“We are receiving an average of six applications daily to hire female domestic workers,” said charge d’affaires of Nepali embassy Deepak Adhikari. According to him, people of Indian origin have been requesting for Nepali housemaids because of the similarities in language and culture. More than 80 per cent of the demand is from nationals of Indian origin and Europeans, he said.

 

About 100 Nepali housemaids have reached UAE after the government opened the job destination for housemaids on June 6 last year. However, recruitment started from November after the government approved the criteria for sending housemaids, he added. 

 

The government has set stringent criteria for recruiting housemaids. According to the specific requirements, employers in the UAE have to submit 14 legal papers including a police report proving a clean criminal record and a salary certificate of a minimum of Emirati Dirham 10,000 per month.

 

The employer also has to guarantee regular communication facility between the housemaid and her family, good accommodation and a promise to pay a minimum of Emirati Dirham 900 as monthly salary, said Adhikari. Illegal migration of housemaids has been creating a lot of problems in Nepal.

 

The Nepali embassy in Abu Dhabi had rescued 72 housemaids who had suffered from exploitation and abuse between August 2010 and February 2012. Likewise, every week about 10-12 housemaids took shelter in safe houses operated by the embassy.

 

According to the Department of Foreign Employment, about 6,651 Nepali women migrant workers have reached the destination since fiscal year 2003-04 but UN Women estimates more than 7,000 Nepali women to be currently working in UAE.