Refleksi: Apakah masalah TKW akan lebih diperhatikan dengan adanya 101 wanita di DPR 2009-2014.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/10-maids-locked-away-in-kuwaiti-apartment-for-8-months/277650 May 27, 2009 Nurfika Osman 10 Maids Locked Away in Kuwaiti Apartment for 8 Months In the latest case of abuse perpetrated on Indonesian women working in Arab nations, a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported that authorities are investigating the imprisonment of 10 domestic workers in an apartment for eight months, including the circumstances surrounding the death of at least one woman. Anis Hidayah, director of Migrant Care, said the nongovernmental organization was currently investigating the disturbing reports in the Arab Times on Saturday, and lashed out at the Indonesian Consulate General in Kuwait for both failing to protect the workers and not being able to confirm who the women were. "Where is the government? Protecting citizens is a state obligation and they should have known about it," she said. Contacted on Wednesday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Teguh Wardoyo confirmed some allegations contained in the story, and added that the women had been sent on April 10 to the consulate, which had reported the matter to police. "The investigation is completed and the case is set to go to trial," he said. However, the Times, quoting a report published in the Al-Anba daily in Kuwait, said the Kuwaiti Criminal Investigation Department had "reopened" the investigation into the detention of the women inside an apartment owned by the maids' recruitment company, during which time they were not given work or paid. The Times article said the case was reopened after the charred body of an unidentified Asian woman was found at an undisclosed location in February and that police were investigating the possibility the body was that of a maid who died while she was locked up and her body removed by recruitment agency staff. The police are also taking another look at cases of unsolved deaths during the relevant period, the Times reported. The women began working in Kuwait as domestic helpers in 2007, but had run away after they were not paid by their employers, seeking refuge in the Indonesian consulate, the report said. However, the recruitment company allegedly tricked the consulate into returning the maids last year by claiming they were needed to fill out documents. This month, the government was criticized for not protecting an Indonesian female migrant worker facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Eti Toyib Anwar was found guilty of killing her employer, Faizal Abdullah al Ghamdi - who allegedly abused her - by putting poison in his food in 2002.
