THOOTHUKUDI:A 40-year-old woman, who had gone to Saudi Arabia to work as a domestic hand but suffered harassment at the hands of a Saudi family, returned to Thoothukudi, on Sunday.
The woman, Tamilselvi, from Mettupatti in Thoothukudi, had a happy reunion with her family members. Later, she was taken to a nearby church and a special prayer was offered.
Tamilselvi met the media persons and claimed that while she was working at a private fishing company at Thoothukudi she came into contact with one Pattukani,. Through Pattukani another woman Selvakani came into contact and had promised Selvakani her to get a good job in Malaysia as a lot of Tamils were residing there.
Initial salary of Rs 20,000 and a regular hike based on her performance was promised. She also gave Rs 40,000 as broker charge to Selvakani but they sent her to Saudi Arabia instead of Malaysia. Right from the moment she landed at Saudi Arabia she was subjected to harassment by the family of a ‘Sheikh’.
The ‘Sheikh’ had four wives and 13 children and she was made to work for 20 hours per day. But only one meal was provided for her per day; because of this, her health condition deteriorated. “Even the children of the Sheik would harass her while playing by throwing large sized toys on her; if lunch was delayed, the children would throw the food at me”, said Tamil Selvi.
She also claimed that within two months she had frequent nasal bleeding and her health worsened thereafter. The women in the house allowed her to call her family once a week and she had utilized the opportunity to inform her health condition to her family.
She waited for help from the government but no help was reaching her. Unable to bear further harassment, she tried unsuccesfully to commit suicideand later was hospitalisd. Only then her condition came to the knowledge of Indian authorities in Saudi, and her trip back to India was arranged, claimed Tamilselvi.
She further claimed that there were large number of women like her in Saudi Arabia and referred to a woman named Muthulakshmi from Thanjavur who was toiling in the clutches of another family like she did. She had requested the Indian government to rescue such and she had wished that no women should experience the horror as she had to.