Indonesia to stop sending domestic workers to Middle-east permanently

Family members of beheaded Indonesian maid Siti Zainab displaying a poster (right) bearing her portrait at their home in Bangkalan, East Java province, on April 15, 2015. Indonesia will stop sending new domestic workers to 21 Middle Eastern countries, reports said on Tuesday, after the recent execution of two Indonesian women in Saudi Arabia. -- PHOTO: AFP.

JAKARTA (AFP): Indonesia will stop sending new domestic workers to 21 Middle Eastern countries, reports said Tuesday, after the recent execution of two Indonesian women in Saudi Arabia angered Jakarta.

The ban affects countries including Saudi Arabia - a major destination for Indonesian maids - United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt, and will come into effect in three months' time, Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri was cited as saying in local media.