Tuty Tursilawati

Late last month:

Indonesia has responded with outrage after Saudi Arabia executed an Indonesian domestic worker who was convicted of killing her Saudi employer — even though an activist group says the maid had been defending herself from being raped.

The case highlights the tough position of many of the estimated 11 million foreign workers, from more than 100 nations, who reside in Saudi Arabia. An estimated 2.3 million of them work in households, often as maids.

And are treated like dirt.

Activists say migrant workers in Saudi Arabia can be exploited under its visa sponsorship system, known as kafala. The kafala system is used in several Persian Gulf states. The Saudi government has made some effort to reform the system, including setting up a website to inform foreigners of their rights, and some Saudis have called for it to be scrapped.

Tursilawati was sentenced to death in 2011 for the premeditated murder of her employer in the Saudi city of Thaif the year before. The mother of one had arrived in Saudi Arabia only nine months before the crime occurred. Migrant Care, a group that supports the rights of Indonesians working aboard, said she had been fearful of being raped by the man and acted in self-defense.

God is great.

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