Muscat: The near-solitary confinement of an Indian housemaid, Sajitha Suresh Babu, has once again highlighted the mental and physical torture that domestic servants can be subjected to in Oman.
And the rate of abuse does not appear to have dropped, even though the government here has indicated it is keen to end any human rights violations.
About 36,000 Indian housemaids are currently employed in Oman.
Indian Ambassador to Oman, Anil Wadhwa said the consulate received about 700 new housemaid contracts for registration every month.
Indian Social Club Community Welfare secretary P.M. Jabir told Gulf News that the physical or mental torture of housemaids was not new in Oman.
"It continues despite recent stringent legal deterrents introduced by the government here," Jabir said.
Wadhwa, agreed, saying the consulate had been receiving complaints of physical abuse of Indian domestic servants in Oman, as well as non-payment of salaries.
"Recently we had a case where the employer poured burning oil on his Indian housemaid," Wadhwa said.
He said the maid's sponsor threw boiling oil at her. Luckily the maid was able to turn around in time — however her back was still badly burnt, he said.
"Her face could have been burnt if she had not taken evasive action," Wadhwa said.
Wadhwa said the consulate received an average of between 15 and 20 complaints from housemaids every month.
"We try to resolve the matter between the sponsor and housemaid at our level before taking it to the local authorities," he said.
Wadhwa also said that there were currently 22 housemaids in the consulate's care.
"We take care of them until the dispute with the sponsor is resolved and then help them return home by giving them a ticket as well as some pocket money," he said.
Minimum wage
In June 2008, the Indian mission introduced a contract between domestic staff and their employers under which a minimum monthly wage of 75 Omani riyals (Dh715) was agreed upon.
It was also mandatory for the sponsor to provide a mobile phone to the domestic help so that the mission and her relatives can contact her.
"In most cases these contracts are not followed and the maids have no access to mobile phones or no balance to make a call," Wadhwa said.
The family of Indian housemaid Sajitha Suresh Babu, the mother of two, said they had not heard from her, or been able to contact her, for some time.
"Whenever we call, her sponsor's family says that she is not here in Oman," Sajitha's worried brother Rajeev Soman, told Gulf News over the phone from Saudi Arabia.
Rajeev said in the past three months he had spent a large proportion of his meagre cleaner's salary trying to get his sister out of Oman.
"She paid 40,000 Indian rupees [Dh3,117) to come here now she is not being paid her full salary also," he said.
"We are all worried and want her out," Rajeev said.
The Indian ambassador said that Sajitha's sponsor, who is a police officer in Oman's northern region, had spoken to the embassy staff once after they had taken up her case.
No direct contact
Wadhwa said: "He only said that the maid was all right and we need not worry but we haven't had direct contact with her".
As they have not been able to directly speak to Sajitha, the embassy said it was about to approach the Human Rights Commission to resolve the dispute and help send Sajitha back home to her ailing husband and two children.
Jabir said he believed the longer it took for the Human Rights commission in Oman to solve such a case, the longer the housemaid would suffer.
Jabir said: "I am willing to take up the task of approaching the commission if given some authority to do so by the embassy".
Jabir said he received about five requests a day for help from housemaids or their relatives but most were solved by talking through lawyers or the maid's embassy.
However he said: "At least six to seven cases a month involve serious abuses and denial of rights".
Authorities in Oman have said they are keen to end human exploitation and have set up a Human Rights Commission to address human rights violations.
Nevertheless, domestic servants struggle to be heard if employers isolate and confine them, overwork and sometimes even starve them.
