Saudi court sentences Kenyan domestic worker to 100 lashes for giving birth out of wedlock

A Saudi court sentenced Esther Wanjiku Muthoni, a 40-year-old Kenyan domestic worker, to 100 lashes for giving birth out of wedlock. The father, an Egyptian national, left the country. The case has drawn criticism from human rights groups regarding Saudi reforms.

A Saudi court sentenced a foreign worker from Kenya, Esther Wanjiku Muthoni, 40, to 100 lashes after she gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Muthoni worked as a domestic helper in the kingdom and became pregnant from a relationship with an Egyptian citizen who left the country. She gave birth in August 2025 in the workers' accommodation, and after the discovery, she was taken to the hospital and questioned by the police. She subsequently lost her housing and lived at a gas station in Riyadh. The court convicted her of extramarital sexual intercourse and sentenced her to lashes and a one-year deportation. Muthoni was not represented by a lawyer, and no indication was found of steps taken against the baby's father. The case, revealed by the New York Times, sparks criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reforms, as the punishment of lashes has been abolished for most offenses but not those related to interpretations of Islamic law. Human rights organizations note that women in Saudi Arabia are particularly vulnerable to prosecution because pregnancy serves as evidence.