Hyderabad: A 33-year-old Hyderabad woman named Shabana Shaikh is currently stranded in Muscat, Oman. Her sister, Mohammed Ruksana, has written a letter to Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs seeking his help to bring Khatoon back to India.
A few months back, Shabana Shaikh, a resident of Hayath Nagar, Hyderabad, was in search of employment due to her family’s poor financial condition. She was approached by a local agent who offered her a job as a beautician in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates with a monthly salary of Rs. 25,000 per month.
She accepted the offer and travelled to Dubai in January 2023. Upon arrival, she was received by a lady agent and her relative Zareena. She was taken to Zareena’s house where she stayed for some hours. Later, she was shifted to agent’s house where she worked as a beautician.
However, later, she was asked to work as a housemaid. Upon refusal, the agent started abusing the Hyderabad woman and later shifted her to Muscat, Oman where she was forced to work as a housemaid.
In her letter, Ruksana claimed that her sister is not being paid her salary properly for the past five months. Moreover, she is being subjected to torture and denied proper food and sleeping arrangements.
When Shabana Shaikh expressed her desire to return to India, she was informed that she would need to pay Rs. 3.5 lakh to retrieve her passport.
In her appeal to the Minister of External Affairs, Ruksana seeks the rescue and repatriation of her sister.
On Twitter, MBT spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan share Shabana Shaikh’s details and her sister’s plea to Dr. S. Jaishankar.
The case of Shabana Shaikh, a young woman from Hyderabad stranded in Oman, highlights the challenges faced by individuals seeking employment abroad, especially middle east.
