The government should not allow migration of housemaids without ensuring their safe workplaces and fair wages at the destination countries, said rights campaigners and returnee workers.

Female migrants who were employed as domestic workers face physical and mental tortures, sexual abuse, and denial of wages and overload of works abroad, they said.

They urged the government of Bangladesh as well as the destination countries to ratify the convention 189 of International Labour Organization for protection of women domestic workers at home and abroad.

Migrants’ rights campaigners, trade union leaders and victims made their observations while speaking at a consultation on ‘Ratification of ILO 189 for the Protection of Women Domestic Workers’ at National Press Club on Thursday afternoon.

WARBE development foundation in collaboration with PROKAS program of British Council organized it on occasion of International Domestic Workers’ Day to be observed on Friday.

Lawmaker and member of parliamentarian caucus on migration and development Hosne Ara Lutfa Dalia spoke as chief guest and said that the government was trying to empower the country’ women by giving education.

Presiding over the consultation, WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque said that there were few number of female migrants used to migrate abroad five year ago, but now number of female migration increased sharply.

As Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have stopped sending their women to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries because of various problems and abuses, so Arab recruiters become highly interested to hire Bangladeshi female workers, he said.

Saiful Haque said that KSA recruited female workers from Bangladesh under a memorandum of londontoto understanding which was not internationally standard, so the workers were put in the slavery.

WARBE development foundation secretary general Faruque Ahmed said that about 22 Bangladeshi female migrant workers were killed mercilessly or committed suicide while working abroad with a year.

He said that Bangladeshi domestic workers were victims abroad and such incidents were tarnishing image of personally female workers as well as the country.

Faruque, also a returnee migrant, demanded that Bangladesh government should not send more workers abroad without taking protection measures.

He also called for realization of proper compensation of the victim female workers.

Manusher Jonno Foundation program manager Sarowat Binte Islam said that Bangladeshi female workers were resultant to go to work in Saudi Arabia fearing tortures and abuses from the media and they also showed little interest in the government registration.

‘But the brokers started recruiting them by alluring overseas jobs; she said.

Calling the government to ratify the ILO convention 189, Sarowat said that the government should not send female workers abroad without ensuring safe workplace and fair wages abroad.

National Domestic Women Workers’ Union general secretary Murshida Akter said that no visible implementation of the domestic worker protection and welfare policy had been observed though the government approved the policy two years back.

She said that formulation of a monitoring cell followed by the policy was remained futile so far.   

Manju, a returned migrant from KSA, said that she had suffered physical tortures by her employer during her job in KSA lasted for two months.

Another migrant Manika Begum said that she returned from Oman within four month of migration due to tortures by employers.

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