But that is exactly what happened. At the Tawk family, Agere was overworked, underfed and given no day off. Agere endured, believing that the money she was earning would make a difference for her family and thus be worthy of the hardship she endured. But Agere’s family state that after the third month, the Tawks stopped paying her for her work. That is when things spiralled downwards for Agere. She pestered her employers to give her the money she had earned. But the Tawks, and in particular Najwa, were ruthless and determined to exploit her for as long as possible. The kafala system enabled the couple to rob their domestic worker of her rights to a salary, rest and medical treatment.

Over the course of the next year, Agere was forced to work tirelessly day and night. She would clean the whole house several times a day. To force her to abide by this cruel, endless routine, Najwa would regularly beat Agere and threaten to kill her. Agere would often pass out from exhaustion or a lack of food. When this started happening with increased regularity, the Tawks would administer pills which were likely pain killers. Agere would later tell her mother that she believed that the pills weakened her further.