Atwoli's statement on viral video of woman breastfeeding dogs in Saudi Arabia

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli during a past function [Benjamin Sakwa, The Standard]

Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has called on the government to ban employment agencies that recruit domestic workers to the Middle East countries.

Atwoli, who was speaking from his home in Kajiado County, was responding after viewing a video of a Kenyan woman breastfeeding puppies in Saudi Arabia.

The Standard cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.

In the video, which has since gone viral, the woman disclosed that her employer had asked her to breastfeed the puppies after realizing that she was a new mother.

"She left her husband and children in Kenya two months after giving birth. When they realised she can breastfeed, the employer gave her a job of breastfeeding puppies," Atwoli told NTV.

The COTU Secretary General added; "Our girls are being subjected to indirect slavery. How can one's daughter be turned to an 'animal' who is breastfeeding dogs? It lowers our dignity and standards as Kenyans."

The unionist has since appealed to the youth to shun jobs from the gulf countries.

"Let us remain here, as poor as we are, we have a new government, a government struggling to refurbish our economy, the economy will grow under this government," said Atwoli.

"The jobs out there are demeaning, disrespectful and not decent as advocated by the International Labour Organization," he added.

Thousands of workers who go to the gulf countries in search of opportunities have reported cases of overworking, violence, sexual abuse, and cruelty.

Diana Chepkemoi, a young Kenyan woman who was stranded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but was brought back home last month, disclosed that her colleagues were suffering in the gulf country and called on the government to act quickly.

"People are mentally and psychologically tortured. It is a shame that they often tell us there is nothing we can do. The government should do something. Some have even forgotten their names. They have forgotten where they came from," said Chepkemoi after jetting back to the country.