Domestic Worker Suffers Brutal Torture At Work In Abu Dhabi

When you’re in a financial crunch, you are willing to go across shores in search of greener pastures. And for Indian women, they often end up working as domestic workers in the Gulf. With the conversation rate of the monies, it’s often lucrative for these women to sign up as a domestic worker, employed by a family in UAE, Muscat or Saudi or one of the countries in the Middle East. But little do we know about the kind of torture these women have to go through. For instance, this woman was taken to Abu Dhabi as a domestic worker but she was severely beaten during her time there. In fact, her condition was so bad that when she returned home, she was immediately hospitalized.

A 55-year-old woman, Lizzie, was taken to Abu Dhabi two years back for babysitting and to work as a domestic worker. But the woman then complained of getting brutally beaten up and facing torture by her employers during the time of her work.

Lizzie is a resident of Edakad. She revealed the truth about her harassment and torture when she returned back to Kerala, India. Her condition was so bad that upon arrival, her family immediately took her to Piravom Taluk Hospital and then later shifted her to Kolencherry Medical College Hospital. During her check-up, the doctors saw her entire body covered in scars of burns and bruises.

The brutality of torture does not end there. The doctors also found some signs of head injury. When speaking to Lizzie’s family, they reported that she had returned in a physically weak condition in contrast to the time when she was healthy and fit when she had gone there. The family also stated that they had filed a complaint with the women’s commission regarding Lizzie’s case and condition.

Lizzie, who was previously working in Anganwadi and has three children, decided to go to Abu Dhabi, UAE due to her family’s financial conditions. Regarding her condition, Lizzie spoke about how she was promised Rs. 20,000/per month and the physical torture towards her started a year after she started working there as a domestic worker. When Piravom police registered a case, Lizzie opened up about how she was not allowed to contact her family and nor was she paid her salary on time.

It hurts me to see how desperate financial situations can make a woman. That she is ready to face torture and physical abuse for a sum of money. Treating domestic workers as if they aren’t human is something that happens all around the world. We need to realize that our domestic workers are as human as we are. And just because they work for us does not mean that we can treat them in any way that is convenient to us. They deserve as much respect as any other person.