Female Migrants: 37pc returned empty-handed
Jameela (pseudo name) migrated to Jordan as a domestic worker around five years ago, hoping to change her life. Her life did change, but not in the way she had imagined.
In Jordan, she was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by her employer for months.
Eventually, she had to return home, pregnant and empty-handed. Her child now lives with her and her parents.
Jameela's case is not an isolated one. Like her, around 17.1 percent of women migrant workers had to escape from their employer's homes because of abuses, while 37.3 percent returned without being paid their wages, according to a study of Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers' Association.
Half of the returnee women migrants did not seek any legal support, primarily because they did not know where to seek legal support, according to the "Strengthened and Informative Migration System 2022-23" (SIMS) report by BNWLA.
The study findings were presented at a discussion yesterday at a Dhaka hotel. With the technical support of Helvetas Bangladesh, the SIMS project is funded by Switzerland.
In 73 percent of cases, women chose to go abroad due to economic and social vulnerabilities, including marital strife and a lack of family support, according to SIMS analysis.
Nearly half of them encounter difficulties in securing jobs, mainly because of limited skills among those migrating from Bangladesh.
Between April 2021 and October 2023, BNWLA received a total of 1,697 complaints from migrant victims and their families, with 90 of them filed by women migrants. The analysis says most cases of sexual abuse remain underreported due to victims' fear of social repercussions.
Saleh Ahmed Mujaffor, director general of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, and Salma Ali, BNWLA president, spoke at the event.
Comments