![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaExtreme heat at work can double stillbirth risk, India study findsPublished3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsClimateImage caption, Cucumber picker Sumathy lost a baby 12 weeks into her pregnancyBy Tulip MazumdarGlobal health correspondentWorking in extreme heat can double the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage for pregnant women, according to new research from India. The study found that the risks to mothers-to-be are significantly higher than previously thought. Researchers say hotter summers can affect not only women in tropical climates, but also in countries such as the UK.They want specific health advice for working pregnant women globally.Eight hundred pregnant women in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu took part in the study, which was started in 2017 by the Faculty of Public Health at the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) in Chennai. About half of those who took part worked in jobs where they were exposed to high levels of heat, such as agriculture, brick kilns and salt flats. The others worked in cooler environments, such as schools and hospitals, although some workers were also exposed to very high levels of heat in those jobs too.There is no universal threshold for what level of heat is considered to be too hot for the human body.”[The impact of heat] is relative to what you’re used to and what your body’s used to,” says Prof Jane Hirst, one of the scientists who contributed to the study.In the lush green fields of Tiruvannamalai, I meet Sumathy, one of the pregnant women who took part.She removes her thick gloves and stretches out her fingers. She has been picking cucumbers for the past two hours.”My hands burn in this heat,” she tells me, gently caressing her fingertips.Summer hasn’t even started yet, but already it is about 30 degrees here today and feeling hotter with the humidity.Sumathy has to protect her hands from the constant stabbing of the tiny spikes on the cucumbers, but the gloves make her sweat profusely.”My face burns too,” she says.She comes to the cucumber farm before and after her main job, working as a cook in a school, and is paid about 200 rupees or just under £2 for her efforts.India’s Mothers: Bearing the HeatThe BBC’s global health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar reports from southern India on new research suggesting heat can double the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage.Watch on BBC iPlayer (UK only)Sumathy was one of the first recruits. Her baby was also one of the first in the study to die.”I used to feel so exhausted being pregnant and working in the heat,” she says.One day, as Sumathy was dropping off her husband’s lunch, she suddenly started feeling very unwell. That evening, she went to see a doctor who told her she had suffered a miscarriage 12 weeks into her pregnancy. “My husband would lay me down on his lap and console me. I don’t know what I would have done without him,” she says.Sumathy talks about her husband with so much love but has had to learn to live without him. He recently died, and she is now the main breadwinner for the family.Sumathy will never know for sure if working in the heat during her pregnancy had anything to do with her losing her first child. But overall, the study found that women who worked in similar conditions as her were twice as likely to suffer a stillbirth or miscarriage than those working in cooler environments.Important for women all over the worldThe pregnant women in the study in India really are “at the forefront of experiencing climate change,” says Prof Hirst, who is a UK-based consultant obstetrician, and Professor of Global Women’s Health at medical research organisation The George Institute.Earth’s average temperature is projected to rise by nearly three degrees by the end of the century, compared with pre-industrial times, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of “an existential threat to all of us” with pregnant women facing “some of the gravest consequences”.Image caption, Rekha Shanmugam measures the daytime heat in sugar cane fields in TiruvannamalaiPrevious studies have shown about a 15% rise in the risk of premature birth and stillbirth during heatwaves, but these have generally been conducted in high-income countries such as the US and Australia. The latest findings from India are particularly stark and worrying, says Prof Hirst, and have wider implications. “The UK is getting hotter summers, and while it’s not as hot as India, these adverse effects [on pregnancies] can be seen at much lower temperatures in more temperate climates, such as the UK.” However, she adds, they do need to be “kept in perspective”. Even with a doubling of risk, experiencing baby loss is still going to be a “rare event for most women”.How does extreme heat affect pregnant women? Listen to The Climate Question podcast on BBC Sounds nowThere is currently no official international advice for pregnant working women in the heat. The main guidance that does exist for hot-weather working, is based on studies involving a man in the US military in the 1960s and 70s, weighing 70-75kg and with 20% body fat. Prof Hirst hopes this study, and further research, will change that. In the meantime, Prof Hirst and Prof Vidhya Venugopal, from the Faculty of Public Health at SRIHER, who led the research on India, say pregnant women working in the heat can protect themselves by:Avoiding prolonged periods in the heatTaking regular shade breaks if working outdoors on hot daysAvoiding exercising or sunbathing for long periods in the hottest part of the dayKeeping hydrated with waterFor the study in India, the researchers used what is called the wet-bulb-globe-temperature (WBGT), which measures the effects of temperature, humidity, wind speed and radiant heat on human bodies.WBGT readings are often lower than the temperatures you might see forecast on the TV or a weather app.The safe heat threshold for people doing heavy work is 27.5C WBGT, according to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. ‘No choice but to work out in the sun’ India is predicted to become one of the first countries in the world where temperatures will top the safe limit for healthy people who are simply resting in the shade, according to a recent study from the University of Cambridge.The number of hot days and hot nights (when the body struggles to recover from daytime heat) is also projected to double or even quadruple in India by 2050.In the sugarcane fields of Tiruvannamalai, Rekha Shanmugam, a former nurse and one of the SRIHER study’s researchers, is measuring the daytime heat.Around us, a couple of dozen workers – about half of them women – hack down thick stems of cane with small machetes. “These women often have no choice but to work out in the sun – they need the money,” says Ms Shanmugam.She pours water into a gauge and presses various buttons. It shows a WBGT temperature of 29.5C – that’s above the safe threshold for doing this type of physically demanding work in the heat.”If the workers continue for prolonged periods in this level of heat, they are more prone to heat-related illnesses, and it’s especially concerning for pregnant women,” she tells me. Image caption, Women like Sandhiya make up the backbone of India’s informal workforceSandhiya, 28, tells me she has no choice but to do this type of back-breaking work for which she gets paid about 600 rupees, just under £6 a day. She has two young children and an extended family to feed. Sandhiya also took part in the study – and lost her first child six months into her pregnancy.She had to take several months off work to recover and says she is still paying off the debts she racked up during that time.”All my desires centre around my children,” Sandhiya tells me. “I want them to study well and get good jobs. They shouldn’t end up toiling here in the fields like me.”The problem of peeingThe mechanisms around how and why heat impacts pregnant women and their growing babies in this troubling way are not well understood.A previous study in The Gambia found high temperatures could raise foetal heart rate and slow blood flow through the umbilical cord.One theory is that when the mother gets too hot, blood could be diverted away from the foetus, to help cool the mother down.Ms Shanmugam thinks a lack of toilets may also be playing a part.She says a previous study found many women didn’t want to squat in an open field to relieve themselves and so would avoid drinking water, developing urinary problems as a result. “They worry about insects and snakes in the bushes, or men peeping to look at them,” she says.”They often don’t feel safe, so they’ll just hold it in for the whole day and then finally go to the toilet when they get home.”Finding solutions India has made huge improvements to maternal and baby health in recent years, but the stillbirth rate is still 12.2 per 1,000 births, according to data from the World Bank Group. In the UK the rate is 2.7. The findings of the study in Tamil Nadu are being taken very seriously, says Dr TS Selbavinayagam, the state’s director for public health.”We already offer financial compensation to pregnant women, but maybe we need to look at options for giving alternative employment too,” he says. The state government offers poorer women 18,000 rupees (£170) when they reach 12 weeks of pregnancy, to try to ease some of their financial pressures. However, much of the power to protect these low-paid workers rests with workplace bosses.Image caption, Thillai Bhasker has erected steel roofs to provide much-needed shade for his brick kiln workersOn the outskirts of Chennai, Thillai Bhasker – a brick-kiln owner – has erected giant steel roofs with special heat-protective coatings on them, to provide his workers with much-needed shade. He’s been taking advice on better protecting workers from researchers at SRIHER.”Business owners should be smart enough to know how to retain the employees,” he says. “If you take care of them, they will take care of you.”He also told us he was planning to build women-only toilets. Some organisations are also offering education sessions on the simple steps women can take to better protect themselves in the heat. Insulated bottles are also being made available to keep drinking water cool.Sumathy had no choice but to continue to work in extreme heat when she became pregnant again within a couple of years of her miscarriage. But she got specific advice from doctors and the SRIHER researchers on how to better protect herself. Sumathy gave birth to a healthy daughter and son. Tonight – after her long shift – she will return home to them. Exhausted, anxious, but so grateful they are there.Follow @TulipMazumdar on XIf you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice isavailable via the BBC Action Line.What questions do you have about this story? We’ll be answering them later today. In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy.Use this form to ask your question:
If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in. Related TopicsMiscarriageTamil NaduClimateIndiaPregnancyTop StoriesLive. US accuses Apple of monopolising smartphone marketLive. Which women might get state pension compensation? Your questions answeredInterest rate cuts ‘on the way’, says Bank bossPublished37 minutes agoFeaturesUK sees biggest increase in poverty for 30 yearsNew hope for sisters trapped in their bodies’I go to bed with an empty stomach’ – Haiti hunger spreadsA museum tried reverse misogyny. Now a man is suingThe new 28-year-old peer who wants to scrap the LordsThe boy killed by his ‘sadistic’ motherHow climate change made Easter eggs pricier’Our school has been crumbling for 20 years’Poland’s ‘Heart of the Garden’ named tree of 2024Elsewhere on the BBCWhat’s the key to literary success for Phillip Pullman?The author of His Dark Materials shares the advice he would give his younger selfAttributionSoundsGlobal glamazons start your engines!Catch up on all the the jaw-dropping looks and unforgettable performances before the grand finale…AttributioniPlayerThe fresh face of FerrariJennie Gow and the team look back on the Saudi Arabian Grand PrixAttributionSoundsFestivals, flamenco and old friendsStrictly’s dancing duo Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice take to the streets of sunny SpainAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Harry Kane statue revealed before going on display2Bank boss says UK interest rate cut ‘on the way’3Mum guilty of murdering scalded and caned son4Toddler steals the show during Queen’s NI visit5Terminally ill grandad scoops £1m lottery prize6More than 500 migrants arrive in small boats7TV’s Julie Goodyear slowly fading away, says husband8Cows turn heads as they bring town to a standstill9Knives Out director pays tribute to acting ‘legend’10Kermit the Frog honoured in new fossil find](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/5E90/production/_132980242_3img_1014.jpg)
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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaExtreme heat at work can double stillbirth risk, India study findsPublished3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsClimateImage caption, Cucumber picker Sumathy lost a baby 12 weeks into her pregnancyBy Tulip MazumdarGlobal health correspondentWorking in extreme heat can double the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage for pregnant women, according to new research from India. The study found that the risks to mothers-to-be are significantly higher than previously thought. Researchers say hotter summers can affect not only women in tropical climates, but also in countries such as the UK.They want specific health advice for working pregnant women globally.Eight hundred pregnant women in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu took part in the study, which was started in 2017 by the Faculty of Public Health at the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) in Chennai. About half of those who took part worked in jobs where they were exposed to high levels of heat, such as agriculture, brick kilns and salt flats. The others worked in cooler environments, such as schools and hospitals, although some workers were also exposed to very high levels of heat in those jobs too.There is no universal threshold for what level of heat is considered to be too hot for the human body.”[The impact of heat] is relative to what you’re used to and what your body’s used to,” says Prof Jane Hirst, one of the scientists who contributed to the study.In the lush green fields of Tiruvannamalai, I meet Sumathy, one of the pregnant women who took part.She removes her thick gloves and stretches out her fingers. She has been picking cucumbers for the past two hours.”My hands burn in this heat,” she tells me, gently caressing her fingertips.Summer hasn’t even started yet, but already it is about 30 degrees here today and feeling hotter with the humidity.Sumathy has to protect her hands from the constant stabbing of the tiny spikes on the cucumbers, but the gloves make her sweat profusely.”My face burns too,” she says.She comes to the cucumber farm before and after her main job, working as a cook in a school, and is paid about 200 rupees or just under £2 for her efforts.India’s Mothers: Bearing the HeatThe BBC’s global health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar reports from southern India on new research suggesting heat can double the risk of stillbirth and miscarriage.Watch on BBC iPlayer (UK only)Sumathy was one of the first recruits. Her baby was also one of the first in the study to die.”I used to feel so exhausted being pregnant and working in the heat,” she says.One day, as Sumathy was dropping off her husband’s lunch, she suddenly started feeling very unwell. That evening, she went to see a doctor who told her she had suffered a miscarriage 12 weeks into her pregnancy. “My husband would lay me down on his lap and console me. I don’t know what I would have done without him,” she says.Sumathy talks about her husband with so much love but has had to learn to live without him. He recently died, and she is now the main breadwinner for the family.Sumathy will never know for sure if working in the heat during her pregnancy had anything to do with her losing her first child. But overall, the study found that women who worked in similar conditions as her were twice as likely to suffer a stillbirth or miscarriage than those working in cooler environments.Important for women all over the worldThe pregnant women in the study in India really are “at the forefront of experiencing climate change,” says Prof Hirst, who is a UK-based consultant obstetrician, and Professor of Global Women’s Health at medical research organisation The George Institute.Earth’s average temperature is projected to rise by nearly three degrees by the end of the century, compared with pre-industrial times, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of “an existential threat to all of us” with pregnant women facing “some of the gravest consequences”.Image caption, Rekha Shanmugam measures the daytime heat in sugar cane fields in TiruvannamalaiPrevious studies have shown about a 15% rise in the risk of premature birth and stillbirth during heatwaves, but these have generally been conducted in high-income countries such as the US and Australia. The latest findings from India are particularly stark and worrying, says Prof Hirst, and have wider implications. “The UK is getting hotter summers, and while it’s not as hot as India, these adverse effects [on pregnancies] can be seen at much lower temperatures in more temperate climates, such as the UK.” However, she adds, they do need to be “kept in perspective”. Even with a doubling of risk, experiencing baby loss is still going to be a “rare event for most women”.How does extreme heat affect pregnant women? Listen to The Climate Question podcast on BBC Sounds nowThere is currently no official international advice for pregnant working women in the heat. The main guidance that does exist for hot-weather working, is based on studies involving a man in the US military in the 1960s and 70s, weighing 70-75kg and with 20% body fat. Prof Hirst hopes this study, and further research, will change that. In the meantime, Prof Hirst and Prof Vidhya Venugopal, from the Faculty of Public Health at SRIHER, who led the research on India, say pregnant women working in the heat can protect themselves by:Avoiding prolonged periods in the heatTaking regular shade breaks if working outdoors on hot daysAvoiding exercising or sunbathing for long periods in the hottest part of the dayKeeping hydrated with waterFor the study in India, the researchers used what is called the wet-bulb-globe-temperature (WBGT), which measures the effects of temperature, humidity, wind speed and radiant heat on human bodies.WBGT readings are often lower than the temperatures you might see forecast on the TV or a weather app.The safe heat threshold for people doing heavy work is 27.5C WBGT, according to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. ‘No choice but to work out in the sun’ India is predicted to become one of the first countries in the world where temperatures will top the safe limit for healthy people who are simply resting in the shade, according to a recent study from the University of Cambridge.The number of hot days and hot nights (when the body struggles to recover from daytime heat) is also projected to double or even quadruple in India by 2050.In the sugarcane fields of Tiruvannamalai, Rekha Shanmugam, a former nurse and one of the SRIHER study’s researchers, is measuring the daytime heat.Around us, a couple of dozen workers – about half of them women – hack down thick stems of cane with small machetes. “These women often have no choice but to work out in the sun – they need the money,” says Ms Shanmugam.She pours water into a gauge and presses various buttons. It shows a WBGT temperature of 29.5C – that’s above the safe threshold for doing this type of physically demanding work in the heat.”If the workers continue for prolonged periods in this level of heat, they are more prone to heat-related illnesses, and it’s especially concerning for pregnant women,” she tells me. Image caption, Women like Sandhiya make up the backbone of India’s informal workforceSandhiya, 28, tells me she has no choice but to do this type of back-breaking work for which she gets paid about 600 rupees, just under £6 a day. She has two young children and an extended family to feed. Sandhiya also took part in the study – and lost her first child six months into her pregnancy.She had to take several months off work to recover and says she is still paying off the debts she racked up during that time.”All my desires centre around my children,” Sandhiya tells me. “I want them to study well and get good jobs. They shouldn’t end up toiling here in the fields like me.”The problem of peeingThe mechanisms around how and why heat impacts pregnant women and their growing babies in this troubling way are not well understood.A previous study in The Gambia found high temperatures could raise foetal heart rate and slow blood flow through the umbilical cord.One theory is that when the mother gets too hot, blood could be diverted away from the foetus, to help cool the mother down.Ms Shanmugam thinks a lack of toilets may also be playing a part.She says a previous study found many women didn’t want to squat in an open field to relieve themselves and so would avoid drinking water, developing urinary problems as a result. “They worry about insects and snakes in the bushes, or men peeping to look at them,” she says.”They often don’t feel safe, so they’ll just hold it in for the whole day and then finally go to the toilet when they get home.”Finding solutions India has made huge improvements to maternal and baby health in recent years, but the stillbirth rate is still 12.2 per 1,000 births, according to data from the World Bank Group. In the UK the rate is 2.7. The findings of the study in Tamil Nadu are being taken very seriously, says Dr TS Selbavinayagam, the state’s director for public health.”We already offer financial compensation to pregnant women, but maybe we need to look at options for giving alternative employment too,” he says. The state government offers poorer women 18,000 rupees (£170) when they reach 12 weeks of pregnancy, to try to ease some of their financial pressures. However, much of the power to protect these low-paid workers rests with workplace bosses.Image caption, Thillai Bhasker has erected steel roofs to provide much-needed shade for his brick kiln workersOn the outskirts of Chennai, Thillai Bhasker – a brick-kiln owner – has erected giant steel roofs with special heat-protective coatings on them, to provide his workers with much-needed shade. He’s been taking advice on better protecting workers from researchers at SRIHER.”Business owners should be smart enough to know how to retain the employees,” he says. “If you take care of them, they will take care of you.”He also told us he was planning to build women-only toilets. Some organisations are also offering education sessions on the simple steps women can take to better protect themselves in the heat. Insulated bottles are also being made available to keep drinking water cool.Sumathy had no choice but to continue to work in extreme heat when she became pregnant again within a couple of years of her miscarriage. But she got specific advice from doctors and the SRIHER researchers on how to better protect herself. Sumathy gave birth to a healthy daughter and son. Tonight – after her long shift – she will return home to them. Exhausted, anxious, but so grateful they are there.Follow @TulipMazumdar on XIf you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice isavailable via the BBC Action Line.What questions do you have about this story? We’ll be answering them later today. In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy.Use this form to ask your question: If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in. Related TopicsMiscarriageTamil NaduClimateIndiaPregnancyTop StoriesLive. US accuses Apple of monopolising smartphone marketLive. Which women might get state pension compensation? Your questions answeredInterest rate cuts ‘on the way’, says Bank bossPublished37 minutes agoFeaturesUK sees biggest increase in poverty for 30 yearsNew hope for sisters trapped in their bodies’I go to bed with an empty stomach’ – Haiti hunger spreadsA museum tried reverse misogyny. Now a man is suingThe new 28-year-old peer who wants to scrap the LordsThe boy killed by his ‘sadistic’ motherHow climate change made Easter eggs pricier’Our school has been crumbling for 20 years’Poland’s ‘Heart of the Garden’ named tree of 2024Elsewhere on the BBCWhat’s the key to literary success for Phillip Pullman?The author of His Dark Materials shares the advice he would give his younger selfAttributionSoundsGlobal glamazons start your engines!Catch up on all the the jaw-dropping looks and unforgettable performances before the grand finale…AttributioniPlayerThe fresh face of FerrariJennie Gow and the team look back on the Saudi Arabian Grand PrixAttributionSoundsFestivals, flamenco and old friendsStrictly’s dancing duo Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice take to the streets of sunny SpainAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Harry Kane statue revealed before going on display2Bank boss says UK interest rate cut ‘on the way’3Mum guilty of murdering scalded and caned son4Toddler steals the show during Queen’s NI visit5Terminally ill grandad scoops £1m lottery prize6More than 500 migrants arrive in small boats7TV’s Julie Goodyear slowly fading away, says husband8Cows turn heads as they bring town to a standstill9Knives Out director pays tribute to acting ‘legend’10Kermit the Frog honoured in new fossil find
[ad_1] About half of those who took part worked in jobs where they were exposed to high levels of heat, such as agriculture, brick kilns and salt flats. The others…
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaThe Malawi WhatsApp group that saved women trafficked to OmanPublished39 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Florence Phiri in Lilongwe & Tamasin Ford in LondonBBC Africa EyeBBC Africa Eye investigates how a WhatsApp group helped save more than 50 Malawian women trafficked to Oman to work in slave-like conditions.Warning: Some people may find details in this story distressing.A 32-year-old woman breaks down in tears as she relives the abuse she experienced when, hoping for a better life, she found herself working as a maid in Oman.Georgina, who like all the trafficked women interviewed by the BBC opted to only use her first name, believed she had been recruited to work as a driver in Dubai. She had owned a small business in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, and was managing when approached by an agent saying she could earn more money in the Middle East.It was not until the plane landed in Muscat, the capital of Oman, that she realised she had been deceived and subsequently trapped by a family who made her work gruelling hours, seven days a week.”I reached a point where I couldn’t take it,” she says, detailing how she got as little as two hours’ sleep.She had not been there long when her boss began forcing her to have sex with him, threatening to shoot her if she said anything.”It wasn’t only him,” she says. “He would bring friends and they would pay him after.”She struggles to speak as she recounts how she was forced into anal sex: “I got badly injured. I became so distraught.”It is estimated there are around two million female domestic workers in the Gulf Arab states. In a survey of 400 women in Oman by migrant charity Do Bold, published by the 2023 US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, almost all were found to be victims of human trafficking.Nearly a third said they were sexually abused, while half reported physical abuse and discrimination.After several weeks, Georgina became desperate and in a post on Facebook she begged for someone to help her.Thousands of miles away in the US state of New Hampshire, 38-year-old Malawian social media activist Pililani Mombe Nyoni saw her message and began to investigate.She got in touch and got the Facebook post removed for Georgina’s safety and passed on her own WhatsApp number, which began to circulate in Oman. She soon realised it was a wider problem.”Georgina was the first victim. Then it was one girl, two girls, three girls,” she told the BBC.”That’s when I said: ‘I am going to form a [WhatsApp] group because this looks like human trafficking.'”More than 50 Malawian women working as domestic workers in Oman joined the group.Soon the WhatsApp group was full of voice notes and videos, some too harrowing to watch, detailing the horrific conditions the women were enduring. Many had their passports taken away as soon as they arrived, preventing them from leaving.Some told of how they had shut themselves in toilets to secretly send their pleading messages.”I feel like I am in prison… we can never escape,” one said. “My life is really in danger,” another said.
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BBCAfter I helped Georgina, I felt so mad, I felt so angry”Pililani Mombe NyoniMalawian social media activistMs Nyoni began speaking to human trafficking charities in Malawi and was introduced to Ekaterina Porras Sivolobova, founder of Do Bold, based in Greece.Do Bold works with a community of migrant workers in the Gulf countries, identifying victims of trafficking or forced labour and then negotiates with their employer for them to be released.”The employers pay an agent for providing a domestic worker. One of the most common challenges that we face is that the employer or agent says: ‘I want my money back, then she can go home’,” Ms Sivolobova told the BBC.”The laws that are in place [in Oman] prohibit a domestic worker to leave the employer. She cannot change jobs and she cannot leave the country – no matter how you are treated.”This is what is known in the Middle East as the “kafala” labour system, which ties workers to their employers for the duration of their contract.Oman’s National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking told the BBC the relationship between the employer and the domestic worker was contractual – and unsettled disputes can be referred to a court within a week.It added that an employer was not allowed “to impose any form of forced labour on the worker” and could not keep a worker’s “passport and private documents without his written consent”.After three months in Muscat, and with the help of Ms Nyoni and someone in Oman, Georgina returned to Malawi in June 2021.”After I helped Georgina, I felt so mad, I felt so angry,” says Ms Nyoni.Georgina’s case allowed her to raise the alarm within Malawi – and pressure began mounting on the government to intervene. Malawian charity Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) launched an Oman rescue campaign, calling on the authorities to bring the women home.Blessings was another of the women in Ms Nyoni’s WhatsApp group. The 39-year-old had travelled to Muscat in December 2022, leaving her four children with her sister, Stevelia, in Lilongwe.She was severely burned in the kitchen of the home she was working in, but her employer would not let her return to Malawi.”The degree of the burns, trust me, I saw my sister losing her own life,” Stevelia told the BBC.”I remember my sister said: ‘Sister, I came here because I needed a better life, but should I die, please take care of my kids.’ That hurt me.”Image caption, It was an emotional reunion at the airport in Lilongwe for Blessings and her family last OctoberStevelia began lobbying for her sister to be brought home. At first the agent angrily told the family that Blessings was dead, but this was not true and she finally returned last October, with the help of the Malawian government. “I never thought there would come a time that I would see my family again, my children,” Blessings told the BBC shortly afterwards.”I had no idea that there are people on this earth who treat others like slaves.”The Malawian government, which also worked with Do Bold, says it has spent more than $160,000 (£125,000) to bring 54 women back from Oman.But 23-year-old Aida Chiwalo returned home in a coffin. There was no autopsy or investigation done in Oman after her death. Oman’s authorities said the labour ministry had not received any complaints from domestic workers of Malawian nationality in 2022 and only one complaint in 2023 that had been settled.”The majority of these women have been released because money has been paid to the employer, from $1,000 to $2,000,” says Ms Sivolobova.”So basically, their freedom had to be bought. And that’s what bothers me. How can you buy somebody else’s freedom?”A spokesperson from Malawi’s government told the BBC it was developing rules “to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration that benefits migrants, their families and the country at large”.Image caption, Georgina finds it calming to go and look out over Lake MalawiBut Ms Nyoni, whose WhatsApp group is now more of a support forum for the returnees, says the issue of trafficked domestic workers to Oman highlights a bigger problem in Malawi – that of poverty and unemployment.”If the young girls had an opportunity to have jobs in Malawi, they were not going to be trapped. We need to fix the nation so that these youngsters will never be trapped like this.”For Georgina, the trauma has been hard to put behind her. She finds it calming to go down and look out over Lake Malawi, one of Africa’s biggest.”When I watch the waves, it reminds me that nothing in life lasts forever. One day all this will be history,” she says.”I find peace and encourage myself that I will return to how I was – the old Georgina, who was independent.”You can watch the full BBC Africa Eye documentary Trapped in Oman on the BBC Africa YouTube channel.More BBC Africa Eye stories:‘Terrible things happened’ – inside TB Joshua’s church of horrorsHow a sex abuse ring targeted Gabon’s child footballersThe uniformed group targeting foreigners in South AfricaRelated TopicsOmanWhatsAppHuman traffickingMalawiAround the BBCAfrica EyeFocus on Africa podcastsTop StoriesPutin claims landslide and scorns US democracyPublished48 minutes agoWatch: Putin thanks Russia after predictable win. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaTrump calls on Alabama to protect IVF treatment after court rulingPublished3 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsUS election 2024Image source, EPABy Lisa LambertBBC News, WashingtonDonald Trump has said he supports the availability of IVF treatment, joining a growing number of Republicans who are seeking to distance themselves from an Alabama court ruling on the issue.The state’s top court ruled last week that frozen embryos have the same rights as children and people can be held liable for destroying them.At least three clinics paused IVF treatment in the wake of the ruling.On Friday, Mr Trump called on lawmakers to find “an immediate solution”.”We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America,” the former president wrote on his Truth Social platform.”[Like] the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” he added.His comments were his first on the issue, and signalled his opposition to a ruling which some Republicans fear could harm them electorally by hindering plans to win back suburban women as well as swing voters.What does Alabama ruling mean for fertility patients?IVF row an election-year political bombshellMr Trump is the front-runner to win the Republican nomination for November’s election and arguably the leading voice in the party. In a further sign of the party’s efforts to distance itself from the Alabama ruling, the National Republican Senate Committee, which helps members get elected to Congress, sent out a memo to candidates on Friday which directed them to express support for IVF and “campaign on increasing access” to the treatment. “There are zero Republican Senate candidates who support efforts to restrict access to fertility treatments,” the committee’s executive director, Jason Thielman, wrote in the memo which was obtained by the BBC’s US partner CBS.The memo also cited polling that claimed access to IVF is overwhelmingly popular.A number of Senate candidates, including Kari Lake in Arizona, came out to publicly support access to the treatment after the memo was circulated.Mr Trump’s only challenger for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley, initially appeared to back the ruling after she said she considers frozen embryos to be babies. She later denied that she supported the court’s decision.While the Alabama ruling does not ban or restrict IVF, several medical providers in the state cited fears of legal repercussions as they paused fertility services in recent days.It was made by the state’s Supreme Court and all of its justices are Republican.Democrats are already depicting the Alabama case as what they see as a portent of further assaults on women’s rights if their rivals make headway in the coming general election.Mr Biden said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Alabama decision was only possible because of the 2022 ruling by the US Supreme Court – which has three Trump appointees – to nullify abortion rights.While many conservatives celebrated the end of Roe v Wade, it proved a potent get-out-the-vote motivator for Democrats and a messaging nightmare for Republicans.Related TopicsUS election 2024AlabamaDonald TrumpUnited StatesMore on this storyAlabama IVF row an election-year political bombshellPublished10 hours agoWhat does Alabama ruling mean for fertility patients?Published1 day agoTop StoriesWW2 bomb taken through city and out to seaPublished46 minutes agoTrump calls on Alabama to protect IVF treatmentPublished3 minutes agoSpanish police search gutted flats after nine killedPublished13 minutes agoFeaturesWhy jet streams mean ‘piggy-backing’ planes can fly across the Atlantic faster. 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