Nepalis in Saudi Arabia

Nepalis in Saudi Arabia

Total population
215,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Riyadh · Jeddah
Languages
Arabic · Nepali
Religion
Hinduism · Buddhism · Islam
Related ethnic groups
Nepali people

Nepalis in Saudi Arabia are migrants from Nepal to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, mostly migrant workers and expatriates. Saudi Arabia has emerged as one of the top destinations for migrant Nepalese laborers. Approximately 200,000 Nepalese laborers, skilled and semi skilled, work in the country. This number does not include 10,000 women who, despite a ban by Nepalese government, work in Saudi Arabia, mostly as household maids.^[2]

Labor issues

According to Human Rights Watch, the Kafala System in Saudi Arabia has subjected thousands of migrant workers to be abused by their employers in ways such as non-payment of wages, forced confinement in workplace, confiscation of passports, excessive work hours with little rest, physical and sexual abuse, and forced labor including trafficking. Nepalese embassy officials in Saudi Arabia said about 70,000 to 80,000 Nepalis in the country are trapped under critical working conditions.^[3]

In March 2010, 30 Nepalese workers who were hired to work as cleaners at King Abdulaziz International Airport went on strike over unpaid wages and poor living conditions. The workers, whose passports have been taken away by their sponsors, want to go back to Nepal after complaining of abuse.^[4]

See Also

• Nepalis in the United Arab Emirates
• Hinduism in Saudi Arabia
• Buddhism in Saudi Arabia

References

1. ^ International Nepal Fellowship - Nepali diaspora
2. ^ Nepali Laborers in Saudi Arabia - Foreign Migrant Workers Face Abuse and Discrimination
3. ^ The Kathmandu Post - The saudi trap: Thousands of Nepalis ‘stuck’ in Arabia in critical condition
4. ^ Nepali Laborers in Saudi Arabia - Nepali workers on warpath in Saudi Arabia