LONDON — Female domestic workers in Qatar are being subjected to extreme levels of abuse as they are forced to work more than 18 hours a day, according to a report published on Tuesday by Amnesty International, a non-governmental organization with its headquarters in the United Kingdom focused on human rights.

The report, which compiled the experiences of 105 female workers in the Gulf state, said some were forced to work excessive hours, were not paid properly, were denied food, and suffered severe physical mistreatment at the hands of employers, including sexual assault.

Some of them described how abusive employers belittled them by pulling their hair and spitting on them, as well as instances of being beaten, kicked, and punched.

The report documented instances of regular beatings suffered by 15 of the women, with 40 saying they had been slapped, spat at or had their hair pulled. Most were frequently insulted.

“Madam will say ‘(you are) a monster, I will cut your tongue’. I am scared. She will tell me ‘I will kill you’, always bad words. I am only a (maid), and I can’t do anything,” a domestic worker, said.

The report noted that domestic workers have their passports confiscated by their employers, making it very difficult to flee the abuse — adding that women have been driven to “breaking point” by being overworked with no time to rest while suffering abusive and degrading misconduct.

“Madam started shouting at all (the maids) ... she started spitting on us and slapped me again ... Before this incident, she also kicked me on my back,” another woman narrated.

Ninety women out of the total 105 surveyed said they routinely worked more than 14 hours each day, while half worked more than 18 hours per day, almost double the hours their contracts stipulated.

Fifteen women said they faced physical abuse at the hands of their employer or employer’s family, while five of them said they had been sexually abused, ranging from harassment to fondling and rape.

One woman who said she had been sexually attacked went to the police only to be accused of making up stories, according to the report.

Commenting on the report, Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at Amnesty International, said: "The overall picture is of a system which continues to allow employers to treat domestic workers not as human beings but as possessions.”

“Despite efforts to reform labor laws, Qatar is still failing the most vulnerable women in the country.”

“The women we spoke to were resilient and independent — they had left their homes and traveled halfway across the world. Instead of being isolated and silenced, these women should be given a voice so they can advocate for their rights,” Cockburn added.

There are 173,000 migrant domestic workers in Qatar, predominantly from Asia.

In response to the Amnesty report, Qatar said it was willing to work with Amnesty to investigate claims in the report and ensure “all guilty parties are held to account”.

“If proven to be true, the allegations made by the individuals interviewed... constitute serious violations of Qatari law and must be dealt with accordingly,” said a statement from the government communications office.

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