WHAT: L.T. Ariyawathi, 49, came home to Sri Lanka after five months of working for a family in Saudi Arabia and accused her employers of hammering hot, 2-inch nails into her hands and legs if she complained about the workload.

WHY: The maid feared reporting the abuse to Saudi authorities because she believed her employers would not let her return home. They were angry she couldn’t understand their language and that she told them she felt overworked.

WHY IT’S OUTRAGEOUS: About 1.4 million maids from poverty-stricken Sri Lanka work for families in the Middle East, and reports of physical cruelty are common.