The Bahraini daily Al-Wasat reported on January 14 about two case of suicide and attempted suicide by maids in Bahrain within less than a week.
In the first case, an Ethiopian maid locked herself in the bathroom at her employer’s home in the village of Aldih. She drank detergent and swallowed pills intended for her employer’s son. Her employer found her in critical condition and she was transported to the hospital where she died two days later on Sunday night.
The second case occured in Karannah. A maid who worked at a house there shut herself in a bathroom and drank a large quantity of detergent. Security forces broke down the door of the bathroom and she was taken to the hospital in critical condition. We are unaware of whether she is alive or not right now. The paper adds that it is unlikely that the maid tried to commit suicide because of ill-treatment because the family is known to treat their workers well.
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January 16, 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MideastYouth, Migrant Rights and Nadine Moawad, Cyrille Lala. Cyrille Lala said: ♻ @MigrantRights: Two Ethiopian Maids Commit Suicide in #Bahrain in Less than a Week http://is.gd/6lETw #MigrantRights via @nmoawad [...]
January 19, 2010
Suicide is really rare and generally unaccepted in Ethiopian culture-the idea is pretty foreign. I doubt that these maids would ever lock themselves in bathrooms and down detergent, ending their young lives if some kind of abusive situation wasn’t happening. I know we shouldn’t jump to conclusions but we should, we must investigate all cases of migrant workers’ suicides and protect their rights. I hope the Bahraini govt. which is according to all accounts, a more responsible one in terms of protecting migrants, will look into this deeply. How sad.
January 20, 2010
Aman,
I know of girls who found out that they were pregnant before marriage and tried to commit suicide by drinking bleach ( as is called BEREKINA in Ethiopia). So the idea of suicide isn’t foreign to Ethiopians.
However, the distress of living in a foreign culture, and possible mistreatment plus the extremely oppressive nature of Islamic society’s ( especially to women) can depress anyone enough to lead them to take their own lives. As is custom or religious-based imposition, these women cannot leave the house as they are mostly unmarried and have no male relatives close by to take them outside to take fresh air.
I don’t wish living there on anyone, especially women of African descent.
January 21, 2010
[...] by migrant workers in Bahrain last week. As we’ve previously reported, in separate incidents Two Ethiopian maids committed suicide that week by drinking [...]
January 23, 2010
This is a case of rape and abuse without question. Saudi Arabs are very well known to rape and abuse their maids. Bahrain Arabs are no different. Police should investigate the family she was staying with. Ethiopian government, if there is any, should request an investigation of this case. I just don’t see why she would commit a suicide in Bahrain when she didn’t even do that while she’s in her poverty stricken country, Ethiopia.
January 26, 2010
[...] The HRW report raises the issues of passport confiscation, abuses of domestic workers and bans on trade unions as key issues in the region. Bahrain and Kuwait have taken steps towards removing the kafala system, which ties the right of a migrant to remain in the country to the permission of his sponsor. However, a disturbing finding is that migrant domestic workers are excluded from the new legislation. This is particularly concerning to M-R.org given the spate of suicides and attempted suicides by distressed maids working in the region in recent months (see here and here) [...]
January 28, 2010
[...] Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2010 was released this month, which strongly condemns the Gulf states for failing to protect the rights of Migrant Workers. The HRW report raises the issues of passport confiscation, abuses of domestic workers and bans on trade unions as key issues in the region. Bahrain and Kuwait have taken steps towards removing the kafala system, which ties the right of a migrant to remain in the country to the permission of his sponsor. However, a disturbing finding is that migrant domestic workers are excluded from the new legislation. This is particularly concerning to Migrant-Rights.org given the spate of suicides and attempted suicides by distressed maids working in the region in recent months (see here and here). [...]
July 18, 2010
First of all I would like to say before I start to comment on this I have seen the suffering of many many maids in bahrain and the the Gulf region. I know a lot of people would not understand why the above girls commuted suicide but I truly know what they go through every single day. I have lived in the middle east for over 10 years and have helped few victims and shared their stories face to face and its not a joke. These girls are from small villages back home and sell everything to come to the middle east in search of a better future but, their hopes and dreams are crushed from the very moment they step inside their employers home. Most of them are abused and raped constantly and often left to work all day and night with a min of 100 dollars or 40 bahrini dinar for 1 month. Most of the time they dont bother to pay them and make them work even in their extended families homes. Ethiopia might be struggling with poverty and many girls leave their home in good faith but again they work hard and are mentaly tortured in the middle east. In Bahrain there is no embassy and unfortunately no one does anything about it….. just another life gone and another one waiting her/his turn of life without humanity and rights.