‘Embassy Calls Us Prostitutes!’ – Kenyans in Saudi Arabia Reveal Harrowing Ordeals
Five Kenyan women who moved to Saudi Arabia for work have said that they feel ‘stuck’ in the Arab kingdom since their children, born outside marriage, are denied birth certificates and legal papers.
Without these documents, the children are considered ‘stateless’, which prevents them from receiving exit permits or even accessing basic rights such as education.
The five women questioned by the British publication The Guardian told frightening stories about leaving violent employers who took their identification credentials.
Punish the children for being born. Kenyan single mothers ‘trapped’ in Saudi Arabia as exit visas denied to children born outside marriagehttps://t.co/mt5tK3LOTY
— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) December 18, 2024
The women are now dealing with a major challenge. Because of Saudi Arabia’s harsh restrictions banning premarital sex, their children, who were conceived during relationships with other foreign workers, remain unregistered.
This condition frequently results in serious consequences for the moms, including possible prosecution and jail.
These women claim that their children were born through partnerships with other migrants.
Currently, they are all single mothers, and several have stated that their children’s dads abandoned them for fear of being imprisoned for extramarital connections.
A Kenyan domestic worker tried to quit her job in Saudi Arabia after 3 years. Her employer threw her out one night.
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) December 1, 2024
She’s been stuck in pre-deportation detention for 6 months. Without her employer’s release, she can’t leave the country pic.twitter.com/FgAKxYHiif
One domestic worker who moved to Riyadh described her experience with hurrying to a neighboring hospital in labor. The workers treated her with disdain and threatened to notify the authorities.
“They said they would send me to jail if I didn’t bring [the necessary] documents,” she said that she gave birth five minutes after entering her accommodation in Riyadh.
“I was so afraid to go to jail with labour pains. I pretended like I was strolling around the hospital. Then, I just walked out of the gate and went back to my house.”
She added, “I cut the umbilical cord and cleaned myself. I cleaned my baby and wrapped him in a blanket. It was scary, but I just had to do it. There was nobody else to help me.”
The Kenyan employee said that she fled her employer’s home after being sexually harassed and physically abused. Her boss had also confiscated her passport, further confining her.
She has been working in informal jobs since then but has been attempting to flee Saudi Arabia for the past two years because her son, who is now eight, is unable to attend school.
“The authorities here are not too concerned about the babies and their mothers,” she stated.
“We want our kids to go to school. They’re missing a lot in their early childhood education. It’s essential and our babies are missing that opportunity.”
Another woman narrated her struggles, saying, “I have to beg for vegetables from the grocery shop and unsold bread and milk for my child.”
Graduates, mambo ya sijui kuenda Saudi ama sijui Qatar kifanya kazi tuachane nayo, mambo ya women sipendi kuongelea, but seeing a woman being sexually Harrased juu hayuko kwao, na Akina Alfred Mutua na Agencies zimehold passports zao hata wakijaribu kureport wanaambiwa hakuna…
— uǝɯ ǝǝɹɥ⊥ (@_threemen1) December 18, 2024
According to the moms, they have tried multiple times in the previous two years to acquire help to leave Saudi Arabia, but the Kenyan embassy refuses to process exit permits for Kenyans with stateless children.
“The people at the Kenyan embassy say we are prostitutes,” another woman with a young child told the publication.
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“They forget that some of these babies are from cases of rape by their boss or the driver of the house you’re working in. It’s very painful.”
In response to the charges, Kenyan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohamed Ruwange rejected them, stating the administration is attempting to settle the standoff.
“The embassy wishes to affirm that it attends to the entire Kenyan diaspora population with utmost respect, decorum, diligence, and professionalism,” said Ruwange.
“Specifically, on this sensitive matter involving minors and the inherent danger of child trafficking, the embassy has assisted and continues to assist the affected Kenyan mothers within the applicable laws of both the Republic of Kenya and the host country.”
‘Embassy Calls Us Prostitutes!’ – Kenyans in Saudi Arabia Reveal Harrowing Ordeals
