A 29-year-old woman from Hyderabad, who went to Muscat, Oman in search of livelihood, faced sexual assault by Kafil’s brother and is now struggling to return to India.
Seeking help from the Indian government, her mother wrote a letter to Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
How did Hyderabad woman land in Oman?
Before leaving Hyderabad, the woman worked as a helper in a hospital in the city.
According to the letter written by the woman’s mother, an agent named Shoukat approached her with a job offer in Muscat, Oman.
After accepting the job offer, the Hyderabad woman went to Oman on January 30, 2023, on a visit visa. Upon reaching Oman, she was received by a person named Naser.
In Oman, she was kept in a manpower consultancy office for one week before being shifted to a house where she was asked to work as a housemaid.
Sexually assaulted by Kafil’s brother
During her six months of service as a housemaid, she was not only tortured, and deprived of proper food and accommodation but also sometimes sexually assaulted by Kafil’s (employer) brother.
As she wanted to return to India, Kafil handed her over to Naser, who kept her in the office.
Soon, the Hyderabad woman ran away from the office and approached the Indian Embassy in Muscat, Oman.
For the past two months, she has been sitting on the road outside the Indian Embassy office in Muscat and surviving on food that is being supplied to her.
In the letter, her mother urged Jaishankar to ask the Indian Embassy in Muscat to rescue the woman.
In the past week, two similar cases involving Hyderabad women who went to Oman to work as housemaids and later became stranded in the Middle East country came to light.