Saudi Arabia death row maid in a fight for her life
RIYADH Rizana Nafeek’s indigent family fell on hard times when civil war forced her father, a Sri Lankan woodcutter, to stop going to his traditional cutting forest. Salvation seemed to appear, however, when a local recruiter suggested that Nafeek, then 17, go to work as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia. The agent put a false birth date on her passport so officials would not see that she was underage. But now Nafeek faces a death sentence after being convicted of murdering a four-month-old infant put in her care by the Saudi family who hired her in 2005. Entering her fifth year in Saudi detention, Nafeek is appealing her sentence. She contends that she did not harm the child and has retracted the confession – written in Arabic, which she does not understand – on which her conviction was based. An Asian human-rights group assisting her appeal says the child’s death was a tragic accident that should not be compounded by executing Nafeek, which would violate international conventions, accepted by Riyadh, banning death sentences for crimes committed by juveniles. more..
It is very pathetic that muslim parents just hand over their virgin daughters to bullying job agents who will put them anywhere in world to get their collection.Parents should stop seding their daughters as housemaids and the husbands should stop sending their wives abroad as housedmaids.This leads to serious social problems in our community. Philanthropists of our community should be generous enough to help out these poor people to get proper education and pave them ways for self employment in own country such as tailorings,farming,doing nursery schools etc..This is their social responsibilty and also an obligation towards Allah almighty.
Mushtaq Ahamed
March 18, 2010 at 9:15 am