Rights group says female house maids in Middle East remain at risk of exploitation, abuse

Rights group: Maids remain unprotected from abuse

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A leading international rights group says reforms undertaken by governments in the Middle East to protect female domestic workers from abuse are insufficient.

The Human Right Watch says millions of Asian and African women working as house maids in the Mideast remain at risk of exploitation and violence.

The New York-based group also said in a report released on Thursday that several governments have made improvements for migrant domestic workers in the past five years, but reform has been slow and incremental.

The 26-page report documents progress in extending protections to mostly Asian women working as house maids in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.