The WhatsApp group that saved trafficked women

BBC Africa Eye investigates how a WhatsApp group helped save more than 50 Malawian women trafficked to Oman to work in slave-like conditions. WARNING: Some people may find details in this story distressing. A 32-year-old woman breaks down in tears as she relives the abuse she experienced when she found herself working as a maid in Oman. Malawi woman says she was forced to have anal sex by her boss.

She says he threatened to shoot her if she said anything. It is estimated there are around two million female domestic workers in the Gulf Arab states. She had owned a small business in Lilongwe, Malawi and was managing. Survey of 400 women in Oman by migrant charity Do Bold.

Almost all were found to be victims of human trafficking. Nearly a third said they were sexually abused, while half reported physical abuse and discrimination. Georgina was the first victim. She became desperate and in a post on Facebook she begged for someone to help her.

More than 50 Malawian women working as domestic workers in Oman joined the group. The WhatsApp group was full of voice notes and videos detailing the horrific conditions the women were enduring. Many had their passports taken away as soon as they arrived, preventing them from leaving. Some told of how they had shut themselves in toilets to secretly send their pleading messages.

Do Bold works with a community of migrant workers in the Gulf countries. It identifies victims of trafficking or forced labour and negotiates with their employer for them to be released. One of the most common challenges that we face is that the employer or agent says: #39;I want my money back, then she can go home’ Georgina’s case allowed her to raise the alarm within Malawi. Pressure began mounting on the government to intervene.

After three months in Muscat, and with the help of Ms Nyoni, Georgina returned to Malawi in June 2021. She cannot change jobs and she cannot leave the country - no matter how you are treated. Blessings Nyoni, 39, was severely burned in the kitchen of the home she was working in, but her employer would not let her return to Malawi. Malawian charity Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) launched an Oman rescue campaign.

The Malawian government says it has spent more than $160,000 (£125,000) to bring 54 women back from Oman. But 23-year-old Aida Chiwalo returned home in a coffin. There was no autopsy or investigation done in Oman after her death. Malawi says it is developing rules to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration.

Georgina Nyoni’s WhatsApp group is now more of a support forum for the returnees. She says the issue of trafficked domestic workers highlights a bigger problem in Malawi - that of poverty. Georgina says she will return to how she was - the old Georgina, who was independent. One day all this will be history,#34; she says.

You can watch the full BBC Africa Eye documentary Trapped in Oman on the BBC Africa YouTube channel.