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Women being sold like products in Gulf : AP Minister
Women domestic workers from Andhra Pradesh are languishing in jails in Gulf states after attempting to flee abusive employers or overstaying their visas, said a minister from Andhra Pradesh, urging the national government to help them.
Chennai: Women domestic workers from Andhra Pradesh are languishing in jails in Gulf states after attempting to flee abusive employers or overstaying their visas, said a minister from Andhra Pradesh, urging the national government to help them.
In a letter to Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, AP's Minister for Non-Resident Indian Welfare, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, called for action to bring back the women. Women are being sold to the tune of `400,000 in Saudi Arabia and between `1,00,000 - `2,00,000 in Bahrain, he said
In a letter to Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Andhra Pradesh's minister for non-resident Indian welfare, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, called for action to bring back the women.
Women from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana "are being sold like products in a retail shop," Reddy wrote in the letter sent last week. "Women are being sold to the tune of Rs 400,000 in Saudi Arabia and between Rs 100,000 to Rs 200,000 in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait," the minister wrote. He added that at least 25 women jailed in Gulf states have sought the state government's help recently.
"Necessary steps should be initiated to bring them to their native areas safely by providing free travel and necessary visa documents at the earliest possible (opportunity)," he wrote.
Government figures show there are an estimated six million Indian migrants in the six Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman.
These include women who leave their villages to take up jobs overseas paying up to three times more than in India, putting their fate in the hands of recruitment agents, who often dupe them.
Requesting anonymity, a senior official in the Andhra Pradesh government said a group of ministers from the state would travel to the Gulf next month to investigate the plight of migrants from their region.
By:Anuradha Nagaraj
