Though she is living at a tin-roofed house in a slum area near Ershad Nagar bus stand in Tongi, she has a number of electronics appliances such as fridge and colour TV.

Her newfound wealth all started after she opted for going abroad with a job.

She went to Malaysia twice and took her husband with her. Now both of them have returned to the country and have invested their earnings to buy 50 rickshaws and a garage.

Her little girl now goes to a kindergarten school and doing well.

"We could not maintain our family with only Tk 2,000 while working at a garments factory before going to Malaysia in 1991. We faced much difficulty to manage our bread after paying the house rent and could not save a single penny at all," said Selina.

"If I had not taken any initiative to go abroad, it would have been quite impossible for me to change my fate," she added.

Selina also said she and her husband Jamal Hossain went abroad through legal channel and they did not face any trouble.

Although many women are now interested in taking up jobs abroad, they face considerable inconvenience during the process as only seven agencies, out of 781 licensed ones, are engaged in sending women workers abroad.

The Bangladesh Ovibasi Mahila Sramik Association (Bomsa), an organisation working for the welfare of female migrant workers, demands that the number of recruiting agencies for women be raised.

"If women are assaulted abroad and we quiz the agencies concerned, which send both men and women, they simply deny that they don't send women abroad," said Lily Jahan, president of the association.

Even the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) has no proper control over these agencies due to the absence of a policy guideline, she added.

The migration of women workers could not be stopped in any way, she said, adding that the government should facilitate the process and take steps to ensure their security in the recipient country.

On the other hand, the Baira argues that all the agencies should be open for both male and female workers and the government should not fix particular agencies for recruitment of women.

It creates discrimination and the agencies tend to play a monopoly role with a deposit of Tk 50 lakh to the government, said Ali Haider, secretary general of Baira.

"The expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry has agreed to allow all the recruiting agencies to send both male and female workers under the supervision of Baira. It will give the Baira the authority to have full control on the expenses and quality," he said.

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Major (Retd.) Mohammed Quamrul Islam said if more agencies could deposit Tk 50 lakh, the ministry will consider them eligible for sending women migrant workers.

"As it is a risky business and in the case of torture of women abroad, the agency should have the capability to compensate them. Tk 50 lakh is deposited as security money so that nobody has to face the risk. Security of the women is most important here, " he said.

"The ministry is going to establish a policy soon on the basis of the recommendations of Baira. The unified contract will ensure accountability of the agencies towards Baira and it will help reduce the incidents of torture of migrant workers abroad," said Ali Haider.

A total of 11,259 women went abroad in 2004 and the remittance they sent to the country is higher than that sent by the male workers as women have a tendency to save money, according to a Baira report.

A total of 18,919 female workers migrated to the Middle East and European countries from 1997 to 2004. The figure was 1,762 in 1997 while it rose to 11,259 in 2004.

"Saudi Arabia has a demand for two lakh domestic workers a year. Bangladesh could easily send a huge number of workers after providing training for the migrant workers," said Ali Haider.

The country needs more training centres to develop their skills, he said, adding that the Baira is going to open a training centre in September to train 400 people every month.

The country has only 16 or 17 training centres for men and one training centre for women, according to an official estimate.

Bomsa officials hoped that the migration of more women will lead to the empowerment of women and help the country achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The Bomsa has also started a free training programme to raise awareness and develop skills of women workers.