Ziasmin’s Torment as a Migrant Worker

Bangladeshi migrant worker returns home six months pregnant by a man she was forced to spend a night with.

Ziasmin Akter, was forced into prostitution after she traveled to Jordan from her small village, Manikganj. She flew to Jordan dreaming to help her poverty stricken family but her dream shattered soon. She took up a job as a domestic helper in a well-off Jordanian family but her new employers abused her to the extent that she ended up leaving the household. In an unknown country with no one to seek help from, Sonia, another Bangladesh migrant gave her hope. Sonia took her home, promising her shelter.

Ziasmin said to a reporter, “I thought I had finally found a refuge. She asked me if I wished to go with her to her place. I agreed instantly.”

“I was yet to know what misfortune was waiting for me,” Ziasmin remembered tearing up. “Sonia was a pimp who forced me to engage in prostitution at her residence for a year. The dream I once cherished turned into a nightmare.”

Ziasmin’s body will not allow her to terminate the pregnancy as it is already too late. The unexpected child will bring a lot more hardships in her life.

A spokesperson for the Brac Migration Program took responsibility for Ziasmin’s treatment and medical checkups. He said, she is being pressurized for an abortion, he also said, “The villagers are insisting on the procedure, it would be risky for both for the baby and Ziasmin. We are planning to bring her into one of our safe homes for delivery.”

Read more about Ziasmin’s story Here