"Bangladesh Shuts Recruitment Agencies After Saudi Abuse Claims", 3 December 2019

Bangladesh said...that it has shut down 166 recruiting agencies hiring people to work in Saudi Arabia after a spate of sexual abuse and torture allegations at the hands of employers in the Gulf kingdom.

Since 1991, some 300,000 Bangladeshi women have traveled to Saudi Arabia, according to the Dhaka government, mostly to work as household staff.

Government spokesman Munirus Saleheen said that the agencies that were shut down had failed to provide safeguards to the migrant workers and in some cases sent them back to their employers...

...Their closure followed talks between Bangladeshi and Saudi officials in Riyadh.

Both countries also decided to update an online database of the female workers to ensure their safety, a statement issued by the Bangladeshi expatriate welfare ministry said...

...Dhaka last week said it was also trying to repatriate another 32 women who filmed a joint distress call from a Saudi detention centre after they ran away from their employers.