This letter is in reference to an editorial piece "When it is more than remittance earning" by Shamsul Huq Zahid, which was published in The Financial Express on September 24, 2018. The editorial clearly depicted the plight of Bangladeshi female workers employed abroad, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Remittance is the life-blood of Bangladesh economy. The contribution of remittance inflow to the gross domestic product (GDP) is significant. Remitters who stay abroad work really hard to earn foreign currency. The government is encouraging them to send more and more. But it is also true that the Bangladesh missions abroad are not very sincere in helping these Bangladeshis on the foreign soil.
Most of the migrant workers have complained about this on their return home. Neighbouring India and other SAARC countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan with some other nations provide their nationals working abroad with all kinds of support through their respective diplomatic missions. But such support cannot be expected from Bangladeshi missions abroad.
More and more female migrant workers are going to the Middle East as domestic help. But the government in Bangladesh have no specific policy on the kind of steps that can be taken if these female migrants are exploited by employers.
The government needs to look into the cases of abuse and exploitation of women workers in the KSA and other ME countries. A specific policy to tackle such situation needs to be chalked out without delay.
Md. Zillur Rahaman
Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.
Lalmohan Branch, Bhola.
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