To a woman motherhood appears to be the most prized possession. In the heavenly feeling of motherhood, a woman finds her ultimate fulfilment. But not all are blessed with this precious gift. Then for some others, motherhood proves to be a curse for incidents they are made a party to by force or under abnormal circumstances. A Bangladeshi female migrant worker has been compelled to go through one such trauma for no fault of hers. Now she is in deep anguish after the birth of an unwanted baby -the outcome of rape she had to endure in the home of her employer in the Middle-east.
It is a story of shame, agony, helplessness, poverty and collective mindlessness. Or, how else can the authorities concerned and others responsible for helping such workers who are in no position to fend for themselves, tell they would take up the matter if they receive a complaint in this regard? Like every other woman, this mother of two nurtured a hope for a better life and through a manpower-recruitment agency got a cleaner's job at a Madrasha in one of the Middle-east countries. She had to pay Tk 70,000 to get the job. To her utter horror, she was given the job of a domestic help in a family in breach of her contract. The room she was allotted to sleep at night had no door. Her employer's son serving in the police department once came home on leave and forced into her room to rape her.
Appalled and ashamed, she could not disclose what had happened. But she could not hide it as her belly started bulging with her pregnancy following the rape. In December, seven months after her pregnancy, she was deported to Bangladesh. A few days ago she gave birth to a baby boy. She does not want the baby. What a dilemma for a reluctant and outraged mother! An organisation looking after the welfare of the returnees from abroad has supported her so far. She insists that she does not like to bring up the baby because the stigma will haunt her throughout her life and her family will not accept the illegitimate boy. Well, if the baby grows up, she will continue to remind her of what she had to suffer in a foreign land. But even if she gets rid of the baby, can she do away with her past and start life afresh with her husband?
This woman is not the only woman who has been sexually abused in countries of the Middle-east. Another woman was rescued from her captivity in another Middle-east country last year. She had a horror story to tell on return to Bangladesh. In fact she suffered sexual violation by her employer on a regular basis. She was lucky to contact one of her acquaintances, a man working in the same country, who informed her family of her plight. But not all are equally fortunate to get out of the den of daily dishonour.
It is because of this, female workers' recruitment abroad should not at all be left to the discretion of manpower agencies. If the government takes the responsibility, such sexual abuses of female workers abroad can be avoided. There is a need for prior monitoring of the employment status by a team of welfare wing at high commissions or embassies to be created specially for the purpose. The team will be regularly in touch with all workers, particularly the women among them, to know if they have any grievances. This can be of help in bringing order in recruitment of female workers and ensuring some security against sexual predatoriness.
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