The parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to hold a tripartite meeting with two other ministries to discuss issues on abuse of female migrant workers employed in different countries, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
During a meeting with Jatiya Sangsad speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the standing committee wanted to sit with home ministry and the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment to discuss the issues, said a press release from the parliament secretariat on Sunday.
At the standing committee meeting, the standing committee wanted to hold a joint meeting with Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment ministry to recommend steps to prevent abuse of female migrant workers abroad.
The meeting minutes shows the last meeting of the standing committee also discussed in detail the issue of abuse of female workers abroad.
State minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam, in the meeting said, about 2% to 3% of the around 2.5lakh female workers employed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are facing abuse.
"The matter has become sensational because of the news published in social media on the abuse of maids. In many cases, the condition for sending female workers abroad between age limit of 25-45 years is followed. So, there shall be a study on whether we will send female workers to KSA or not before making a decision,” he said.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said most workers in KSA are in good condition, though some of them face abuse and violence.
But committee president Mohammad Faruk Khan said male workers also become targets of abuse abroad, but the ratio is not above 2%-3%.
Whatever the number is, foreign ministry will take necessary action against the employer if any information of abuse is reported, he added.
Abuse of female workers in gulf countries have long been reported with many facing physical, sexual, and mental abuse.
The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare & Overseas Employment (MEWOE), after investigating the 111 cases of returning female workers in August this year, found that 35% of them were victims of sexual and physical abuse, while 43% received irregular wages.
The report identified 11 fundamental reasons why Bangladeshi migrant women fled their workplace, including physical and sexual abuse, inadequate food, no leave, and irregular salaries.
Bangladesh began sending female workers to Saudi Arabia in 2015. Between 2015, and November 2019, a total of 3,04,588 Bangladeshi women migrated for work, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET). Among them, 58,283 went there this year.
Yet this year alone, about 1000 women have returned earlier than expected.
Other issues discussed
On the other hand, the ministry of foreign affairs submitted the latest report on the case filed by Gambia at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar for Rohingya genocide case.
The meeting recommended seeking support from Cambodia during visit in addition to seeking immediate steps for tour to Indonesia.
As the committee was notified at the meeting that foreign missions are issuing hand-written visas, it expressed concern and recommended speedy solution to this.
Chaired by Muhammad Faruk Khan, other committee members Nurul Islam Nahid, Golam Faruk Khandakar Prince, Nahim Razzaq and Kazi Nabil Ahmed also attended the meeting among others.