Taking woes of KSA returnees seriously

The sudden return of a large number of female workers from Saudi Arabia has been reported in the media along with allegations of sexual harassment, torture, starvation and general mistreatment. Reportedly, 30-50 workers are coming back to Bangladesh every week with tales of misery and suffering. As a country sending workers abroad to earn, Bangladesh has the duty to ensure that her citizens are not mistreated, though, so far, no state level talks have happened as yet.

With almost all returning women workers alleging some sort of mistreatment, it’s time to have a country level discussion with the role of a maid in Saudi Arabia clearly defined. Some have said that women going from Bangladesh are not trained and do not have the physical strength. Obviously, this raises questions about how rigorous the work is. A maid is supposed to work in a home with her duty generally involving cooking, cleaning and, in cases, performing the role of a nanny.

Therefore, the issue of physical strength is puzzling. If a female worker needs to be given training then the first requirement is to clearly delineate the job for which she is applying. This is the duty of the agency and the government has to ensure that all manpower exporting bodies tell potential workers the full breadth of their tasks.

The Saudi Arabian manpower market brings us much needed foreign currency; however, we cannot allow the prospect of income to overshadow concerns about the dignity of our citizens.

Bangladeshi female workers have been going to the Middle-East to work since the mid-eighties; in the past, returnees hardly talked of mistreatment. It stands to reason; there is a glaring flaw in the whole system now, which needs to be identified. The only way that can happen is when the expatriates’ welfare ministry sits with its Saudi counterpart and agrees on some guidelines relating to women workers from Bangladesh.

Earlier this year, the Philippines, another country which also has a large share of overseas workers in gulf-states, stopped sending maids to an oil rich state due to long standing allegations of torture, which led four Philippina maids to commit suicide.

Saudi Arabia is visibly on a path to social reform; under the current atmosphere of transformation, the condition of Bangladeshi maids working there has to be given due importance. 

Taking woes of KSA returnees seriously

The sudden return of a large number of female workers from Saudi Arabia has been reported in the media along with allegations of sexual harassment, torture, starvation and general mistreatment. Reportedly, 30-50 workers are coming back to Bangladesh every week with tales of misery and suffering. As a country sending workers abroad to earn, Bangladesh has the duty to ensure that her citizens are not mistreated, though, so far, no state level talks have happened as yet. With almost all returning women workers alleging some sort of mistreatment, its time to have a country level discussion with the role of a maid in Saudi Arabia clearly defined. Some have said that women going from Bangladesh are not trained and do not have the physical strength. Obviously, this raises questions about how rigorous the work is. A maid is supposed to work in a home with her duty generally involving cooking, cleaning and, in cases, performing the role of a nanny. Therefore, the issue of physical strength is puzzling. If a female worker needs to be given training then the first requirement is to clearly delineate the job for which she is applying. This is the duty of the agency and the government has to ensure that all manpower exporting bodies tell potential workers the full breadth of their tasks. The Saudi Arabian manpower market brings us much needed foreign currency; however, we cannot allow the prospect of income to overshadow concerns about the dignity of our citizens. Bangladeshi female workers have been going to the Middle-East to work since the mid-eighties; in the past, returnees hardly talked of mistreatment. It stands to reason; there is a glaring flaw in the whole system now, which needs to be identified. The only way that can happen is when the expatriates welfare ministry sits with its Saudi counterpart and agrees on some guidelines relating to women workers from Bangladesh. Earlier this year, the Philippines, another country which also has a large share of overseas workers in gulf-states, stopped sending maids to an oil rich state due to long standing allegations of torture, which led four Philippina maids to commit suicide. Saudi Arabia is visibly on a path to social reform; under the current atmosphere of transformation, the condition of Bangladeshi maids working there has to be given due importance.