Kathmandu, May 5:

The number of Nepali women going to Israel for employment has increased in the recent days.

Twenty-six-year-old Bimala Timilsina, housewife and mother of a two-year-old son, is attending a month-long caregiver training at a private institute in Kathmandu to seek an employment in Israel. Timilsina, who hails from Chitwan, said: “My skill will help me find a better and secure job in Israel, which will eventually help me to be financially independent.”

According to Hans Raj Wagley, general secretary of the Nepal Association for Foreign Employment Agencies, trained and skilled caregivers earn Rs 40,000 per month on an average. Caregivers and domestic helps have become fair jobs for women especially from middle class families with the capability to understand and converse in English. “Unlike the Gulf countries, there are no complaints regarding sexual harassment and misbehaviour from such caregivers in Israel,” said Wagley, adding that an estimated 10,000 Nepalis are working in Israel.

“Though the number of Nepali workers leaving for Israel has gone up, the number going through manpower agencies has dropped in recent months. Workers who are using personal channels to seek job and visa for Israel are often not properly trained and cause problems,” Wagley claimed.

Keshav Bahadur Baniya, director general of the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion, said: “The government is holding talks with the Embassy of Israel to make outflow of migrant workers more systematic. The government is trying to prevent the migrant workers from being cheated while seeking employment in Israel.”

“Trainings make the aspiring women migrant workers proficient to compete with their counterparts from Sri Lanka, Philippines, India, and Romania,” said Ujwal Shrestha, Israel program manager at HIMSTI, a training institute.

Shrestha added that women between the ages of 25 and 45 years are eligible for a job of caregiver, and they need to be trained to assist the elderly or the disabled in a private household, which includes the responsibilities to assist in bathing, dressing and grooming.