Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Rabiul Islam
The government has agreed to send female household staff to Malaysia at a time when Indonesia and Cambodia have already stopped doing so in the wake of reports of physical torture and sexual harassment.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, several officials of non-governmental organisations who work for the welfare of female migrants said domestic helps in Malaysia were regularly beaten and sometimes became victims of sexual harassment.
As a result of inhuman torture, many housemaids ran away and police detained them and kept them in jail. They also added that in the jails, the female migrants were sometimes assaulted.
After several incidents of torture and sexual harassment in Malaysia, many countries, including Indonesia and Cambodia, stopped sending domestic help there.
“It is true that many countries stopped sending housemaids to Malaysia and we have to be cautious before sending housemaids,” Bangladesh Obhibashi Mohila Sramik Association (BOMSA) Director Sumaiya Islam told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone yesterday.
Sumaiya, who visited Malaysia earlier this month, also said: “During my visit, I met two Bangladeshi female workers who were working as road cleaners and they were in good shape.”
She further suggested that if the government sends female workers as housemaids to Malaysia, there should be a mechanism to monitor whether any form of torture takes place or not.
“There must be some clauses in the agreement which would protect the female workers from being tortured,” she added.
A senior official at the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry told the Dhaka Tribune: “As most of the countries have stopped sending housemaids, Malaysia is now facing a serious domestic help crisis. Thus, finding no other alternative, Malaysia is now considering Bangladesh to meet its needs.”
“It would have been better if we could send female workers to the manufacturing sector,” Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Units (RMMRU) founding chair Tasneem Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
During the Malaysian human resource minister’s three day visit (August 18-20) to Bangladesh, the government agreed to send housemaids to Malaysia.
“We are considering the offer and a committee headed by the expatriates’ welfare secretary will finalise the decision in this regard,” said Joint Secretary Nurul Islam.
“It is too early to comment,” he added.
When contacted, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told this correspondent: “I can’t talk now as I am about to deliver a speech at a seminar.”
A senior official at the ministry said a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed to send housemaids.
Bangladesh is now sending domestic helpers to a number of countries, including Jordan.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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