Representatives of the Tajik Embassy in Riyadh have provided assistance to Tajik woman Nourbibi Mansourova, who was working in Saudi Arabia in ‘slave-like conditions’. A 50-year-old Nourbibi Mansourova applied to the Tajik authorities last week and she was rescued from physical abuse on October 4.
In her video call, Ms. Mansourova said that she is mother of 15 children and she arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2016 in the hope of better income and economic opportunities through the employment agency Imkon-2015.
Imkon-2015 representatives reportedly promised that she will work as sick-attendant for an old woman for US$600 per month. Besides, she would have had vacation once every three months. Imkon-2015 also promised to send her to Hajj after two years of work. But actually, Ms. Mansourova has reportedly faced exploitation and suffered beating.
Representative of the Tajik Foreign Ministry says that after negotiations with an employer they have come to an agreement to release Ms. Mansourova from her work obligations.
Recall, the Prosecutor-General’s Office note don September 26 that it has instituted criminal proceedings against three local employment agencies – Jamol-2012, Imkon-2015 and Abdulkarim – involved in sending workers to Saudi Arabia, where Tajik labor migrants have faced exploitation.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them under the provisions of Article 130 (1) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – human trafficking.
According to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the mentioned employment agencies have sent several Tajik nationals to Saudi Arabia promising them jobs, but the people they recruited have been involved in forced labor without salaries.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them under the provisions of Article 130 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – trafficking in human being; an investigation is under way.
Saudi Arabia is a relatively new labor migration destination for Tajiks and there are no official estimates about the number of Tajik nationals currently working in the kingdom.
Tajik officials say Tajikistan does not have a bilateral agreement on job quotas with Saudi authorities.
Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries of the Persian Gulf have long been criticized for failing to protect foreign workers' rights amid widespread reports of abuse.
