UNDP report reveals women migrants' ordeal in Arab states
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
FE Report
A large number of Bangladeshi women migrants, who work as domestic helps in the Arab countries, face physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their employers, a report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Tuesday.
"These poor women workers ultimately lose their jobs and are deported, when they are found HIV-positive in mandatory health tests," the report mentioned. The report was based on a study on 'HIV vulnerabilities faced by women migrants: from Bangladesh to the Arab States," jointly conducted by the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme (OKUP) and the UNDP. UNDP Country Director Stefan Priesner formally launched the report at a city seminar in presence of Minister for Manpower, Employment and Expatriates' Welfare Engr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, who was the chief guest.
The minister in his address said the government is very concerned about the growing cases of exploitation and mistreatment of women migrants by their employers. "We are in a process to deploy women officials in host countries to ensure maximum safety and protection of the women migrant workers," the minister said. To improve workplace safety and financial security, Mr Hossain said the government is building a platform for closer negotiations between the host countries and the countries of origin.
The UNDP study report was conducted on the basis of person-to-person interviews of 250 women migrants, who were undocumented migrants and faced vulnerable situations such as sexual abuse and deportation on the ground of testing HIV-positive. The Arab states are the primary destinations for many migrant workers from Asia including Bangladesh. The host countries covered by the study are Bahrain, Lebanon and the UAE.
The UNDP country director said the economic gains generated by the migrant workers are enormous, reaching almost 9.4 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2007.
A large number of Bangladeshi women migrants, who work as domestic helps in the Arab countries, face physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their employers, a report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Tuesday.
"These poor women workers ultimately lose their jobs and are deported, when they are found HIV-positive in mandatory health tests," the report mentioned. The report was based on a study on 'HIV vulnerabilities faced by women migrants: from Bangladesh to the Arab States," jointly conducted by the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme (OKUP) and the UNDP. UNDP Country Director Stefan Priesner formally launched the report at a city seminar in presence of Minister for Manpower, Employment and Expatriates' Welfare Engr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, who was the chief guest.
The minister in his address said the government is very concerned about the growing cases of exploitation and mistreatment of women migrants by their employers. "We are in a process to deploy women officials in host countries to ensure maximum safety and protection of the women migrant workers," the minister said. To improve workplace safety and financial security, Mr Hossain said the government is building a platform for closer negotiations between the host countries and the countries of origin.
The UNDP study report was conducted on the basis of person-to-person interviews of 250 women migrants, who were undocumented migrants and faced vulnerable situations such as sexual abuse and deportation on the ground of testing HIV-positive. The Arab states are the primary destinations for many migrant workers from Asia including Bangladesh. The host countries covered by the study are Bahrain, Lebanon and the UAE.
The UNDP country director said the economic gains generated by the migrant workers are enormous, reaching almost 9.4 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2007.