Indian envoy meets distressed women workers in Oman; assures prompt action for grievances

Dubai: India's Ambassador to Oman, Prashant Pise, met distressed Indian women employed as domestic workers in the Gulf nation and assured them of prompt action to address their grievances, the embassy in Muscat said on Monday.

The embassy's outreach comes amid recurring reports of abuse, exploitation and non-payment of wages involving Indian women domestic workers in Oman and other Gulf countries.

Pise met women domestic workers in distress and "those who have left their employers' households or have been abandoned by their employers" at a shelter run by the mission, the embassy posted on X on Monday.



The embassy said it provides free boarding and lodging facilities to distressed workers and that their grievances and complaints were heard during the interaction with the ambassador.

"Their grievances and complaints were heard, while assuring them prompt action by the Embassy's Community Affairs team to reach an early resolution," it said.

The meeting came against the backdrop of the case of Hyderabad resident Shabnam Begum, who alleged that she was lured to Muscat with the promise of a better-paying domestic job but was instead forced to work 12 to 15 hours a day across multiple households without wages.

She also alleged that she was assaulted, denied adequate food and had her mobile phone confiscated before escaping and taking shelter at the Indian Embassy.

The mission said on Saturday that it had taken cognisance of the matter and was pursuing it at the appropriate levels.

India has labour and manpower cooperation agreements with all of the six Gulf countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - providing a framework for addressing issues relating to the welfare and protection of Indian workers through regular bilateral consultations.

Despite institutional safeguards, migrant domestic workers, predominantly women, continue to face significant human rights challenges as existing agreements do not specifically mention domestic workers, according to a report by the Indian Council of World Affairs.