An Indian woman, originally from Hyderabad, has finally returned safely to her loved ones in India after five months after suffering physical abuse and anguish in Oman, where she had gone to on the promise of a job.
Kulsum Banu came back to India earlier this week after the Indian Embassy in Muscat stepped in and secured her release.
It all began when Kulsum who was searching for a job was approached by a local agent with a lucrative offer of a high paying job in Muscat.
According to Kulsum, the agent, identified as Abrar had offered her job as a beautician in Muscat and promised a monthly salary of Rs 30,000. After completing all the formalities, Kulsum left for Muscat on December 17, 2018.
But after reaching there, to her shock Kulsum realized that there was no beautician as promised and was made to work as a maid at a house. She also alleged that the agent who took her there locked her up in a room for ten days without food and beat her up after she refused to work.
The Indian mission in Muscat intervened after Kulsum’s daughter wrote to External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj describing her ordeal.
On the instructions of Swaraj, Kulsum was given shelter at the Indian Embassy for four months and paid a fine, equivalent to a sum of five thousand Riyal which was imposed on her.
“I reached Hyderabad on May 8 with the help of EAM Sushma Swaraj and Indian Embassy in Oman. I would like to thank Sushma Swaraj and Indian Embassy,” she said while speaking to ANI.
Kulsum is one of the thousands of Indians who get trafficked to countries in the middle east every year on the promise of high paying jobs. Most of these victims come from poor backgrounds and would be in desperate need of money, a vulnerability that the traffickers exploit with lucrative offers.
But only after reaching there they will get to know that they have been duped and often end up working in slave-like conditions, with payments far lesser than promised. Some also end up in jails for forged documents and overstaying their visa.
