Developing story: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed dead in chopper crash
MPs call for halt of workers’ exodus to Saudi until their safety is assured
Kenya Women Parliament Association led by Gathoni Wamuchuomba (second right) during a press briefing at Parliament Buildings to condemn the abuse of Kenyan women in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
Women parliamentarians want the government to stop Kenyan workers from travelling to the Middle East.
“We are pleading with government authorities to ban the deployment of Kenyan domestic workers to the Middle East until protection measures are taken. Kenyan workers do not deserve the kind of cruelty they have been subjected to,” Gathoni Wamuchomba, the chairperson of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa), who is also the Member of Parliament for Githunguri, told a press briefing on Tuesday at Parliament Buildings.
The MPs said they were concerned about recent reports of sexual violence, and physical and mental abuse of migrant workers in the Middle East.
“The government should regulate the agencies taking our girls, sisters and mothers to the Middle East. There is a need for an intensive multi-sectoral engagement with the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Immigration, and Labour and Social Protection to substantially work on a long-term solution,” they said.
They at the same time asked the Ministry of Labour to provide them with a list of the agencies and number of Kenyans working in the Gulf to enable them to understand the agreement between the ministry and the agencies.
“We are demanding a statement from the ministries of Labour, Interior and Immigration how many of our girls are working in Saudi Arabia and other Asian countries and the status of their safety,” Ms Wamuchomba said.
Nominated Senator Veronica Maina, who is also the UDA secretary-general, urged Kenyan workers to wait until there is an agreement between the two governments.
“We empathise with the families that have lost their loved ones in the Gulf, specifically Saudi Arabia. In this day and age, a working relationship should not turn into abuse of an individual’s human rights. These girls are human beings and have rights. Most workers are neither allowed to seek medical attention nor leave the country since their passports have been confiscated by the so-called agency officials,” said Ms Maina.
Breastfeeding puppies
The MPs’ statement comes just days after Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary-General Francis Atwoli urged the government to ban all employment agencies brokering job opportunities in Middle East countries.
Mr Atwoli made the remarks after receiving a video of a Kenyan woman breastfeeding puppies in Saudi Arabia.
"I want to appeal to our government to go the way of the first government of President Mwai Kibaki under Phyllis Kandie as the minister of Labour. She banned all employment agencies in Kenya," he said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 89 Kenyans have died in Saudi Arabia in the past two years.
