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A Kenyan mother in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 100 lashes as a punishment for giving birth outside of marriage, according to a report.
Esther Wanja Muthoni, 40, was employed as a domestic worker serving as a housekeeper and nanny for a family in Saudi Arabia.
During this time, she is reported to have become pregnant during a brief relationship with an Egyptian man who has since left the country.
Her case came to light after she was taken to hospital and her condition was discovered. She was then detained and questioned by police.
Ms Muthoni has spent more than a year trying to return home with her one-year-old son Abudy, but has been blocked at every turn, according to the New York Times.
“I am so afraid,” she said in an interview last month. “I don’t think I can endure those lashes.”
Sex outside of marriage is illegal in Saudi Arabia, which rights groups say disproportionately affects women who can then become pregnant from the encounters.
The situation is especially precarious for migrant workers from African countries including Kenya.
