Young female house helps get abused most abroad

Young Bangladeshi female house helps became the main victims of physical and sexual abuse at their workplaces abroad, a senior government official said yesterday.

“We have observed that young female domestic workers became victims of sexual abuse abroad while the elderly ones were subjected to torture,” said Jabed Ahmed, additional secretary at the expatriates welfare and overseas employment ministry.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

He was addressing a seminar on “Ratification of ILO convention 189 for the Protection of Women Domestic Workers” as the chief guest.

WARBE Development Foundation and Bangladesh Civil Society Coordination Committee on Global Forum on Migration and Development-2016 jointly organised the programme at the Jatiya Press Club.

The government was facing difficulties in keeping the Bangladeshi workers' markets abroad unharmed due to some unexpected incidents of abuse, said Jabed.

The ministry is now strictly checking the actual ages and health conditions of workers before sending them abroad, he added. About the alleged physical and sexual abuse of female workers abroad, especially in Saudi Arabia, he said the government and the recruiting agents' failure left the female workers vulnerable to abuse. The ministry and the recruiting agents were mainly responsible for the abuse as they allowed workers to go aboard without ensuing their safety and security, said Jabed. 

CR Abrar, executive director of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, said India blacklisted some corrupt recruiting agents for their alleged involvement in cheating and exploiting female workers, but Bangladesh could not take such bold steps as yet. He requested the government to ratify ILO convention 189 which mandates “decent work” for domestic workers.

Several speakers from different migrant rights organisations and media houses also demanded the government ratify the ILO convention. They stressed the need for checking physical and sexual abuse of female house helps both at home and abroad.