Over 100 'abused' Bangladeshi maids return from Saudi Arabia

(MENAFN- Asia Times) More than 100 Bangladeshi domestic workers who were victims of beatings and sexual abuse have returned home from Saudi Arabia.

The domestic workers, who went to Saudi Arabia to work and support their families at home, said they were sexually abused and tortured by their employers. Some say they were raped and forced into the sex trade, Carbonated.TV reported.

One domestic worker identified as Robina, 21, who worked in Saudi Arabia for six months, said her employer sexually abused her on several occasions. Robina said her employer would beat her if she resisted him.

Shariful Hasan, a member of BRAC, a non-government organization that helps abused Bangladeshi workers, said most of the maids who returned were abused.

'Almost all of them were subjected to abuse – albeit sexual, physical and non-payment of wages,' Hasan said. "Saudi people know if they torture a Bangladeshi girl nothing will happen,' he was quoted as saying.

There have been many reports of foreign maids being abused and mistreated by their employers in Saudi Arabia.

The Bangladeshi embassy and local NGOs had been helping the victims for months but managed to get over 100 sent home earlier this week.

In March 2017, around 300 Indonesians seeking work in Saudi Arabia were locked up in a temporary shelter by a recruitment company in Riyadh. It was reported that they were abused and became victims of human trafficking, The Jakarta Post reported.

Some of the victims were reportedly killed and their bodies were thrown away. Local police were investigating the matter, but it is not known if charges ended up being laid.

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