Over 70 Kenyan Women Suffer Modern Slavery In Saudi Arabia – Amnesty International Report

Amnesty Kenya Executive Director, Irungu Houghton, speaks during a press conference in Mombasa, Kenya Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Source: Africa Publicity

A new report by human rights group, Amnesty International, has revealed that over 70 Kenyan women – mostly domestic workers – have reported being abused or treated as modern slaves by their employers in Saudi Arabia.

In the report launched in Mombasa on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Amnesty International estimates that over 150,000 Kenyans work as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at the release of the report, Amnesty International Executive Director in Kenya, Irungu Houghton, says “the system amounts to modern slavery.”

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Harrowing Experiences

The over 70 women documented their harrowing experiences in the report.

One of the women, Bigeni Maina Mwangi, told The Associated Press how she was promised a beautician job in Saudi Arabia, but she instead found herself thrust into a life of domestic servitude under exploitative conditions.

She noted that “The contract I signed in Nairobi was changed the moment I landed,” adding “The agent said I had no choice but to work.”

Mwangi worked in Saudi Arabia for 17 months without pay. When she was finally sent home, her promised wages never came. Due to rising unemployment in Kenya, she found a better job in Dubai, but a return to Oman in 2020 led to even grimmer conditions, the report reveals.

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According to her, “I worked in three houses non-stop, often without food.”

Appeal

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has appealed to the Kenyan and Saudi governments to extend labor protections to domestic workers, prosecute abusive employers, and ban recruitment agencies complicit in exploitation.