DUBAI: In a growing battle over women's rights and human rights, the Nepali government has called on the United Arab Emirates to refuse to hand out visas for Nepali women under 30-years-old after a series of reports on abuse towards women working as housemaids in the country have been published. The South Asian country banned women younger than this from taking these jobs in the Arabian Gulf in August last year following claims of abuse. The UAE, however, does not have a ban in place and women from Nepal can still apply for visas. Many young Nepali women have reported being lured to the UAE with the false promise of jobs but were abused and illegally hired out for a few thousand dirhams by unscrupulous agents. Some have reported being forced into sex work upon arrival in the Gulf country. On August 9, Nepal's cabinet approved a ban on women under the age of 30 from traveling 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. This recent move comes two years after Nepal lifted a 12-year ban on any women working in Middle Eastern countries. But Human Rights Watch has urged the government in Kathmandu to not impose the ban and work to empower and end the discrimination and abuse that has been reported. “Nepal is right to be concerned about its migrant domestic workers, but imposing a ban on women under 30 from traveling to the Gulf does not solve the problem and discriminates against young women", said Nisha Varia, senior women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “A better strategy would be to crack down on abusive recruitment practices, ensure that women migrate with an enforceable contract in hand, and equip embassies to respond quickly to complaints of abuse." Official Nepali emigration figures state that as many as 1,000 migrants pass daily through Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu; many others leave by land through the porous Indian border. Many domestic workers have positive experiences and together send home billions of dollars in remittances each year to Asia. Others face abuse. The embassy will emphasize its ban in a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The Nepalese Embassy in Abu Dhabi will reiterate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that, if they want to help the government of Nepal, please don't issue housemaid visas to any Nepalese girl who is below 30," said the ambassador, Dhananjay Jha, in comments published by UAE's The National newspaper. “The embassy has previously written to the ministry about the matter and it will again reiterate them to mutually resolve our people's grievances." BN
