Bangladeshi female workers, predominantly domestic helps, continue returning home from Saudi Arabia alleging ill-treatment by their employers in the kingdom including sexual harassment and physical torture. And, according to government and diplomatic sources both in Dhaka and Riyadh, this influx is most likely to continue till the root causes are not addressed properly.

They also said that both the employers and employees are responsible for the situation and Bangladeshi female workers do face ill-treatment but not to the extent it is described by the returnees.

Let alone sexual harassment, any kind of ill-treatment under any circumstances is unacceptable, they hastened to add.

The sources further said that the host government takes the issue seriously and actions are taken against the employers who are proved responsible for any wrongdoing.

The government has no plan to stop sending female workers to Saudi Arabia, the largest remittance-sending country for Bangladesh.

“Yes, our female workers are leaving Saudi Arabia and I am afraid this trend will continue due to various reasons,” Nazrul Islam, deputy chief of mission of Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh told The Independent over telephone.

“Whenever we get any complaint we take this matter straightway with the host government which acts in accordance with the laws,” he said, adding, “We are always in touch with the Saudi government in this regard.”

According to government and diplomatic sources as well as some returnees, the ill-treatment faced by Bangladeshi female workers includes sexual harassment, physical torture, verbal abuses, sleep deprivation, non-payment or no-payment and inadequate meals.

Some returnees bear the marks of physical torture, they said.

“On average we receive complaints from 30-70 female workers per week. They complain about so many things. But, not all of them are substantiated,” a senior diplomat said.

“There is no excuse for ill-treatment. Having said this I have to say there are also some problems on our side,” he said.

When asked to elaborate, the diplomat said, “Our workers are not physically capable enough and they have no proper training prior to their departure. And, most importantly, our workers are not accurately briefed about their nature of job by the agencies through which they come.”

To a question, he said that 30-50 workers return home every week and that at present it is estimated over one lakh Bangladeshi workers are working in the kingdom.

An official of the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry told this correspondent that not all the allegations are true and a significant portion of our female workers return home violating the job conditions.

About the measures taken by the host government, the sources said that upon receiving complaints people from ministries including labour and social welfare get involved and conduct inquiries.

In most cases, the Bangladeshi workers are taken to safe homes and there are instances where the employers were not only fined but also imprisoned, they said.

About the allegation of sexual harassment, another senior official of

the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment admitted that they are aware of some accusations which are very serious indeed.

“But, despite efforts from our side, it is very difficult to prove the allegations,” he said.

A senior diplomat pointed out to the responsibility of the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry in this aspect, saying, “Our ministry and the embassy in Riyadh are constantly asking them to make things better at the Dhaka end. We ask them to ensure proper training and information for the prospective workers. Sadly, the ministry is not doing as it should do.”

“The ministry appears not be doing enough about the dishonest recruitment agencies that do not provide accurate information to the job seekers,” he said.