India protests barbaric treatment of Indian maid in Saudi Arabia

India has lodged a strong protest against the barbaric treatment meted out to an Indian maid by her Saudi employer. “This is unacceptable. We are very disturbed over the brutal manner in which the Indian lady has been treated in Saudi Arabia,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

The Indian woman, whose hand was chopped by her Saudi employer, tried to escape from the house she was working in due to torture and starvation by her employer, according to her family members.

Over the years India has been taking up the issue of ill-treatment of its citizens who are employed in the Gulf country. Saudi Arabia is home to a 2.5 million strong Indian diaspora. Most of the Indians employed in Saudi Arabia work in blue collar jobs.

Indians living in Saudi Arabia are also among one of the largest contributors to remittances in India. The Indian government is expected to bring back the woman from Riyadh where she is recovering in the hospital. There have been grim reports on the state of Indians working in Saudi Arabia which have brought out the suffering and vulnerabilities faced by Indians there.

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