Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The government is preparing to lift the ban on sending Nepali women workers to the UAE for domestic employment.
According to Basanta Bahadur Bohara, spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security, discussions are underway to sign a labor agreement with the UAE to facilitate the employment of Nepali women in the Gulf nation’s domestic sector.
The government had imposed a ban on sending women to Gulf countries and Malaysia for domestic work in 2015.
Bohara said that this is the first time that a labor agreement is being finalized with the UAE. “A separate understanding is being reached to send women workers for domestic employment to the UAE. Once the agreement is signed, the ban on women workers will be lifted,” Bohara said. He added, “The UAE has been requesting Nepal to open its doors for Nepali women in its domestic employment sector.”
Bohara added that the labor agreement is being signed as the UAE has been more flexible compared to other Gulf countries in meeting the conditions set by Nepal. He also stated that the government has proposed to other Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait to accept Nepali women workers in the domestic employment sector by signing labor agreements. “If other Gulf nations also show flexibility in meeting Nepal’s conditions, labor agreements can be signed to send workers for domestic employment,” he added.
During the minister-level Nepal-UAE working group meeting held in 2020, Nepal had expressed its commitment to create an environment to lift the ban on sending domestic workers abroad. Bohara stated that the labor agreement to send women workers is being prepared based on the discussions held during that meeting.
Since 2015, labor ministers have repeatedly tried to lift the ban on sending Nepali women to Gulf countries and Malaysia. In 2019, the then Labor Minister Rameshwar Ray Yadav had initiated efforts to lift the ban on sending Nepali workers to Gulf countries and Malaysia. Likewise, then Labor Minister Gaurishankar Chaudhary in 2021 proposed to the parliamentary committee and the cabinet to open the doors for Nepali women to work in the domestic employment sector in Gulf countries.
Former ministers Sher Bahadur Kunwar and Krishna Kumar Shrestha had also proposed lifting the ban. However, their proposals were halted by the parliamentary committee and the cabinet.
The incumbent Labor Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari is also in favor of not imposing the ban on Nepali women working in the domestic employment sector in Gulf countries.
The government imposed a ban on sending women workers to Gulf countries and Malaysia in 2015 as per the direction of the Industry, Commerce, Labor, and Consumer Protection Committee of the House of Representatives. Despite the ban, brokers have been illegally sending Nepali women to different Gulf countries through unauthorized channels.
“Even though the government has imposed a ban, domestic women workers have not stopped going abroad. They are taking risks and going through illegal channels,” Minister Bhandari told Himal Press. “The government must resolve this issue by signing labor agreements and lifting the ban.”
Spokesperson Bohara said that the ministry has been drafting guidelines for sending Nepali women to Gulf countries.
