry after she posted a video herself lamenting the fact that 'servants' would have a day off every week and be allowed to keep their passports.

The furious rant went viral, attracting critical comments from social media users in the Middle East and Philippines.

View this post on Instagram

ابتسموا فكل ما قدره الله جميل 🌙 دراعتي أو نفنوفي موجود بالبوتيك ليبل رقم 2329

A post shared by Sondos Alqattan سندس القطان (@sondos_aq) on May 24, 2018 at 3:32pm PDT

Responding to pressure from critics, Max Factor Arabia have now said they will terminate their lucrative endorsement deals with her.

In a statement to The National, the cosmetics company said: 'Max Factor Arabia was shocked by the comments made by the influencer Sondos Al Qattan.

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'Sondos' comments are personal and do not represent either the values or the principles that Max Factor Arabia stands for.

'Max Factor stands for women's empowerment and supporting every woman to express her individuality, irrespective of ethnicity and occupation.

'Max Factor Arabia is taking this incident very seriously and have immediately suspended all collaborations with Sondos.'

Shiseido, a Japanese personal care company who have colloborated with Al Qattan, also said it 'does not support or align with the recent statements made by Sondos Al Qattan.'

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MAC, who has featured in Al Qattan's posts, has yet to issue a statement.

View this post on Instagram

من أجمل التعاونات في 2018 ❤️ البوكس يتضمن ايلاينر والفرشه الخاصه فيه وكساره رموش ومسكره ومزيل مكياج العيون مجانا ❤️ موجود حاليا في بوتيكي رقمه 2094

A post shared by Sondos Alqattan سندس القطان (@sondos_aq) on Apr 11, 2018 at 3:34pm PDT

In the original post, Al Qattan can be heard saying: 'How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them?'

She goes on to rage: 'What's worse is they have one day off every week.

'If they run away and go back to their country, who will refund me? Honestly I disagree with this law. I don't want a Filipino maid any more.'

Speaking to AFP, Al Qattan refused to retract her original comments: 'All I said was that the employer was entitled to keep the servant's passport, and that many Kuwaitis and Gulf nationals agree with me,' she said.

'I have the right as a kafil (sponsor) to keep my employee's passport, and I am responsible for paying a deposit of up to 1,500 dinars.'

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She also said keeping an employee's passport was not a human rights breach because, 'I did not deprive the employee of her salary or beat her.'

Reforms were introduced in May to protect the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait, which lies between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The agreement followed months of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries over treatment of overseas employees.

In February, the Philippines issued a temporary ban on workers travelling to Kuwait after a 29-year-old Filipino was found mutilated in a freezer in an abandoned flat.

Al Qattan's video, which she filmed while sitting in the front seat of a luxurious car, provoked uproar.

Migrante International, an advocacy group for overseas Filipino workers, said she sounded like 'a slave owner', the Guardian reported.

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It added that the social media icon had 'a backward outlook which literally belongs to the dark ages'.

An estimated 660,000 domestic migrant workers are living in Kuwait, which has a population of four million.

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