More Sindhupalchowk women own passports than men

Sindhupalchowk, July 7:

More and more married women from the Tamang community in Sindhupalchowk district are seeking passports to land in Gulf countries for jobs. According to the passport section of the Sindhupalchowk district administration office, more women seek passports than men here.

Even the lack of education and professional skills does not deter these women from going abroad.

“An increasing number of married women from the Tamang community are seeking passports to fly to Gulf countries,” assistant chief district officer Narayan Prasad Baral said, adding, “Even those women who cannot speak Nepali clearly have acquired passports.”

“When they are asked what kind of job they expect to get in the Gulf countries, they say

their relatives based in the Gulf will find jobs for them,” Baral said. Sunrani Tamang, 41, of Golche-6, who reached the district headquarters to take her passport yesterday, said she did not know about the kind of job that she will get in the Gulf countries. “I want to ensure good future for my two daughters by earning enough money in a foreign country,” Tamang said.

Sarada GC, who counsels women passport-seekers, said “Though the village women have no information about the type of job they will get in a foreign land, they are undeterred.” “What kind of job a woman will get in a foreign land if she is neither literate nor skilled?”

Many people get stranded abroad, but the number of people going abroad has not come down, GC said.

Assistant CDO Baral said, “We cannot stop issuing passports to illiterate and unskilled people until the government comes up with relevant legal provisions,” Baral said.