Shila (name changed), of Padam Pokhari, Makawanpur, was a student who did not give two hoots to parental advice to continue studies. Instead, she flew to Bahrain for employment.

Unable to earn as much as she had expected even after toiling for years in a foreign land, she returned home to the jeers of society. Unable to bear mental torture and discrimination, she had no option but to return to the Gulf country again.

Another woman, Sarita (name changed), of Hetauda municipality returned home after a yearlong stint in Kuwait. While she was there, she had to toil hard day and night and oftentimes faced verbal and physical abuse at the hands of her employers. Unable to put up with the harsh treatment, she knocked many doors and finally managed to return home, but there was no respite.

“My husband had died and I returned home with the hope of living a normal life, but to no avail,” shared Sarita, adding that she is living a virtually ostracised life. “Since I returned home, society has become sceptical of me. I’ve now realised how difficult it is to live when one is taunted by one’s own kin,” she remarked, adding, she has to bear all sorts of acerbic remarks from her kin and fellow villagers.

Sila and Sarita are only representative figures. Many women from our society find it hard to readjust after they return from foreign land due to the social stigma associated with the female sex opting to fly for foreign employment with the dream of bringing home the bacon.

“Keeping in view the plight of such women, we have been identifying them and imparting various trainings to enable them to live on their own,” said Mira Dahal, a social mobiliser, adding that 50 such women who had returned from foreign employment had been helped through training and logistical support to enable their rehabilitation under the first phase of the rehabilitation project.

“We have come in contact with 108 such women,” said Dahal, adding that most of the women, who opted for foreign employment are victims of domestic violence. According to a DAO data, around 1,100 persons acquire passport from the office every month, 40 per cent are women.

Published on: 6 June 2014 | The Himalayan Times