Indian envoy meets distressed workers in Oman

India’s Ambassador to Oman, Prashant Pise, met distressed Indian women employed as domestic workers in the Gulf nation and assured them of prompt action to address their grievances, the embassy in Muscat said on Monday.

The embassy’s outreach comes amid recurring reports of abuse, exploitation and non-payment of wages involving Indian women domestic workers in Oman and other Gulf countries. Pise met women domestic workers in distress and “those who have left their employers’ households or have been abandoned by their employers” at a shelter run by the mission, the embassy posted on X on Monday. The embassy said it provides free boarding and lodging facilities to distressed workers and that their grievances and complaints were heard during the interaction with the ambassador. “Their grievances and complaints were heard, while assuring them prompt action by the Embassy’s Community Affairs team to reach an early resolution,” it said.

The meeting came against the backdrop of the case of Hyderabad resident Shabnam Begum, who alleged that she was lured to Muscat with the promise of a better-paying domestic job but was instead forced to work 12 to 15 hours a day across multiple households without wages.