DHAKA, Feb 24, 2026 (BSS) - A Saudi returnee woman, Rizia Begum, was reunited with her family after 13 days as her identity was confirmed through fingerprint matching.

Rizia, a mother of three from Mamdannagar village under Barlekha upazila in Moulvibazar, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on February 12 in a mentally and physically disoriented condition and was unable to provide her address. 

Members of Aviation Security (AVSEC) handed her over to the Migration Welfare Centre of BRAC for safe shelter.

As she had no passport or national ID card, efforts were made to trace her family. 

Later, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) collected her fingerprints and matched them with National Identity Card data, confirming her identity. 

BRAC officials subsequently located her family and formally handed her over to them at its Uttara centre yesterday.

Speaking at the programme, PBI Additional DIG Enayet Hossain Mannan said this was the first time the agency assisted in identifying a distressed returnee migrant worker and vowed action against trafficking syndicates behind such incidents.

Rizia's daughter Liza Akter said her mother went to Saudi Arabia in 2019 through a local broker and faced physical abuse by her employer. Contact was lost after 2021 despite complaints to the authorities.

At the event, another Saudi returnee, Rima Akter, described incidents of rape and torture, saying she was sold multiple times and returned home six months pregnant on February 9. She is now under BRAC's care.

Shariful Islam Hasan, Associate Director, BRAC Migration Program and Youth Platform, called for a formal structure at the airport to support abused and traumatised returnee migrants and ensure accountability of those responsible.