Indian Woman mutilated by Saudi employer. Slavery in the Islamic world.

[Kraut and Tea]

Kasturi Munirathinam's right arm was chopped off, allegedly by her employer, when she tried to escape from their house last week, reports say.

Ms Munirathinam was working as a domestic help. She is recovering in hospital.
Her family has alleged that she was being tortured by her Saudi employers.
Saudi authorities have not commented on the incident yet.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34483504

In recent years I have noticed more and more of these stories finaly geting the global media attention that they diserved. If you remember, there was extensive covery in the past few years over similar cases. When a Kenyan man was beheaded and cruxified for "witchcraft" and when an Indonesian maid was executed on obviously trumped up murder charges. It could be because the media is finaly starting to get interested in the human rights abuses in that part of the world or because the slaves building for the 2022 world cup brought international attention on the issues. Fact is that this has been an issue for a long time that has simply been ignored.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar abolished slavery in 1979. Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates abolished slavery in 1979. Sudan abolished slavery in 2007, but due to protests from their conservative islamic populations they replaced it with the Kafalar system. That system is essentialy slavery under a different name. It could be safe to say that it is a simple rebranding of slavery rather than abolishing slavery. Human trafficing, exploitation of laborers, slavery and forced prostetution continue in these countries.

http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/resear...lavery/fmd.pdf

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistoria...k_like_in_the/

http://www.crs.org/stories/sri-lankas-abused-maids

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2008/105389.htm


I hope the media keeps covering these stories. And I hope that the nations from which these people are trafficed like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Etheopia and Kenya will grow more confident in challenging Saudi Arabia.

[Exarch]

what in the ing ?!!!!

[paleologos]

The story isn't news for me.
Any society that oppresses women will eventually oppress everyone.
And any society that suffers oppression at the hands of their ruling elites will end up transferring that oppression to their weaker members.
Oppression trickles down much easier than wealth.

...
And I hope that the nations from which these people are trafficed like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Etheopia and Kenya will grow more confident in challenging Saudi Arabia.

The only thing that can challenge a culture of oppression is an embargo of the kind that was sanctioned against apartheid South Africa.
Quite frankly, if India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Etheopia and Kenya decide to stop buying Saudi oil, do you really think the Saudis will not find someone else to sell to?
This is not a problem to be solved by India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Etheopia and Kenya.
It is a problem for the UN.

[Mithradates]

Saudi savages...

[Condottiere 40K]

The Indian government is formally ticked off.

[alhoon]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34483504


The gist: India's foreign ministry has complained to the Saudi Arabian authorities following an alleged "brutal" attack on a 58-year-old Indian woman in Riyadh.
Kasturi Munirathinam's right arm was chopped off, allegedly by her employer, when she tried to escape from their house last week, reports say.

There's also the report of the victim's family:

"Ever since she went to work with this family in July, things were not alright. My mother was not even allowed to speak to us over the phone, she was not given proper food and was forced to work long hours," her son S Kumar told BBC Hindi.
"When she tried to escape the harassment and torture, her right arm was chopped off by the woman employer. Now my sister can't even sit and do simple things on her own, as her spinal cord has also been injured," her sister S Vijayakumari added.


And then, the article includes links over the illustrated story of another abused Ethiopian maid.



Saudis are treating hired help as slaves. They may be paying them, but they seem to consider them property. Even if you're paid property instead of a person, you're still a slave.
Saudi Arabia has a very bad record in human rights and stories like those above show why.

[Kraut and Tea]

There is already a thread on this:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Islamic-world


A repugnant and disgusting crime. But I am happy the media is reporting this because slavery, workers abuses and other such repugnant crimes are widespread throughout the islamic world but nobody ever really confronted them over it until recently.

[alhoon]

I believe something MUST be done. Sanctions are a good motivation...

[Henry of Grosmont]

I believe something MUST be done. Sanctions are a good motivation...

Now back to the real world. This is going on for many years. Millions of people have suffered and still are. Bit it isn't just Saudi Arabia and "Islamic World" (whatever that is). Africa, India, China, etc. If you think that the cast system in India is a relic of the past and there are no work-slaves in China and South-East Asia, think twice.

[Heathen Hammer]

Apparently Saudi "king" is hospitalized due to dementia. Looks like days of House of Saud are numbered and when the old fart dies there will be a conflict over who gets to rule in his place. Perhaps it would be a good time to topple the regime?

[ShADoW]

I hope the media keeps covering these stories. And I hope that the nations from which these people are trafficed like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Etheopia and Kenya will grow more confident in challenging Saudi Arabia.

Countries of the sub-continent rely on the Gulf countries for the labour jobs that they provide, which are mostly taken up by people who are extremely poor, live in poverty or in the villages. It is sometimes their only source of income and prospect of a job, in which all their earnings are mainly sent back to support their families.
India is a rising force and probably now have the mettle and the means to challenge these discrimination, but probably not countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh etc because they will be replied with a visa ban, and leave thousands of workers unemployed (some Gulf countries have already banned workers from BD or are taking less of them in due to some of them getting violent with their Arab employers over poor working conditions and bad treatment)

[Condottiere 40K]

Lots of poor Asians have little choice, and you'd think that a religion of peace would empathize all human rights.

[Akrotatos]

Apparently Saudi "king" is hospitalized due to dementia. Looks like days of House of Saud are numbered and when the old fart dies there will be a conflict over who gets to rule in his place. Perhaps it would be a good time to topple the regime?

Only if you want to pay 5 euros per liter gas.

[Vítor Gaspar]

Apparently Saudi "king" is hospitalized due to dementia. Looks like days of House of Saud are numbered and when the old fart dies there will be a conflict over who gets to rule in his place. Perhaps it would be a good time to topple the regime?

For all I care, there could by a civil war in Saudi Arabia and I would sleep well at night - if only we could get all the women and children away from that decadent country.

In fact, that may be the solution for the Middle East. I wouldn't even sweat at that thought provided we've moved over oil by then.

[Winston Smith]

Saudi Arabia never fails to disapoint.

[Odenat]

I'm totally confused about the OP. So, you give as example Saudi Arabian Law and ask about slavery in the Islamic world? I'm a Muslim living in a Muslim country and there's no slavery here. Just as there's nothing similar to slavery at countless other Muslim countries. This anti-islam rhetoric start to make me sick.

By the way, what would be your attitude if i make a thread about the rape laws of Mexico and say that Christianity supports rape? Or about the abortion laws of Ireland and how uncivilised Christians are?

[Admiral Piett]

I'm totally confused about the OP. So, you give as example Saudi Arabian Law and ask about slavery in the Islamic world? I'm a Muslim living in a Muslim country and there's no slavery here. Just as there's nothing similar to slavery at countless other Muslim countries. This anti-islam rhetoric start to make me sick.

By the way, what would be your attitude if i make a thread about the rape laws of Mexico and say that Christianity supports rape? Or about the abortion laws of Ireland and how uncivilised Christians are?

You are Turkish correct? You have the benefit of living in a nation secularized by an intellectual founding father modeled partially off of western notions of civil rights. (Except for certain ethnic groups) Kemal pushed out many barbaric Islamic laws that were norm prior to the Turkish revolution.

The same thing occurred in the US with Europe following some decades later. Leaders sought to enforce secular law and throw out religious law from the judicial system. Slavery continued in colonies of the great powers and in the Americas partially at the justification of Christian doctrine. Ireland has pushed against the Catholic church so much that it has one of the fastest growing agnostic or atheist population. The trouble with many countries in in the Islamic world is they have not adopted a system of laws separate from Islamic laws and continue to enforce traditional Arabic cultural practices from the medieval era. Saudi Arabia was one of the very last large nations to abolish slavery, but it's evident that is not enforced.

[The Despondent Mind]

I kind of wish India and S. Arabia went to war, I would find it really amusing, backward bigots vs slightly less backward bigots.

[Blaze86420]

You are Turkish correct? You have the benefit of living in a nation secularized by an intellectual founding father modeled partially off of western notions of civil rights. (Except for certain ethnic groups) Kemal pushed out many barbaric Islamic laws that were norm prior to the Turkish revolution.

The same thing occurred in the US with Europe following some decades later. Leaders sought to enforce secular law and throw out religious law from the judicial system. Slavery continued in colonies of the great powers and in the Americas partially at the justification of Christian doctrine. Ireland has pushed against the Catholic church so much that it has one of the fastest growing agnostic or atheist population. The trouble with many countries in in the Islamic world is they have not adopted a system of laws separate from Islamic laws and continue to enforce traditional Arabic cultural practices from the medieval era. Saudi Arabia was one of the very last large nations to abolish slavery, but it's evident that is not enforced.

Your hard on for Kemalism and casual bigotry not withstanding, slavery was outlawed in 1890 in the Ottoman Empire (and Persia).

[Roma_Victrix]

I kind of wish India and S. Arabia went to war, I would find it really amusing, backward bigots vs slightly less backward bigots.

Indians are only bigots against those who disrespect their cows.

RESPECT THE COW! Or face the wrath of Shiva:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: