Indian Women Migrants Vulnerable to Exploitation in Gulf: UN

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) - Indian women, who form the third largest female migrant workforce from South Asia in the Gulf, often end up in vulnerable situations while working for employers as justice is out of their reach, a latest UN report says.

The report, titled 'Migration of Women Workers from South Asia to the Gulf', said migration of women from South Asia to the Gulf was likely to increase despite conditions that could lead to exploitation.

"It is also likely that women migrants will continue to encounter discrimination and exploitation at different phases of the migration cycle, in both sending and receiving countries," Press Trust of India quoted the report as saying.

The report was also critical of provision that made it mandatory for female emigrants from India to have completed matriculation or be of 30 years of age.

"Though it was initiated with the objective to protect the rights of workers, anecdotal evidence indicates that the provision not only restricts the rights of women to work but also promotes unregulated migration, where female workers end up in more vulnerable situations," the report said.

In 2010, about 6.45 million female migrants originated from South Asia, with Nepal having the highest number of migrants followed by Sri Lanka and India.

Saudi Arabia received the highest proportion of Indian migrant workers to the Gulf region in the same year.

The report said recruitment in Gulf countries was usually carried out under the kafala system where contracts were very individualised and made women workers highly dependent on their employer.

"Insufficient pre-departure orientation makes single women migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation and human rights abuse, as they are often duped by agents or employers," the report added. -- NNN-BERNAMA