"We work with developers to take immediate corrective actions whenever we find any issues and, in extreme cases, we will remove the app from the Store. Google and Apple said they were working with app developers to prevent illegal activity. Older French patients can now get the jab, which had been initially limited to those aged under 65. Video, Palestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle, Back to school with a little bear and his hearing aids. "You've got to remember that her family had actually lived in Egypt for 300 years by the time she came to power.". Even if you keep her up till 5am she won't complain.". VideoBack to school with a little bear and his hearing aids, Why schoolchildren are being abducted in Nigeria, Angelina Jolie sells Churchill painting for £7m1, France reverses stance on AstraZeneca vaccine2, US warned of 'potential fourth surge' of Covid-193, Hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls freed4, US father and son extradited over Ghosn escape5, UK cruise ships end up as scrap on Indian beach6, The billionaire building 'a British Ferrari'7, New York governor 'should resign over harassment'8, Poland activists acquitted over LGBT Virgin Mary9. An undercover investigation by BBC News Arabic has found that domestic workers are being illegally bought and sold online in a booming black market. The Kuwaiti government says it is "at war with this kind of behaviour" and insisted the apps would be "heavily scrutinised". But earlier this year, Kathryn Bard, Professor of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Boston University, told Newsweek: "Cleopatra VII was white - of Macedonian descent, as were all of the Ptolemy rulers, who lived in Egypt.". BBC started as BBC World News service television on 11 March 1991. with half hour bulletin at 7:00 PM. They have long been thought to have been white with a high degree of inbreeding. Why would you give her her passport?". The best of the BBC, with the latest news and sport headlines, weather, TV & radio highlights and much more from across the whole of BBC Online VideoWhat conservatives fear most from President Biden, Eight-year-old becomes youngest pro Fortnite gamer, Palestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle. © 2021 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Under what is known as the Kafala system, a domestic worker cannot change or quit her job, nor leave the country without her sponsor's permission. The headquarter is located in London, UK. They are behind closed doors, deprived of their basic rights, unable to leave and at risk of being sold to the highest bidder. She told the BBC about her experience working in three households during her nine months in Kuwait: "They used to shout at me and call me an animal. Video, What conservatives fear most from President Biden, Palestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle. Your fun Arabic language taster. Read about our approach to external linking. Video, Palestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle, Back to school with a little bear and his hearing aids. In Saudi Arabia, the investigation found hundreds of women being sold on Haraj, another popular commodity app. I feel like I'm coming back from slavery.". The BBC Arabic Television news channel launched on 11 March 2008, a Persian-language channel followed on 14 January 2009, broadcasting from the Peel wing of Broadcasting House; both include news, analysis, interviews, sports and highly cultural programmes and are run by the BBC World Service and funded from a grant-in-aid from the British Foreign Office (and not the television licence). The following year, a BBC documentary about the discovery of the possible skeleton of Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe suggested she may have had mixed ancestry. US warned of 'potential fourth surge' of Covid-19, What conservatives fear most from President Biden. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The celebrated queen has been played on screen by a string of white actresses, most famously Elizabeth Taylor in the big-budget 1963 film. Fatou was found by the Kuwaiti authorities and taken to the government-run shelter for domestic workers. Now she is back at school in Conakry, where the BBC visited her. She wasn't there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra.". The illegal sales are a clear breach of the US tech firms' rules for app developers and users. The firms continue to distribute the 4Sale and Haraj apps, however, on the basis that their primary purpose is to sell legitimate goods and services. "First of all if you want to be true to the facts then Cleopatra was Macedonian," the Wonder Woman actress told BBC Arabic's Sam Asi. © 2021 BBC. There was no comment from the Saudi commodity app, Haraj. "We have asked BBC to share additional details so we can conduct a more in-depth investigation," it added. Critics say an Arab or African actress should play the ancient Egyptian queen. In 2008, Egyptologist Sally Ann Ashton from the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge created a reconstruction of her face from images on ancient artefacts. Israeli film star Gal Gadot has defended her plan to play Cleopatra following accusations of whitewashing. But the law was not popular with everyone. VideoPalestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle, How rape allegations have rocked Australian politics, 'This is the price we had to pay for freedom', BBC Travel: Ancient baking traditions making a comeback, Back to school with a little bear and his hearing aids. It hurt, it made me sad, but there was nothing I could do.". VideoBack to school with a little bear and his hearing aids, Why schoolchildren are being abducted in Nigeria, Angelina Jolie sells Churchill painting for £7m1, France reverses stance on AstraZeneca vaccine2, US warned of 'potential fourth surge' of Covid-193, Hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls freed4, US father and son extradited over Ghosn escape5, UK cruise ships end up as scrap on Indian beach6, The billionaire building 'a British Ferrari'7, New York governor 'should resign over harassment'8, Poland activists acquitted over LGBT Virgin Mary9. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. BBC News | 7,549,609 followers on LinkedIn. media caption BBC News Arabic’s undercover investigation exposes the buying and selling of domestic workers in the Gulf Drive around the streets of Kuwait and you won't see these women. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Other listings have been promoted in apps approved and provided by Google Play and Apple's App Store, as well as the e-commerce platforms' own websites. In 2015, Kuwait introduced some of the most wide-ranging laws to help protect domestic workers. Posing as a couple newly arrived in Kuwait, the BBC Arabic undercover team spoke to 57 app users and visited more than a dozen people who were trying to sell them their domestic worker via a popular commodity app called 4Sale. Visit BBC News for up-to-the-minute news, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC Arabic Founded in: 1938. "No sleep, no food, nothing.". But pick up a smartphone and you can scroll through thousands of their pictures, categorised by race, and available to buy for a few thousand dollars. By Owen Pinnell & Jess KellyBBC News Arabic. However, the BBC has found there are many related listings still active on Instagram, and other apps available via Apple and Google. "Here we see a child being sold and traded like chattel, like a piece of property.". "We will continue to work with law enforcement, expert organisations and industry to prevent this behaviour on our platforms," added a Facebook spokesman. Nine out of 10 Kuwaiti homes have a domestic worker - they come from some of the poorest parts of the world to the Gulf, aiming to make enough money to support their family at home. BBC News provides trusted World and UK news as well as local and regional perspectives. "You know, anybody can make this movie and anybody can go ahead and do it. "What they are doing is promoting an online slave market," said Urmila Bhoola, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery. In most places in the Gulf, domestic workers are brought into the country by agencies and then officially registered with the government. "Kuwaiti houses are very bad," said another. Video, Back to school with a little bear and his hearing aids, Angelina Jolie sells Churchill painting for £7m, Hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls freed, US father and son extradited over Ghosn escape, UK cruise ships end up as scrap on Indian beach, The billionaire building 'a British Ferrari', New York governor 'should resign over harassment', Poland activists acquitted over LGBT Virgin Mary, Dr Ashton told The Daily Mail at the time. And there has not been any legal action against the woman who tried to sell Fatou. "Indians are the dirtiest," said one, describing a woman being advertised. A turning point for Hollywood whitewashing? Kuwait's laws say that domestic workers must be over 21. "This is the quintessential example of modern slavery," said Ms Bhoola. "I make them eat lots of dates, lots and lots of couscous and other fattening food," Fatematou, a voluminous woman in her sixties who runs a kind of "fat farm" in the northern desert town of Atar, told BBC World Service's The World Today programme. VideoWhat conservatives fear most from President Biden, Eight-year-old becomes youngest pro Fortnite gamer, Palestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle. In one case, the BBC team was offered a 16-year-old girl. "We also work with developers to report any illegalities to local law enforcement authorities.". It started broadcasting in 2008. Read about our approach to external linking. Read about our approach to external linking. Older French patients can now get the jab, which had been initially limited to those aged under 65. Every year hundreds of women are trafficked from here to the Gulf as domestic workers. The sellers almost all advocated confiscating the women's passports, confining them to the house, denying them any time off and giving them little or no access to a phone. Video, What conservatives fear most from President Biden, Palestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle. What conservatives fear most from President Biden. What conservatives fear most from President Biden. You're her sponsor. "African worker, clean and smiley," said one listing. Read about our approach to external linking. To date, no significant action has been taken against the platforms. It has called her Fatou to protect her real name. "We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. "If Google, Apple, Facebook or any other companies are hosting apps like these, they have to be held accountable.". Some of the trade has been carried out on Facebook-owned Instagram, where posts have been promoted via algorithm-boosted hashtags, and sales negotiated via private messages. It split into two television stations on 26 January 1995. "First of all if you want to be true to the facts then Cleopatra was Macedonian," the Wonder Woman actress told BBC Arabic's Sam Asi. Also entertainment, business, science, technology and health news. BBC News provides trusted World and UK news as well as local and regional perspectives. The seller has not responded to the BBC's request for comment. "We are working to ensure that the app developers put in place the necessary safeguards to prevent individuals from conducting this activity on their online marketplaces.". After being alerted to the issue, Facebook said it had banned one of the hashtags involved. Cleopatra, born in the ancient Egyptian capital Alexandria, was the last ruler in the dynasty founded by Alexander the Great's Macedonian general Ptolemy, whose descendants ruled Egypt for 300 years. The Guardian's Hanna Flint called it "a backwards step for Hollywood representation", while director Lexi Alexander said a black actress should be cast, citing a reconstruction of Cleopatra's face. "You will find someone buying a maid for 600 KD ($2,000), and selling her on for 1,000 KD ($3,300)," he said. Drive around the streets of Kuwait and you won't see these women. The team were urged by app users, who acted as if they were the "owners" of these women, to deny them other basic human rights, such as giving them a "day or a minute or a second" off. I'm very passionate that I'm going to do my own too.". The BBC team travelled to Guinea to try to contact the family of Fatou, the child they had discovered being offered for sale in Kuwait. Google said it was "deeply troubled by the allegations". "She probably wasn't just completely European," Dr Ashton told The Daily Mail at the time. ", She said other people were welcome to make their own films. BBC Arabic is a News TV channel in Arabic language operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. This online slave market is not just happening in Kuwait. 4Sale may have tackled the problem, but at the time of publication, hundreds of domestic workers were still being traded on Haraj, Instagram and other apps which the BBC has seen. Potential employers pay the agencies a fee and become the official sponsor of the domestic worker. This bypasses the agencies, and creates an unregulated black market which leaves women more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. "Kuwait is really a hell," said one former maid, who recalled being made to sleep in the same place as cows by the woman who employed her. Gal Gadot as Cleopatra sparks 'whitewashing' claims. US warned of 'potential fourth surge' of Covid-19, What conservatives fear most from President Biden. BBC Arabic radio allows listeners to comment through the phone thus creating a powerful interaction between the audience and the radio.As well as, BBC Arabic Radio presents documentary programs, each for a period of 4 minutes, dealing with issues in the news, and reports with special expertise and information. News, features and analysis from the BBC newsroom. "Even now, talking about it, I'm still happy. BBC Arabic. But there is mystery over the identity of her mother, leading to speculation that Cleopatra may have been of mixed heritage. Visit BBC News for up-to-the-minute news, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. "App developers are responsible for policing the user-generated content on their platforms," it said. Apps including 4Sale and Instagram enable employers to sell the sponsorship of their domestic workers to other employers, for a profit. When speaking to the sellers, the undercover team frequently heard racist language. Gadot said: "I have friends from across the globe, whether they're Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course... People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honour this amazing historic icon that I admire so much. He suggested how the BBC team should treat her: "The passport, don't give it to her. One is 24 hours English free to air terrestrial international news channel which is known as BBC world news now, other is 24 hours English cable lifestyle, variety and entertainment channel which is known as BBC Entertainment. One man, a policeman, looking to offload his worker said: "Trust me she's very nice, she laughs and has a smiley face. Controversy erupted in October after Gadot announced that she would star in and co-produce the film. France reverses stance on AstraZeneca vaccine. Fatou had been trafficked from Guinea in West Africa and had been employed as a domestic worker in Kuwait for six months, when the BBC discovered her. Facebook said it had banned the Arabic hashtag "خادمات للتنازل#" - which translates as "#maidsfortransfer". Another: "Nepalese who dares to ask for a day off.". Her seller's sales pitch included the facts that she had given Fatou no time off, her passport and phone had been taken away, and she had not allowed her to leave the house alone - all of which are illegal in Kuwait. VideoPalestinian 'Techno Queen' faces court battle, How rape allegations have rocked Australian politics, 'This is the price we had to pay for freedom', BBC Travel: Ancient baking traditions making a comeback, Back to school with a little bear and his hearing aids. There were hundreds more on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. My life is better now. The 4Sale app allowed you to filter by race, with different price brackets clearly on offer, according to category. Apple said it "strictly prohibited" the promotion of human trafficking and child exploitation in apps made available on its marketplace. BBC Languages - Learn Arabic in your own time and have fun with Languages of the world. He told the BBC team how domestic workers were used as a commodity. Video, Back to school with a little bear and his hearing aids, Angelina Jolie sells Churchill painting for £7m, Hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls freed, US father and son extradited over Ghosn escape, UK cruise ships end up as scrap on Indian beach, The billionaire building 'a British Ferrari', New York governor 'should resign over harassment', Poland activists acquitted over LGBT Virgin Mary. France reverses stance on AstraZeneca vaccine. Two days later she was deported back to Guinea for being a minor. Since the BBC team contacted the apps and tech companies about their findings, 4Sale has removed the domestic worker section of its platform. BBC World News is an international English language pay television network that is operated under the BBC Global News Ltd division of the larger BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It showed her with mixed ethnicity.