Indian domestic worker has hand chopped off by Saudi employer, sparking a formal protest from New Delhi

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Demonstrators from the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) shout slogans and hold placards during a protest outside Saudi Arabia's embassy in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:02pm, 9 Oct 2015

India said on Friday it had lodged a protest with authorities in Riyadh after a domestic worker from Tamil Nadu allegedly had her hand chopped off by her Saudi employer for complaining about her work conditions.

India’s foreign minister deplored a “brutal” attack on 55-year-old Kasthuri Munirathinam, who was being treated at a hospital in Riyadh, and which comes weeks after a Saudi diplomat based in New Delhi was accused of rape.

“Chopping of (the) hand of (an) Indian lady – we are very much disturbed over the brutal manner in which (this) Indian lady has been treated in Saudi Arabia,” Sushma Swaraj said on Twitter.

“This is unacceptable. We have taken this up with Saudi authorities,” Swaraj added.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry confirmed that Indian diplomats in Riyadh had lodged a formal complaint at the Saudi foreign ministry.

There was anger in New Delhi last month when the first secretary at the Saudi embassy left India under diplomatic immunity after being accused of raping two Nepalese maids. Photo: AFP

Munirathinam, who comes from a village in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, had suffered a catalogue of abuse since taking up a post as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia three months ago, according to her family.

“Her right hand was chopped off by her employer when she tried to escape the daily harassment, torture and abysmal work conditions,” her sister S Vijayakumari said from Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai.

Vijayakumari said that her sister had gone to Saudi Arabia to help pay off her family’s debts and she had been promised a monthly salary of around US$180.