Foreign maids in Oman face abuse nearing slavery
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DUBAI- A leading international rights group on Wednesday said that foreigners employed as maids in Oman can face physical and verbal abuse while working entrapped in conditions that near slavery.
Human Rights Watch, in a new report, blames in part Oman's system of tying workers' visas to their employers, as well as police failing to enforce laws and returning runaway maids to abusive homes. The report alleges Oman's neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, acts as a gateway for maids to be trafficked into the sultanate, as Emirati employment agencies along the border put women on display "like window shopping."
"Many find themselves trapped with abusive employers and forced to work in exploitative conditions, their plight hidden behind closed doors," the HRW report said. "It is clear that abuses are widespread and that they are generally carried out with impunity."
