The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sayeeda Islam Mita

Shahana Akhter, 26, works in a garment factory in Dubai. She migrated to the UAE in 2005. In September last year, Shahana had come home on a three-month leave and then returned to Dubai with a very heavy heart.

"No one will understand how hard it is to be abroad leaving behind the husband and the children. But, I have to do this only to support my family," said Shahana prior to her departure.

Thousands of women like Shahana are leading a hard life abroad for the sake of their families. The remittances they send back home not only help their families, but also help boost up the national economy. The contribution of these female expatriate workers to the country's socioeconomic development is very significant.

It is possible to export more female workers abroad if their safe migration can be ensured in addition to creating more skilled women workers.

There is no specific information as to when female workers began migrating to various countries in search of jobs. But government statistics show that it mainly got a boost in the 90s.

According to Bangladesh Manpower Employment and Training Bureau (BMET), the number of female workers in different countries was 74,074 as of August 2007. Of them, 54,835 female workers left the country in the last three and half years.

"Besides, there are many female workers working abroad who have not been included in the statistics," says a senior BMET official.

According to him, the government has only issued licenses to seven recruiting agencies for sending women workers abroad. But reports have it that many unauthorised agencies send female workers abroad.

A figure shows once female workers accounted for only one percent among the total expatriate workers, but now the figure stands at six percent.

Besides, a significant number of women are going abroad seeking jobs through middlemen. There are also instances that the brokers smuggle out the women workers taking advantage of their ignorance. Many women even lose everything being victims of the touts.

Minu Begum (not her real name) of Chandpur is one of them. After a hell lot of troubles, she collected Tk 58,000 and gave it to a broker who promised to provide her a job of domestic worker in Dubai. Once landed in Dubai, Minu could realise that she fell prey to human smugglers. Having suffered untold miseries for a long time, she came back home with the help of police.

Bangladesh Women Lawyers' Association councilor Dipti Ball says, "The trafficking of women will continue if their safe migration cannot be ensured. Though many women from Bangladesh go abroad for selling labour, they literally get smuggled due to lack of information about the type of job and lack of knowledge about migration law."

She also says the government should firmly enforce the related law apart from being more cordial in dealing with the problems facing by women workers both at home and abroad. The government should have all the information as to who went where and when. And, the Bangladeshi missions in relevant countries should also have all these information so that they can provide necessary assistance to the workers in need.

Female workers going abroad illegally are not the ones subject to cheating. Many of those going legally also fall victims to cheating. On many occasions, it is seen that women are not provided with jobs they are promised of. Rather, they are forced to take up other works.

For instance, Monwara Akhter, 28, was promised of a job of tailoring in Dubai. But, she was given a domestic job where she was forced to work inhumanly. Having failed to endure the misery, she returned home only after 18 days with many nightmares. "Now I'm ready to die of starvation in my own country. But, I'll never ever go abroad in search of a job," says Monwara, now works in a garment factory.

The Middle East has been the destination for most of the female workers. These days some are flying for a few Asian countries. Even though in tiny number, some are now going to Europe. Most of these migrated workers are engaged in domestic works. The number of workers in garment and other sectors is gradually increasing.

Female workers can be divided into three categories-skilled, semiskilled and unskilled. Among the expatriate female workers, the number of skilled and semiskilled workers is higher. Most of the expatriate females fall into skilled and semiskilled categories. Female workers, who are almost illiterate, face problems regarding language and in using modern technologies, resulting in many unwarranted incidents, including torture.

The expatriate female workers are mainly harassed for issues relating to working extra hours, non-payment of wages, irregular payments and inadequate food. There are even allegations of sexual harassments.

But those involved in sending female workers abroad claim the trend of harassing the workers continues to fall. "The increasing number of female workers going abroad is the proof of that," says Samiha Huda, national programme officer of a migration-related NGO.

According to concerned officials, there is a huge demand of Bangladeshi female workers in different professions, especially in domestic works, in Europe, the USA and the Middle East, but the problem is that they are not trained enough. So, they are lagging behind the workers from other countries.

A few NGOs and private organisations, however, have come forward to address the issues, but it's too inadequate to fulfill the needs. In government sector, there is one training centre in Mirpur and six such centres have been set up at the divisional level too, but those are yet to start their activities.

Rabeya Islam, chairperson of Handicraft Workers Welfare Association, says, "Time has changed. Now, along with males, women are also intent to work overseas. But, they can't for lack of necessary support and information. The rate of female migration will increase if the government can make arrangements to provide them with soft loans."

General secretary of Bangladeshi Migrant Women Workers' Association Sheikh Rumana worked for seven years in Malaysia where she saw for herself the adversities faced by expatriate female workers. Emphasising the need for skill development and raising awareness of female workers, she says, "A little bit of training can make a big difference. And, the level of harassment will also decrease if they can improve their skills."