A Saudi woman has received a death sentence for killing her Bangladeshi domestic worker.  Ayesha al-Jizani was convicted for having killed Abiron Begum in March 2019.

Al Jazeera reports that rights groups say the ruling by a criminal court, where an employer has been found guilty of abusing a migrant worker, was extremely unusual in the Kingdom. Shakirul Islam, the head of the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program, which deals with migrant rights in Bangladesh, said, “I have been working in the migration field for several years and I have never heard of such a verdict.”

Meanwhile, relatives of Begum, who had been 40-years-old at the time, have accused ‘brokers’ of tricking her into accepting the job in Saudi Arabia four years ago to support her elderly parents. They said that only two weeks after having left Bangladesh, Begum would call them and cry, saying she was being tortured. The ‘brokers’ would not return her to her country.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, urged the Saudi government to investigate other cases of abuses and torture regarding domestic workers from Bangladesh. Human Rights Watch reports that the passports of migrant workers are confiscated by their employers, and that their wages are withheld.  Migrant domestic workers are also forced to work against their will. A migrant domestic worker who leaves the place of employment without the consent of the employer can face charges of “absconding”, which could result in having to serve jailtime, and deportation.

According to Al Jazeera, out of 70 Bangladeshi female workers who died in the Kingdom, more than 50 had committed suicide.

Umm Muhammed Umar