Call to depict jobs abroad more kindly
KATHMANDU: Government authorities and organizations working for providing foreign employment to Nepali migrant workers have urged the media to portray women migrant workers’ jobs as dignified. The media should play a vital role to promote women’s employment overseas, said Minister for Labour and Transport Management Mohamed Aftab Alam in an interaction here today.
The Ministry for Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM) wants safe migration and the media can educate people about it, he said. He also urged the media to explore the pros and cons of the foreign employment to clear up its evils. “MoLTM wants responsible and accountable overseas employment,” he said.
Saru Joshi Shrestha of UNIFEM urged the government to remove obstacles in the foreign employment of women. “How long will we suffer the ‘no encouragement’ policy,” she questioned government authorities. She suggested adopting a gender-sensitive approach. The policy is indirectly helping illegal migration so it should be dropped, she added.
MoLTM has identified five countries — Hong Kong, Japan, Israel, South Korea and Lebanon — as women friendly places.