Relief for Malayali Woman Stranded in Kuwait; Shweta Madhu to Return Home in Time for Wedding

Kuwait City: In a welcome relief, Shweta Madhu, the Malayali woman stranded in Kuwait and was unable to return home in time for her scheduled wedding, will fly back to Kerala tomorrow morning. Kuwait Airways has granted her permission to travel, with social activist Shamsuddin Kannethu standing as guarantor for her departure clearance.

Shweta will depart Kuwait for Dammam this evening, and will travel onward from there to Kochi tomorrow morning. Her wedding to Ashwin, a native of Vadakara, is scheduled for this Saturday, with the ceremonies set to begin on April 16.

Shweta had joined her job in Kuwait in February and had applied for leave to attend her own wedding, but her employer denied the request. She subsequently resigned on March 4, but bureaucratic delays in completing the company's internal clearance procedures left her exit permit — required to cancel her visa and return home — mired in uncertainty, with her wedding just days away.

Her plight had drawn widespread attention and prompted Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas to write to the Indian Ambassador in Kuwait, urging the Embassy to intervene urgently with Kuwait Airways authorities and the immigration department to expedite the clearance process and ensure she could return in time.