Kumbakonam woman rescued from Kuwait reaches city, cautions against agents

CHENNAI: A 35-year-old Kumbakonam woman was rescued after enduring torture for nearly 10 months in Kuwait and landed in Chennai on Monday morning.

Prema of Cholapuram, near Kumbakonam, is a widow with two daughters. Through agents from Kallakurichi, she had gone to Kuwait for domestic work about 10 months ago. She was harassed by agents in Kuwait who made her work for over 20 hours a day without the salary she was promised. Prema said that she was promised 120 Kuwaiti dinars per month but was never paid the agreed amount.

She had worked in two or three houses in Kuwait. When she requested to be sent back home, the agents demanded Rs 2 lakh. She further claimed that she was threatened that she would not be sent back to India unless she paid the money. The agents locked her inside a separate room and denied her proper food and drinking water.

Unable to bear the situation, Prema recorded a video explaining her condition and shared it on social media seeking help. Following this, the Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers Welfare Trust, a voluntary organisation, intervened and took steps to rescue her.

Prema was brought to Oman and landed at the Chennai airport on Monday. Organisation members received her and arranged for her to reach home.

"I worked in two or three houses in Kuwait. I was badly treated. I was kept locked inside a separate room at the agent's office for two months. They also did not provide me with proper food," she told reporters at the airport.

She said four other women from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, who had also gone to Kuwait for domestic work, faced similar problems. "We informed the police in Kuwait about our situation, but no action was taken.

People should be careful and should not go abroad for domestic work trusting such agents. No one should face the kind of problems I went through. Strict action should be taken against agents who cheat and exploit workers," she said.