Nour in Saudi Arabia

Nour migrated from Indonesia to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in search for work.

“Everyday the wife of my employer beat me. She beat my head so I would cover it with my hands. They became swollen so she made me wash my hands with one whole cup of bleach. I felt very hurt and had a lot of pain. She also used to hit my foot with her sharp high heels. Everyday she did this until my foot was injured. When I told the husband about his wife’s behaviour, he also beat me.

"I never got enough food. I woke up every day at 4am and made breakfast for the children. I worked all day without rest. I went to sleep at 3am. So many times I didn’t get a chance to sleep. I worked around the clock. After one year, they still had not paid my salary.

"My employer was a policeman. He held my passport. I never got a chance to leave the house. They locked me in from the outside. When I had stayed there for one year, I got a chance to escape and I ran out. My condition was bad - my left eye couldn’t see and I was swollen all over. I got a taxi that took me to a police officer but my  employer came to the station and took me back. I refused saying, 'My employer is a bad person.' But my employer said, 'You haven’t finished your contract yet, it should be two years.'

"When I reached the house, they beat me again. They beat my mouth and one tooth fell out. After that they locked all the doors. Only the bathroom door was unlocked. I was never allowed to go out, not event to throw out the rubbish. They didn’t let me use the telephone. The situation got very bad. In the last month I slept in the bathroom. They put tape on my mouth so I couldn’t say anything because my employers didn’t want the neighbours to know about me.

"I couldn’t escape but I asked my employer to take me to the hospital because of my condition. First I had to promise not to tell about their behaviour towards me. They forced me to stay silent. But a doctor identified the abuse and notified the authorities."

Nour then underwent intensive medical treatment over several months, including amputation of her fingers due to gangrene. The criminal proceedings of her case have stretched over three years while Nour has waited in the overcrowded Indonesian embassy shelter for its resolution. A Riyadh court initially convicted Nour of making false allegations, sentencing her to 79 lashes, but later overturned this decision. The court dropped charges against her male employer. It sentenced her female employer to 35 lashes for committing abuse, but a judge later dropped the charges against her as well. That judge still awarded Nour 2,5000 riyals (US$668) in compensation, a small fraction of the amounts typically awarded for the types of injuries sustained. The Indonesian embassy plans to appeal the latest judgement.

“I just worry I cannot work because of my hands. I don’t know about the future.”

Taken from As if I am not human: Abuses against domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, Nisha Varia, Human Rights Watch, 2008.