Authorities confirm Bangladeshi domestic worker ‘committed suicide’

AMMAN — Officials on Sunday confirmed that a 22-year-old Bangladeshi domestic helper, who was found hanging from the staircase at her employers’ home last Monday, committed suicide.

The victim, who was not identified, was found by her employers with a bathrobe belt wrapped around her neck hanging from the staircase of their home at around 7:30am in the suburb of Marj Al Hamam, Amman.

“The autopsy indicated that the woman died of asphyxiation that resulted from pressure on the neck,” head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine Kais Koussous told The Jordan Times.

The forensic expert said the government pathologists who performed the autopsy “did not detect any signs of struggle or torture”.

“We have established that the victim committed suicide and there is no foul play surrounding her death,” Koussous added.

The lawyer for the Bangladeshi embassy in Amman, Suhad Laham, said initial investigations by the Jordanian authorities indicated that “the victim, who served nine months of her two year [contract], wanted to return to her country”.

“The victim’s father, who lives in Bangladesh, refused and exerted pressure on her to stay and finish her two-year work term in Jordan,” Laham told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

The embassy’s lawyer said that she is following up on the transfer of the body to Bangladesh.

“We are waiting for the approval of the authorities in Bangladesh to transport her body to her hometown,” Laham added. 

Around 50,000 Bangladeshi nationals are registered with the Labour Ministry, according to Laham.

Earlier this year, government officials said around 330,000 workers are listed under the foreign labour category. Some 65 per cent of whom are Egyptians, followed by Bangladeshis, Syrians, Sri Lankans, Filipinos and other Asian nationalities.