Horror stories from Saudi Arabia
The miseries described by the abused women workers returning to Bangladesh from the host countries in the Middle East, mainly from Saudi Arabia, beggar imagination. We wonder how any civilised people can treat anyone in such a bestial way as our women workers are being treated, particularly in Saudi Arabia from where there has been a flood of returning women workers with sorrowful tales of their stay there in the last several months. And we have written about the nauseating and inhuman behaviour of the employers in this country. We had also cautioned our government, when employment in the Kingdom was resumed in 2015, to ensure all the necessary guarantees for workers going there. Since then, over a lakh women workers have been sent to Saudi Arabia. If anything has changed, it has been for the worst.
In this regard, there is much for the employing agencies to do. It must make foolproof terms of contract with the employers for physical and job safety of the workers. And should any of them return home prematurely, particularly because of physical abuse, they must be compensated adequately, although no recompense is enough for the trauma they go through. They should be rehabilitated in appropriate jobs since most of them on return are either deserted by their husbands or divorced.
But above everything else, our government should take up the matter strongly with the Saudis that as host country,it should ensure that all the clauses in the agreement are followed and take punitive action against the errant employers. It is high time for the government to reconsider sending women workers to countries where they are not treated as human beings. If at all, women workers should be trained in skilled jobs and employed in countries where there is no chance of physical ill-treatment.
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