Undated photo of Siti Zainab, who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia for the murder of her former employer. Photo courtesy of Amnesty International.
After yesterday’s announcement that Siti Zaenab, an Indonesian domestic worker who had been on death row in Saudi Arabia since 1999, had been beheaded, the Indonesian government expressed their shock that they were not informed by Saudi authorities before the execution took place.
While Indonesia has banned domestic workers from being sent to Saudi Arabia since 2011 due to numerous cases of reported abuse, Siti’s execution has led to new calls for Indonesia to stop sending domestic workers to all Middle Eastern countries.
One politician, Dede Yusuf, a member of the the Democratic Party and the chairman of Commission IX on Labor Affairs, supported a total ban in strong terms, saying that the culture of the Middle East led to domestic workers being treated like property.
“We want Indonesian migrant workers to be sent only to countries that don’t have a slavery culture. It’s better to send them to countries that have more soft [treatment for migrant workers],” Dede said, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe.
Dede said that this culture allows employers in the Middle East to feel like they can do anything to domestic workers.
“So in the case of rape, it’s because it’s like they’re a slave who has already been purchased,” Dede said, as quoted by Kompas.
Dede also called on the government to improve training and certification programs for domestic workers so they would receive more respect in the countries they are sent to. He also said the government had to strengthen the labor contracts used in countries employing domestic workers so they are protected from abuse and overwork.
Labour Minister Hanif Dhakiri, also expressed his support for a total ban on maids being sent to the Middle East.
