WITH an increasing number of female migrant workers and trafficked women returning home giving birth to children of fathers from foreign lands, a study has warned their kids will face serious problems acquiring citizenship if a special legal provision is not made. The study conducted in Kailali branch of Maiti Nepal, government rehabilitation centre in Sindhupalchowk district and Shakti Samuha Centre in Kathmandu Valley has found that 75 percent of women returnees and their children staying in rehabilitation centres are out of their families’ contact, which could create problems once they apply for citizenship.

As per the current provision, if a Nepali woman staying in Nepali territory gives birth to a child and the child´s father is unidentified, the child will get citizenship by descent. However, children sired by foreign fathers in foreign lands under different circumstances will have no identity under this provision. The law is silent in case of a person brought up by an adoptive unmarried woman. “Identification documents of most of the trafficking victims are seized by exploitative employeers. This makes it difficult to provide relief to their children, whose identities cannot be established by any document,” said Meena Poudel, a research team member of International Organisation for Migration. “Thousands of trafficked returnees are struggling to stay hand to mouth as they are not supposed to stay at rehabs forever.” According to her, the same is applicable to many women who went on foreign employment but returned home with unwanted kids as a result of rape and sexual violence. “These women may have gone abroad with passports and visas, but they returned penniless without legal documents with children.” “If this is ignored this time, like the women their children will have to live their whole life marginalised.” Poudel said most of the returnee women are working as sex workers in different parts of the country, encouraging their children to indulge in criminal activities as they grow up. Laxmi Prasad Tripathi, Under Secretary of Ministry of Women Children and Social welfare, said, “The government neither has a record of the women trafficked from Nepal nor of female returnees,” said According to Poudel, the government should estimate the total number of women facing this problem and bring in a special provision regarding granting citizenship to their children.

Published on: 1 May 2011 | The Kathmandu Post