Saudi Arabian Employer Accused of Chopping Off Indian Maid’s Hand

THE GUARDIAN: Family of domestic worker say she was punished when she tried to escape harassment and torture

An Indian maid has claimed her employer in Saudi Arabia cut off her hand in punishment for poor work, after months of mistreatment in the kingdom.

Kashturi Munirathinam, 55, is being treated in a hospital in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, her family told Indian media.

Munirathinam travelled to Saudi Arabia from her home in a rural district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu three months ago to take up a job as a cleaner in a household in the eastern city of Dammam and then in Riyadh. She was to be paid about £150 a month.

“When she tried to escape harassment and torture, her right hand was chopped off by the woman employer. She fell down and sustained serious spinal injuries,” her sister, S Vijayakumari, told local media. » | Jason Burke in Delhi | Friday, October 9, 2015

Medieval Murder in Modern Times: Woman Faces Death by Beheading in Saudi Arabia for Crime She 'Committed as a Child’
MAIL ON SUNDAY: A young maid is facing death by beheading in Saudi Arabia for a crime she claims she did not commit.

Rizana Nafeek, who alleges she was a teenager at the time of the incident, was arrested in May 2005 on charges of murdering a four-month-old baby who was in her care.

She denies murder and claims she desperately tried to save the child who choked while she was looking after it.

Saudi Arabia have come under fire from Human Rights groups for the handling of her case after it was revealed there had been a mix-up involving the year she was born in.

The authorities have her date of birth as 1982 however her birth certificate states she was born in 1988 - making her 17 at the time of the alleged incident.

If Saudi Arabia went ahead with the execution it would be in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it has ratified.

Human Rights groups claim Rizana had no legal representation before or during her trial.

Sri-Lankan born Nafeek's mother Rafeena said her daughter moved to the country so that she could send money home to help educate her three siblings.

Desperate for work she found a job as a domestic worker but was shocked when she was asked to look after a baby, Naif al-Quthaibi, because she believed she did not have the skills to care for him.

Just weeks into her employment tragedy struck and the infant choked while he was being fed.

Rafeena, who lives in a tiny village, has previously begged King Abdullah to pardon her daughter and asked him to allow her to return home.

If the execution goes ahead the now 23-year-old will dressed in a white robe and be marched into a packed town centre.

She will also be blindfolded, shackled and forced to kneel facing Mecca before she is prodded between the shoulders so her head is raised naturally.

Rizana will then be executed, medieval style, with one sweep of a sharply-bladed sword. Read on and comment » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, June 26, 2011

Saudi Arabian Torment of Migrant Workers at Mercy of Abusive 'Madams'

THE OBSERVER: Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia send £17bn to families back home annually. But for some, the cost in physical and mental abuse is too high, writes Jason Burke

Shortly after dawn, as the sun rises over the hills behind the city, tens of thousands of women will wake in the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah and go to work. Maybe 14 or 16 hours later, their day will be over.

They are maids, almost all from the Philippines or Indonesia, working for £100-£200 a month. There are more than 500,000 of them in Saudi Arabia, among nearly nine million foreign workers who sweep roads, clean offices, staff coffee shops, drive the cars that women are banned from driving and provide the manpower on the vast construction projects.

The story of the maids rarely receives attention, except when a new shocking incident reveals once again the problems many of them face. Last weekend a 54-year-old Indonesian maid was beheaded by sword for killing her female boss with a cleaver. Ruyati binti Sapubi had, an Islamic court heard, endured years of abuse before finally attacking her "madam", as the maids call their employers, when denied permission to return home.

Another Indonesian maid also faces execution for killing her boss whom she alleges tried to rape her. Other recent incidents include a Sri Lankan maid who had nails driven into her legs and arms by her employers, and another who was scalded with a hot iron.

Every year, thousands of the maids run away from their employers in Saudi Arabia.

Often physically or mentally scarred, they find themselves in a legal limbo. In Saudi Arabia, the consent of employers or "sponsors" is needed before any worker can leave the country.

Last week the Observer was able to visit a secret shelter in Jeddah – there are others elsewhere in Saudi Arabia – where 50 women are being looked after by well-wishers. The shelter is tolerated by local authorities, but the women who stay there, often for months on end, are not allowed to leave once they have entered and cannot use mobile phones. Sixteen sleep in a single room. » | Jason Burke | Saturday, June 25, 2011

Maid’s Beheading Could See Ban on Workers in Saudi Arabia, Govt Says
JAKARTA GLOBE: The government is considering a moratorium on sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the execution of Indonesian maid Ruyati Binti Sapubi for murdering her employer.

“It would be better to have a moratorium,” Heru Lelono, a presidential spokesman, said on Monday. “The Saudi court did not inform the Indonesian government about the execution [on Saturday], which shows ill will in regard to the relationship between the two countries.”

He added that it was important for the government to send migrant workers only to countries where their human rights would be respected.

“It’s not inconceivable that the same fate could befall another Indonesian worker,” Heru said.

“The Manpower Ministry must thus set guidelines and tighten the regulations for worker placement agencies. These agencies should not be absolved of all responsibility for the workers after finding them jobs. They should be accountable for any legal problems.”

In another development, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said he had recalled the country’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the case.

“We have recalled our ambassador [Gatot Abdullah Mansyur] for consultation to get a clearer picture of the problem so that we can evaluate it accordingly,” the minister said. » | Camelia Pasandaran, Ismira Lutfia & Ulma Haryanto | Monday, June 20, 2011

Related video »

Islamic Barbarity in Saudi Arabia! Furore over Indonesian's Beheading in Saudi
Indonesia has recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia in response to the execution of an Indonesian maid after being convicted of murdering her Saudi employer.

The incident has sparked protests in Jakarta and calls for an explanation from Riyadh.

In the past 20 years, a total of 303 migrant workers from Indonesia have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia has managed to help only 12 of its citizens escape execution.

Al Jazeera's Syarina Hasi-buan reports from Jakarta.

Saudi Woman Jailed for Abusing Indonesian Maid Sumiati
BBC: A court in the Saudi city of Medina has sentenced a woman to three years in jail for the severe physical abuse of her Indonesian maid.

Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa, 23, was admitted to hospital in November with broken bones and burns to her face and body.

The case received worldwide attention, and prompted the Indonesian president to demand justice for her "torture".

But local media say the alleged abuser maintains she is innocent.

Scissors

The employer was convicted under a new royal decree against human trafficking, al-Watan newspaper reported.

It quoted a lawyer for the Indonesian consulate, Abdulrahman al-Muhamadi, as saying he would appeal against the ruling in order to press for a tougher sentence.

The defendant's lawyer also said she would appeal against the sentence, reported Saudi Gazette.

Ms Sumiati is thought to have arrived in Saudi Arabia last July seeking work.

The woman for whom she found work as a maid was arrested after allegedly beating Ms Sumiati so severely she had broken bones and internal bleeding. She was accused of putting a hot iron to Ms Sumiati's head and stabbing and mutilating her with scissors.

Ms Sumiati appeared in court last week to show the judge her scars. >>> | Monday, January 09, 2011

Saudi Arabia Employers 'Hammer Nails' Into Sri Lankan Maid


Related: here and here

Protect the Human Rights of Migrant Workers in the Middle East

Immigrant Worker Abuse in Middle East Condemned by Human Rights Group
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: International human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has implored Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to make more effort to protect its immigrant workers, after shocking stories emerged about the abuse of three domestic workers.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, HRW said that it had received allegations from a maid in Kuwait whose employer drove nails into her body, a maid in Saudi Arabia who had nails forced into her body, and a maid in Jordan who had been both beaten and forced to swallow nails.

The watchdog said the stories implied a “broader pattern of abuse”, and that the goverments of the three countries needed to create a stronger legal framework to protect their foreign workers.

"The wanton brutality alleged in these cases is shocking, but reports of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and labour exploitation such as non-payment of wages are nothing new,'' said Nisha Varia, a senior women's rights researcher at HRW.

Many domestic workers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait come from Asia, Africa and other countries in the Middle East in the hope of receiving higher salaries. Because employers in Middle East countries often act as workers' "sponsors" however, they exert extreme power over their staff. Employers can prevent workers changing jobs or leaving the country, and often withold salaries for years. >>> Leah Hyslop | Thursday, November 18, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Doctors remove 19 nails from Sri Lankan maid: A Sri Lankan housemaid whose Saudi employer allegedly embedded 24 nails in her body was recovering in hospital on Friday after doctors removed 18 of them during a three-hour surgery. >>> | Friday, August 27, 2010

MIGRANT RIGHTS: Mission statement: Through the power of the web we wish to raise awareness about the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East and encourage social action to end the violations of their human rights and dignity. Unfortunately, very little is done to prevent the modern-day slavery many workers endure in the region. Our job is to change that. >>>

Indonesian Maid Tortured in Saudi Arabia, Another Beaten to Death
MIGRANT RIGHTS: This week, two cases of severe abuse of Indonesian maids by their Saudi sponsors have surfaced, one of them ending in death and the other in serious injuries.

The first case, of 23-year-old Sumiati BT Salan Mustapa was first reported by the Saudi Gazette. This initial report mentioned that Mustapa arrived in Saudi-Arabia in July to work for a family in Madina. On November 6th Mustapa was admitted to a private hospital in Madina injured from head to toe in an unconscious state. The private hospital was unable to treat her serious injuries and she was transferred to the King Fahd hospital. A worker there told the Gazette that Mustapa’s body “was burned on many places, both legs were almost motionless, some parts of her skin on her head were removed and strong marks of old wounds were on her body including skin loss on lips and head, a fractured middle finger and a cut near an eye.” Mustapa also showed signs of malnutrition or excessive blood loss. >>> | Friday, November 19, 2010

Indonesia[n] Maid 'Killed in Saudi Arabia'
BBC: Indonesia has demanded an inquiry into reports that a maid working in Saudi Arabia was killed by her employers and her body dumped in a bin.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said a team had been sent to the Saudi town of Abha to investigate reports of the murder of 36-year-old Kikim Komalasari.

It comes as officials arrived in Saudi to follow up claims of torture against a second Indonesian maid.

Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa is recovering in hospital in Medina.

Her injuries include gashes to her face and cuts to her lips, allegedly inflicted by her employers using scissors. She was also burned with an iron, officials say.

Indonesia's president has demanded justice for the "extraordinary torture".

Indonesian media reported on Thursday that the Saudi Arabian government had arrested the female employer of Sumiati, and apologised for her treatment. >>> | Friday, November 19, 2010

It appears that Saudi Arabia is in urgent need of Christian missionaries! – © Mark

Saudi Arabia Just Cannot Pass Muster When It Comes to Human Rights, Can It?
BBC: The New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch has called on Saudi Arabia to do more to protect Asian domestic workers from mistreatment.

It says some cases amount to slavery, with employers going unpunished for withholding wages, forced confinement, or physical and sexual violence.

HRW says some workers are imprisoned or lashed on spurious charges such as theft, adultery or witchcraft.

Thousands take shelter with the Social Affairs ministry or foreign embassies. Saudis Urged to Curb Maid Abuse >>> | July 8, 2008

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