25,051 Nepali women left the country in the fiscal year 2069-70 states a data provide by Maitai Nepal. Most of them were seen going abroad in peruse of finding a better job and income. 8,992 women went to Malaysia, 1,489 to Qatar, 349 to Saudi Arabia, 10,345 to the United Arab Emirates, 1,348 to Kuwait, 321 to Bahrain, 342 to Oman, 152 to Lebanon, and 222 to Japan.
As compared to last year the number of migrant women seeking foreign employment has increased rapidly. 2067-068 and 2068-69, a total of 10,416 and 22,958 female migrants left the country in the name of foreign employment.
The 2007 Foreign Employment Act not only ends discrimination based on gender but also adopts special measures to guarantee women’s security and rights when seeking jobs abroad but due to lack of monitoring and mechanism women are facing problems abroad due to lack of awareness and carelessness.
In 2012, Nepal banned women under the age of 30 years from going to work in the informal sector in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
Different information desks have been set up at the Tribhuvan International Airport and other exist points but at times due to lack of monitoring mechanism and clarity in policies these desk proves to be ineffective as well as a challenging scenario for the migrant workers. The number of women migrant worker have increased which cannot be denied and is a supporting factor for the economy but harsh reality that makes us think is most of them are being exploited in various ways which is a concern for all.