Indian Ambassador meets distressed women workers in Oman

Two women from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are among more than 100 distressed Indian domestic workers stranded in Oman after allegedly being trafficked through fraudulent job offers. India's Ambassador Prashant Pise met them and assured them that their grievances would be addressed promptly.

Dubai: Shabnam Begum and Kola Gangojamma heaved a sigh of relief after meeting India’s top diplomat in Oman.

The two women, aged around 26 and 32, hail from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh respectively and are among more than 100 distressed Indian women domestic workers who have been stranded in Oman for some time.

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Shabnam, a resident of Pahadi Sharif in Hyderabad, and Gangojamma, a resident of Kadiri in Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh, were allegedly lured by fraudulent agents in India with promises of better opportunities in the Gulf, only to face a nightmare.

Like the other women, they are hopeful of returning home after meeting the Ambassador. However, they are uncertain about when they will be able to board a flight home.

Despite repeated warnings from Indian officials, women from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continue to be trafficked to Oman on the pretext of domestic helper jobs. The distressed women escape from the clutches of their recruiters and employers and reach a women’s shelter run by the Indian Embassy in Muscat.

Repatriating them involves complex procedures that take time. Meanwhile, the stranded women and their families back home are pleading for their immediate return. Ambassador Prashant Pise met the distressed women and assured them that their complaints would be addressed quickly, the Indian Embassy in Muscat said on Monday.

The outreach comes amid repeated reports of abuse, exploitation and non-payment of wages involving Indian women domestic workers in Oman and other Gulf countries. The embassy said Pise met the women at a shelter run by the mission, where free boarding and lodging are provided to workers in distress.

In a post on X, the embassy said the Ambassador met women domestic workers in distress and “those who have left their employers’ households or have been abandoned by their employers”. It said their grievances and complaints were heard during the interaction.

It is worth noting that before his posting as Ambassador to Oman, Pise was handling emigration and welfare matters in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.