Baghdad: A young Ghanaian woman from the Western North Region has shared a harrowing experience of alleged deception, abuse and captivity after travelling to Iraq for what she believed was a legitimate job opportunity.
According to Ghana Web, the lady whose identity was concealed in a GHOne report, shared on June 24, 2026, said that she left Ghana in May 2025 after being approached by agents who promised to secure her employment in Jordan. She said the offer appeared to be a chance to leave illegal mining activities and seek a better life abroad. However, upon arrival, she discovered that she had been taken to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, instead of Jordan as initially promised.
She explained in the report that all her travel arrangements, including her visa and flight tickets, were handled by the agents, who repeatedly assured her that suitable work and good conditions awaited her in Iraq. The woman said she was met at Baghdad International Airport by an unfamiliar male agent and taken to a camp housing African women from different countries.
According to her, newly arrived workers were forced to surrender their mobile phones after calling family members in Ghana to confirm their safe arrival. 'They confiscate your phone after forcing you to call your relatives in Ghana to inform them that you have arrived safely. The only time you get access to your phone again is when you manage to save some money from your work,' the woman shared in the video. She said access to phones was restricted and only granted under certain conditions.
The woman added that she remained at the facility for seven months before she was assigned her first job caring for an elderly woman which, according to her, was beyond her physical ability. She explained that she refused to take up the job, a move that led to severe punishment from her captors. She noted that she was beaten and locked in a small cell for several days without food or water. 'You are locked in a small toilet cell from 7am to 11pm without food or water. You are forced to stand throughout the entire period. You are only let out briefly after the agents close from work, and this cycle continues for three days,' she indicated.
She further alleged that attempts to seek help were ignored and that she was later transferred to another household where the mistreatment continued. The woman said food was often scarce and that there were days she survived on a single packet of instant noodles. She added that her health worsened during the period and that she developed a breast infection but was denied medical treatment. According to her, the prolonged abuse left her with hearing difficulties and stomach complications.
'At that time, I was suffering severe breast pain. Despite that, they beat me and locked me up for three days. I still feel the pain in my ear from the abuse,' she narrated. She also described conditions at the camp as overcrowded, claiming that more than 25 women were housed in small, poorly ventilated rooms.