Woman forced into unpaid labour as employer pockets wages

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

She landed in the Kingdom dreaming of a better life. But fate had other plans.

Endless work, meagre pay, and no way out.

She had few options to pursue, as her passport had been confiscated by her employer, a woman in her 50s.

Police said the woman had to work for around nine households without receiving full wages, leaving her physically exhausted and mentally drained.

The suspect, who is accused of running an unlicensed manpower agency and employment office, has been remanded in custody, with her trial postponed to Sunday for a hearing of prosecution witnesses.

The victim, 25, said she came to Bahrain on a visit visa to work as a housemaid for BD120 a month. Instead, she claimed, she was passed between nine households without receiving her full wages, while the accused withheld her passport to keep her trapped in the job. The Interior Ministry flagged the case as potential human trafficking, finding that the accused withheld the victim’s earnings, handing over just BD200 for the first two months. A witness backed the claims, saying the accused had sent voice messages threatening the worker with violence.

Prosecutors said the accused admitted to running a recruitment agency and employment office without a proper licence. Investigators recovered audio recordings containing threats against the victim, and the Labour Market Regulatory Authority pushed for legal action over her dealings.

The charges allege that between 2024 and 2025, the accused, along with another unidentified person, exploited the victim by recruiting, moving, housing, and forcing her into labour. Prosecutors argue that, given the coercion, deception, and threats used, any supposed consent from the victim was meaningless. The accused allegedly placed her in several homes, collected her wages, and pocketed the proceeds, in conditions that violated labour laws. She is also charged with stealing an official document belonging to an Asian country—specifically, the victim’s identification papers, which had been left in her care. Prosecutors say she ran an unlicensed manpower agency and employment office, breaking multiple regulations.