Housewife in Dubai accused of attempted murder of housemaid

Housemaid first charged with attempted suicide

A Yemeni housewife is facing prosecution in a Dubai court for allegedly attempting to murder her 18-year-old Ethiopian maid by throwing her over a balcony.

Ironically, the young maid who survived the murderous attack was at first charged with jumping from a third floor balcony in an attempted suicide bid. Fortunately, the court decided that the housemaid, referred to as Z.A., did not attempt to commit suicide, the Gulf News reports.

The maid claims that her 27-year-old employer battered her face

According to Newsdire, the maid entered the courtroom in a wheelchair after sustaining injuries from the fall. She also suffered a speech impediment from the hammer attack. An Ethiopian man from the same village as Z.A. testified in court that Z.A's employer, "Deprived her of her salary for five months. She also claimed to me that her employer prevented her from travelling to Ethiopia to visit her mother who was on her deathbed."

There has been a spate of reports of housemaids apparently committing suicide or suffering serious injuries by jumping off Middle Eastern balconies for the last several years.

Human Writes Watch considers "that what drives these maids to suicide are their poor living conditions, abuse from employers, treatment as second-class-citizens, and isolation."

With such a preponderance of attempts to escape it is easy to conclude that the maids are jumping rather than considering they are being thrown.

The case against Z.A's employer continues.