In Kenya, women eager for new opportunities in Saudi Arabia often face dire conditions instead. Promised decent wages, many encounter abuse, unpaid wages, and dire living conditions. Kenya and Uganda continue sending workers, despite increasing deaths and abuse cases. Authorities profit from the system, overlooking the exploitation and neglecting vital protections for the workers.

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Lured by company recruiters and encouraged by Kenya’s government, the women have reason for optimism. Spend two years in Saudi Arabia as a housekeeper or nanny, the pitch goes, and you can earn enough to build a house, educate your children and save for the future.

While the departure terminal hums with anticipation, the arrivals area is where hope meets grim reality. Hollow-cheeked women return, often ground down by unpaid wages, beatings, starvation and sexual assault. Some are broke. Others are in coffins.