Six women and girls arrived in Harare on Thursday from Kuwait and are now in the hands of Zimbabwean government authorities before being handed over to their families Friday.
One of the young ladies, who only wants to be known as Nancy Moyo, said she is looking forward to meeting her family and is grateful for the assistance provided by the Young Women Christian Association (International), led by human rights defender Nyaradzayi Gumbodzvanda, that bought their tickets.
Gumbodzvanda is also the African Union Goodwill Ambassador for early child marriages.
Some of the women, who were promised lucrative jobs before they left Zimbabwe, by employment agents in both countries, were allegedly abused by their employers. They were forced to do menial jobs and in some instances sexually abused.
Meanwhile, four human traffickers alleged to have participated in the trafficking of women and girls to Kuwait in court Wednesday, according to some media reports.
The four include former secretary to the Kuwait ambassador in Zimbabwe, Brenda Avril May, Jethro Madukuse of Mutare, Nyasha Bako and Lucia Makwangwa.
Three of the accused were granted $500 bail each and were ordered to report three times a week at various police stations, among other bail conditions. They were remanded to June 14. Nyasha Bako's bail was opposed by the state, which feared that he would flee.
Bako and Makwangwa are accused of trafficking four women to Kuwait after falsifying information that there were lucrative jobs in hotels and where they would work as waitresses been paid $1,500 to $2,000 a month.
The duo then processed travel documents for Tariro Muza (22), Emaculatta Mujeyi (42), Hazvineyi Bernadette Garanewako (23) and Zviito Kaurimbo (32).
Moyo told Studio 7 she is grateful to the Zimbabwe Embassy in Kuwait, which through one of its employees Francis Ngwenya, assisted the women after they escaped from their abusive employers.
Moyo said she is also grateful to the Young Women Christian Association, who purchased the tickets, and Studio7 for highlighting the plight of the trafficked women and girls.
"I can't believe I am now home and I can't wait to meet my family and start my life again by going to school to study dentistry and also cookery as I enjoy cooking. I have been shedding tears because I still can't believe that I am back home," said Moyo.
Another young lady is expected to arrive in Harare from Egypt where she was trafficked and was assisted by the Young Women's Christian Association to travel back home.
Moyo said there are other women and girls that have no access to phones and travel documents that are still trapped in other Arab States where there were re-trafficked from Kuwait.
She said it’s disturbing that these women may be suffering with no hope of returning home.
"I hope that other victims still in Arab States will get a chance to get home like what happened to us and be reunited with their families," said Moyo, who was re-trafficked to Saudi Arabia by her employers but feigned illness to be returned back to Kuwait where she was then able to escape and be repatriated back to Zimbabwe.
