Death of Jullebee Ranara – The plight of working women in the Arab

By: Arshad Farooq Butt

The plight of working women in the Arab world is not hidden from anyone. Incidents of sexual assault and murder of working women are of momentous concern.

Death of Jullebee Ranara is a wake-up call that the Arab world must now take serious steps to protect working women’s rights.

Jollibee Ranara story

Jullebee Cabilis Ranara was born in July 17, 1988. She was a 34 years old Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). She was serving as a domestic worker for her last Kuwaiti employer in the United Arab Emirates.

Jollibee ranara managed to get the job in Kuwait with the help of Philippine-based employment agency Catalist International Manpower Services Company. That company had a counterpart in Kuwait, Platinum International Office for Recruitment of Domestic Manpower.

Jubilee Ranara what happened?

Jollibee ranara latest update came when she was found dead buried in the desert near Al-Salmi Road on January 21, 2023.

She was so brutally killed that her corpse was found burnt with her head smashed.  A post-mortem examination by Kuwait authorities determined she was pregnant at the time of her death. It further said that she was allegedly murdered and raped.

Philippines’ Reaction on the death of Jullebee Ranara

Ranara reportedly called her family shortly prior to her death. She told her mother that she was afraid of her employer’s 17-year old son.

After the murder of Jullebee, her family refused to accept blood money or make any settlement with the Kuwaiti employer. There was great outrage in the Philippines over this brutal incident.

Kuwait sent the dead body of Jullebee Ranara to the Philippines on January 27, 2023. The employer had to pay the expenses.

The Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted the post-mortem again to know the facts. Ranara was buried on February 5, 2023 at the Golden Haven Memorial Park in Las Piñas.

Kuwait’s Reaction on the death of Jullebee Ranara

Kuwait arrested the 17-year-old Kuwaiti suspect who raped and killed Jullebee Ranara. He was the son of the employer of the Ranara.

Kuwait stopped issuing worker visas to Filipino nationals after this incident. After this incident, Philippine Embassy in Kuwait took some actions which were protested by the Kuwaiti authorities.

Jollibee ranara actual video is not available nor suspect face is shown by the Kuwaiti authorities. However some videos and pictures are available on tiktok and facebook with no authenticity.

Also Read: Kuwait decides to lift visa ban to Filipino citizens