New York, Aug 14 (IANS) The Nepali government should revoke its new ban on women under the age of 30 from working in Gulf countries, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
Instead, the government should improve protections so that domestic workers can migrate safely, Human Rights Watch said.
At the same time, governments in the Gulf should adopt long overdue labour protections and immigration reforms, including ending the discriminatory treatment of domestic workers, to combat abuse of Nepali and other migrant workers, it said.
On Aug 9, Nepal’s cabinet approved a ban on women under the age of 30 from travelling to the Gulf for work.
The ban is a response to several publicized cases of abuse of Nepali domestic workers, including long work hours, unpaid wages and in some cases physical or sexual abuse.
The move comes two years after Nepal lifted a 12-year ban on any women working in Middle Eastern countries.
Many domestic workers have positive experiences and together send home billions of dollars in remittances each year to Asia, Human Rights Watch said. Others face abuse.
