Departure of Nepali women for overseas jobs more than doubled in the last fiscal year.
The surge has been attributed to the increased hiring from major labour destinations and aspirants choosing the legal channel for leaving for foreign employment.

A total of 22,655 Nepali women received permission from the Department of Foreign Employment to leave the country for overseas jobs in 2011-12 — up 117.5 percent compared to 10,416 in 2010-11, according to the department.

Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Israel and Lebanon are the major countries that offer jobs to Nepali women and hiring from these countries have surged notably. Officials at the department said over 80 percent of the women work as domestic workers. The officials said the number of women migrant workers posted a healthy growth after the government tightened the screw on the trend of leaving for foreign employment through illegal channels. “The number of women leaving from the Tribhuwan International Airpo-rt with valid documentation has gone up,” said Kashi Raj Dahal, director at the department.

In 2011-12, Kuwait hired the highest 12,495 female workers — up 115.61 percent compared to 2010-11. The UAE stood second, recruiting 4,523 Nepali women, and Malaysia took in 2,210. Qatar and Bahrain offered jobs to 996, and 532 Nepali women, respectively.

Issuance of guidelines to send domestic workers to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait and improvised system of pasting labour sticker on outbound workers’ passports have also helped control irregular departure.

Although it is usually a tough job for women to get permission from their families to go abroad for work, the department figures show that more and more women are leaving the country for foreign employment each year. “This indicates that women are getting their right to mobility,” said Manju Gurung, president of Paurakhi, a non-government organisation, working for the welfare women migrant workers. She added that women were becoming more aware about safe migration and risks related.

Of the total, 16,165 women left for jobs through personal contact or individual approach, whereas 6,490 made it to labour destinations through foreign employment agencies. Gurung said women leaving through individual approach are more vulnerable to exploitation. She said the government should introduce a provision that allow women to leave the country through institutional medium only, for their safety.

Year                No of female workers
2011-12           22,655
2010-11           10,416
2009-10           10,056
2008-09           8,594
2007-08           4,685

Top five countries hiring Nepali female workers
Country           2011-12           2010-11           Change
Kuwait            12,495             5,795               115.61%
The UAE         4,523               1,911               136.68%
Malaysia          2,210               1,386               59.45%
Qatar               996                  313                  218.21%
Bahrain            532                  206                  158.25%
Source: Department of Foreign Employment

Published on: 23 July 2012 | The Kathmandu Post