LOC13:29
10:29 GMT
GENEVA, Jan 4 (KUNA) -- The International Labour Organization (ILO)
believes that knowledge can play an important role in helping migrants stay
safe, according to a study released on Friday.
In 2012, the ILO organized a series of orientation workshops, as part of a
UK-sponsored pilot project aimed at reducing the vulnerability of women and
girls migrating as domestic workers.
The project sought to raise awareness of the challenges of migrant domestic
work, including the growing threat of forced labour. Participants also learned
about preventive measures for safe migration and the laws that protect the
rights of domestic workers.
One of the issues discussed was the need for financial planning, including
the importance for migrants to save some money for themselves - even as they
send funds home to their families - in order to retain a measure of financial
independence, for example by starting a business of their own.
The workshops were run by Pourakhi, a Nepali NGO set up by returnee women
migrant workers. They were held in the Sunsari district, close to the Indian
border, which is notorious for high levels of human trafficking.
The government has provided some orientation training for potential
migrants but only for a limited number of participants. Because these courses
were held in Kathmandu, only those who live in the capital or have relatives
there willing to put them up could afford to attend.
Nepalese women migrating as domestic workers often risk falling prey to
human trafficking. A little knowledge can go a long way towards reducing their
vulnerability.
Every day, as many as 1,500 people migrate from Nepal, hoping for a better
life for themselves and their families. But many fall prey to unscrupulous
employers, recruiters or even family members, and end up in forced labour.
Nepal's economy is heavily dependent on remittances - which account for
about a quarter of GDP - while poverty and instability lead many women and
girls to travel abroad for employment as domestic workers. Lack of information
about the risks involved leaves them highly vulnerable.
Far away from the central administration in Kathmandu, vulnerable girls and
women in districts like Sunsari fall under the radar despite the government's
efforts to promote safe migration.
At one of the workshops, Geeta Gautam told how her husband forced her to
work abroad as a domestic worker, how she was raped by her employer, and was
eventually thrown out of her home by her in-laws after giving birth upon her
return.
Young women often migrate to flee domestic violence, poverty or civil
unrest, and end up falling into the trap of forced labour and trafficking.
Pourakhi, which also broadcasts weekly radio programmes aimed at helping
future migrants prepare for the challenges they face, has called on the
government to ensure migrants are properly trained and educated before they
travel abroad for employment.
Forced labour is a worldwide scourge, with about 21 million people trapped
in jobs into which they were coerced or deceived and which they cannot leave.
More than half of them - 11.7 million - are from the Asia-Pacific region,
according to the ILO's 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labour. Of those, 4
million are in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
"In order to prevent these women and girls falling into the pitfall of
trafficking and forced labour, it is essential to reach out to such vulnerable
groups through educational and awareness programmes," says Bina Thapa of the
ILO in Kathmandu. (end)
ta.rk
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