Noorjahan, 38, a resident of Shahpur, and her husband, Harshad, collected Rs 2.5 lakh to go to Saudi Arabia and live their 'gulf dream'. They sold their auto-rickshaw and the air-conditioner Noorjahan used at her beauty parlour, to collect the money.
Women Salve
service') with the master. Later, her husband was forced to borrow Rs 2.5 lakh in Saudi Riyals to secure her release from jail. Fourteen months after their arrival, he put her on a plane back to India but had to stay back himself to repay the loan he had taken.
Noorjahan recalls the day when she and her husband approached Nisar, a Mumbai-based immigration agent. The couple were promised jobs as beautician and driver respectively for a salary of Saudi Riyal 2500 (approximately Rs 44,700) each.
"It came as a shock as we were promised that we will stay together. I was sent to Zara, a local 'madam' running a beauty parlour. When my iqama (work permit) arrived after three months, it held another shocker — I was listed as a maid!" said Noorjahan.
She was told by Indian and Filipino women staying with her that the 'home service' she was supposed to do included sexual favours. It was only her marital status and repeated excuses of ill health that kept her from being sexually exploited.
"In March 2016, a girl from Hyderabad tried to cut her wrist to kill herself after repeated atrocities," recalled Noorjahan. "Humiliation was part of the job as we were treated like animals. I was beaten or dragged by the hair for making even a small protest."
She said she still has bruise marks on her forehead and elbow as souvenirs of those days.
"The girl's suicide attempt was reported as an act to portray Saudis in poor light. It resulted in a jail term for the three of us — from April to October last year," she said
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