The Daily Star
A 31-year-old Bangladeshi woman, who returned to the country from Saudi Arabia recently, made allegations of being repeatedly raped and physically abused in the Gulf country after being lured there with the promise of a domestic worker job.
The woman is currently undergoing treatment at the One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Dr Monika Khondokar of DMCH’s OCC said the victim was initially admitted to the hospital’s gynaecology department on Sunday and was transferred to the OCC yesterday following her rape allegations.
“Until yesterday, she was experiencing shortness of breath, but her condition is somewhat stable now. There are injury marks on her body. We can confirm the rape allegations once we receive the forensic results,” the doctor said.
According to the victim’s BMET Emigration Clearance card obtained by this newspaper, she received immigration clearance on March 9 this year.
Narrating her ordeal in a video message provided to the OCC and police, the woman said she returned to Bangladesh on April 22.
She accused Md Badruzzaman, managing director of Soar Travels Limited in Dhaka’s Motijheel, of sending her to the KSA under the false pretext of a domestic help visa.
“I was not given any household work there. I was kept locked in a room, where five to seven men would physically torture and rape me every day,” she was heard as saying.
The victim also said her husband travelled there to rescue her and bring her back, but further details of the rescue were not available.
The victim’s husband said she landed in KSA on March 12. Although she was sent there on the promise of domestic work, she was initially forced to herd goats in the desert.
Unable to bear the extreme heat, she had informed him of her ordeal, prompting him to contact the travel agency.
About 10-12 days later, she was relocated to a house. However, instead of being assigned household chores, she was brutally tortured and raped there, she alleged.
After she informed him about the abuse, the husband approached the agency again, demanding her immediate return to Bangladesh.
“The agency initially demanded Tk 1 lakh for her return ticket. After much bargaining, they agreed to Tk 53,000. My wife finally returned on April 22,” he said, adding that they would file a case soon after consulting with police and lawyers.
Despite multiple attempts, Badruzzaman could be reached over the phone for comment.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/i-was-locked-and-raped-days-4162301
