Fatema Begum (20), left for Saudi Arabia for better income and a secure future on 17 July, 2017. She left Jessore in 2013 to take the responsibiity of her family. She came to Gazipur and join a garment factory. “I am the sole breadwinner of my family, I have to ensure food for four persons”, said Fatema Begum (not her real name). To escape from the poverty and repay the loans of her family, she decided to go Saudi Arabia as domestic help.

Her dream of better livelihood and secure future faded away when only after few hours of her reaching to Saudi Arabia, her employer tried to rape her. She somehow managed to run into the bathroom and locked herself there till the morning breakout. But this was not the end. The same happened in the next night and she again locked herself in the bathroom. Next day she denied to do the household chores and requested the Arab man (the employer) to send her back home. They took her to the local office reported as ‘maqtab’ which deals with the management of domestic helps coming from overseas and from there she was transfered to another Arab house.[1] She was again starved and locked up for several days in the new house. She also met two other Bangladeshi girls there whose fate was no different. The employers were abusive and used to torture the girls on regular basis. However, Fatema Begum did not lose hope and was fortunate enough to contact one of her cousins in Jessore over phone. He then informed Abdur Rahman, a human rights activist, member of local Human Rights Defender Forum (HRDF) of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). ASK then started to look into the matter seriously and attempted to make contact with Fatema Begum. Through video calls Fatema Begum stated her miserable conditions to the ASK authority. ASK then contacted the relevant Ministry (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and The Embassy of Bangladesh in Saudi Arabia requesting them to rescue Fatema and other girls. Meanwhile, they were taken to that local office formerly reported as ‘maqtab’ as being informed by the attempts taken for the returns of the Bangladeshi girls and the staffs of the ‘maqtab’ forced them to testify in written that they are returning to Bangladesh by their own wish and they had no complain against the employers.[2]

Finally, Fatema and another Bangladeshi girl could manage to return Bangladesh at 12 August, 2017 after ASK’s intervention and coopertaion of relevant authorities. Fatema urges she don’t want any other girl to go through the same she had to. She demands the punishment and compensation of the perpetrators.

[1] ‘maqtab’: As reported by the victim maqtab is a office dealing with the management of domestic helps coming from overseas

[2] ibid