Kathmandu, April 18:

Women migrant workers get a raw deal in the countries of employment because they are unskilled, ignorant about cultures of host countries and cannot express themselves in languages of the host countries.

Dil Maya Chettri (name changed) of Argauli-9, Nawalparasi, worked in Lebanon as a domestic help for 16 months without any weekly offs. Chettri, who flew to Lebanon with the help of an agent, neither had any job training nor knew the native language of Lebanon. Unable to communicate with her employer, she could not even get an appointment letter. As a result, she could not even lay claim over the salary that was promised to her. As a war broke out in Lebanon, Chettri, as per an informal agreement reached with an agent, flew home with just $500.

Later, with the help of Pourakhi — an organisation formed by the returnee migrant workers — she managed to get hold of an agent in Kathmandu and get her Rs 40,000 back.

Though the ban on women working in Gulf countries has been lifted, it is yet to be implemented. “This has left aspiring women migrant workers with no choice but to opt for illegal channels. Agents, employers and recruiters subject these women to discrimination and violate their rights,” says Manju Gurung, president of Pourakhi.

“Unskilled women constitute a majority of women migrant workers. They are subjected to rights violations and discrimination at the hands of brokers, recruiters, employers, and migration officials,” Gurung adds. Most female migrants workers work as domestic workers and in other sectors that are unregulated. According to the 10th plan, women comprise 10 per cent of total migrant workers.