Kathmandu, Sept 07 - Two Nepali women migrant workers committed suicide within a week in Lebanese Capital of Beruit.
Shanti Rai, 25, of Solukhumbu district, and Renu Jargha Magar of Kavre Palanchowk, committed suicide after being tortured by their employers. They were working as house maids.
According to the respective house owners, Rai committed suicide on Tuesday whereas Magar committed suicide on Sunday. However, Binod Uprety, an employee of Foreign Employment Societal organisation in Lebanon, says that the incident could be a murder as well. He claimed that the backgrounds of the deaths are murky.
The dead body of Renu has been ferried to Nepal, but the dead body of Shanti has not been sent home yet.
Meanwhile, Nepalis residing in Lebanon have demanded strict action against the house owners. They have accused the house owners of murdering the two Nepali women. They claimed that Magar and Rai were physically and mentally tortured and sexually harassed.
Uprety said that around 10 cases of sexual harassment are filed in the organisation every month. Among them, around two people die of torture.
There are 8,333 Nepali women in Beirut working as house-maids and earn only 100-150 dollars per month. However, even that amount is not given to them on time. Moreover, the house owners keep the passports of the house-maids which make it impossible for them to return home. - Ekantipur