Pratap Bista

Two Nepali migrant workers allegedly committed suicide in Lebanon in the past week.

The victims have been identified as Shanti Rai from Solukhumbu and Renuka Jarghamagar from Kavre.

However, Binod Upreti of the foreign employment community association in Lebanon said the causes of deaths were yet to be established. Jarghamagar and Rai allegedly committed suicide on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively. Both were working as domestic helps in Beirut for the past two years.

It has been learnt that the women reportedly killed themselves due to domestic violence meted out to them by their employers.

The body of Jarghamagar was flown to Kathmandu on Wednesday, while Rai's is yet to be repatriated.

Meanwhile, Nepali migrant workers in Lebanon staged a protest at the houses of the deceased's employers on Friday. They demanded action against the guilty.

Upreti said the association receives over 10 complaints against sexual abuse every month. At least two women died in the country this year, where 833 Nepali women are working, according to statistics. 

Published on: 8 September 2012 | The Kathmandu Post