Source: Migrants – Rights

The New Nation, a Bangladeshi papers, recently published a story about the conditions of Nepalese housemaids in the Gulf. The article features the stories of two women who worked in Saudi Arabia as maids. Because of reports of inhuman treatment of maids in the Gulf, in 1998 the Nepalese government imposed restrictions on women applying to work in the Gulf. And recently the government totally banned Nepalese women from working as housemaids in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Ramita Tamang, 31, worked as a maid in Jeddah City through grueling 20-hour work days. Tamang, who was in a dire financial state after she had used all her money trying to save her husband who was diagnosed with a fatal illness, decided to work abroad to earn for the education of her young children. Because of the restrictions by the government, Tamang turned to agents from outside the country to get into Saudi Arabia. The people bringing her to the kingdom had done so illegally, and when Tamang was discovered without the proper documents in Saudi Arabia, she was jailed for 22 days and then deported.