SHRISTI JOSHI

Migrant women

Recently, when I was at Delhi airport looking for someone to share my extra baggage, I happened to see a lady carrying only a purse. I went up to her and asked if I could check in with her. She held my hand with a sigh of relief when I spoke in Nepali. “Didi, please malai nachodnu” (‘Please don’t leave me!’), she said, trembling.

Lost and confused, Subhadra (name changed) was meandering alone at the airport. As we introduced ourselves, she told me that she had been working in Saudi Arabia for the last ten years. When I asked her which city, she said she had no clue. She had never stepped out of the house.

At that point, I assumed that she had been a victim of fraud human resource agents who exploit people in the name of foreign employment. I assumed she was working as domestic help for an abusive employer. But I learned that she was enslaved by a couple who were both working for the UN!

This was her first trip back home in ten years. She was consumed by the fear that her children would not recognize her because she had been away so long. Because she was unable to save anything despite years of hard work in a foreign country, her husband had left her. “I could not even return home to ensure that my children had a place to stay,” she said. They were no different from orphans, even though both their parents were alive. “I am going home empty-handed. How do you think my children will react?” she asked me. I had no answer. Other than giving her emotional support, holding her hand and listening to grievances she had buried for years, I was helpless.

After this encounter, I was beset by profound questions. Circumstances cause many women to migrate for money, leaving behind things far more valuable than money can ever buy. The dilemma they face when they leave young children behind is: Is it worth it? Is migration a long-term solution to their problems?

Subhadra’s wrenching story exposes the lasting emotional scars of migration on mothers and children. The economic pressures they face result in something like coercion. They are compelled to give their children less mothering so that they can make more money. It is often a choice between hunger and migration. In addition to such wrenching separations from their husband and children, many women migrant workers (WMWs) face human rights violations and abuses. Most of them work as domestic helps and caregivers, in sectors that are usually not covered by labor laws, with no health benefits or holidays. The majority are still dependent on informal agents and informal migration routes. Nepali WMWs are often unaware of employment details, have limited job-related knowledge and skills, lack financial resources, and have a minimal support system at the family and community level. Their passports are confiscated by employers; they are deprived of food and communication with the outside world. They lack access to redress mechanisms and are prone to abuse and exploitation. Their horror stories are shocking.

Despite the contribution of migrants to our economy, unfortunately, there is an inadequate institutional capacity to protect migrants and ensure safe migration and labor processes. Violations of migrant workers’ rights have limited the benefits of foreign employment. A rapid assessment conducted by UN Women in Gulf and Lebanon in 2010-11 reported 2,820 cases of rescued WMWs, 415 cases of mentally unstable women, 111 cases of women in a foreign jail, 86 cases of women returning with pregnancy, 32 cases of suicide, 32 cases of women returning with a child, and 31 cases of disappearances. These facts clearly shed light on the status of women who end up in low-status, low-wage production and service jobs, and often work in gender-segregated and unregulated sectors of the economy. More than 90 percent of the trafficked women said that they had migrated in search of work.

Most of the returnees are compelled to do another foreign trip once their money is spent on paying debt, school expenses of children, medical treatment, and on household consumption. In many cases, migration and remigration is forced choice, hence migrants and their families cannot maximize benefits from foreign employment. The cost of migration is higher both socially and economically for women.

The findings of the pilot program conducted by UNIFEM, a part of UN Women, revealed that if alternate economic opportunities are provided, forced migration may be minimized. About 94 percent of returnee WMWs who are currently involved in enterprise creation and operation said they would not like to re-migrate. This reflects the need to explore opportunities and create alternatives for WMWs in Nepal. Evidence shows that enterprise creation with remittance can be an effective way of employment generation.

Many returnee WMWs have shared that the opportunity to earn has enhanced their chances of living a dignified life. Most of them prefer to stay in their country with their families, especially those that were married and had children, as they are earning well from their enterprises. Moreover, male migrant workers are reported to be supportive of their spouses in enterprise development, as such enterprises provide alternatives to breaking the migration chain. Other options such as vocational training, increasing information flows regarding investment opportunities, provision of loans from financial institutions, and developing market linkages need to be explored by government and non-governmental agencies. The development of entrepreneurial competence would definitely enhance investment in productive activities that can generate returns.

Nepal has indeed taken some firm strides in terms of adopting relevant policies to ensure the rights of its citizens migrating for employment, starting with the Foreign Employment Act 1985. The Foreign Employment Act of 2007 and Foreign Employment Rules 2008 emphasize gender equality. However, the effective implementation of these policies is a major challenge for Nepal, as they have failed to incorporate issues of returnee migrants and their future prospects. For example, the Foreign Employment Act 2007 focuses on the recruitment phase, gives slight emphasis to destination countries, and virtually ignores the last phase of the migration cycle, reintegration.

The government must acknowledge the contribution of migrant workers and develop policies that would allow it to reap the benefits of migration for long-term development. Foreign employment returnees should be recognized as development partners for poverty reduction. In addition, national banks and financial institutions have a crucial role to play. They can establish relationships to channelize remittance through formal modes and introduce special programs to invest remittance in the productive sector.

Policies should be adjusted to address the future implications of migration and encourage return migration. For this, there is a need to open up opportunities for returnees to best utilize their skills, expertise, and experiences in Nepal. There is a need to create an economy, a society and an environment that does not leave foreign labor migration as the last resort for women who, in search of better lives for their families, end up making colossal sacrifices.

The author is a Jawaharlal Nehru University graduate

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Published on: 4 September 2013 | Republica