Global Economic Crisis Impact On Women Labour Migration in Bangladesh

The opinions and recommendations expressed in the report are those of the authors and
participants made during the course of the workshop and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) or the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not
imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM and UNIFEM
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international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration;
advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development
through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.
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ISBN
2009 International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations Development
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLICY DIALOGUE ON
THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS:

IMPACT ON
WOMEN LABOUR MIGRATION

IN BANGLADESH
Jointly organized by
The International Organization for Migration &
The United Nations Development Fund for Women
0 4
J u n e
2 0 0 9 ,
D h a k a
FOREWORD
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Dhaka and the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Bangladesh are pleased to present the
proceedings of the Policy Dialogue on the Global Economic Crisis: Impact on
Women Labour Migration in Bangladesh which was held on 27 May 2009 in
Dhaka.
The meeting came up with important recommendations on initiatives that can be
undertaken by governments, civil societies and international organizations in
Bangladesh to more effectively manage migration in the country to address the
needs of women migrant workers. This report presents an overview of the observations, assessment, outcomes and recommendations made during the course of
the workshop.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare
and Overseas Employment, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of
Women and Children Affairs and the Bureau of Manpower Employment and
Training for their support in holding this meeting.
We also wish to thank the representatives of migrants organizations, researchers
and other participants for their valuable contributions during the day.
Rabab Fatima
Regional Representative for South Asia
IOM MRF, Dhaka
Naheed Ahmed
National Programme Manager
UNIFEM Bangladesh
04
05
07
09
10
12
14
15
17
24
31
36
Abbreviations and Acronyms

Executive Summary
Background
Inaugural Session
Welcome Address by Chair
Address by the Special Guests
Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki, MP
Address by the Chief Guest
Presentation
Panel Discussion
Open Discussion
Closing Session
39 ANNEXURE
39 Annex 1: Programme
42 Annex 2: List of Participants
TABLE OF CONTENT
ABBREVIATIONS
AND ACRONYMS
04
BAIRA
Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies
BMET
Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training
BOESL
Bangladesh Overseas Employment Services Limited
BOMSA
Bangladesh Obhibashi Mohila Sramik Association
CEDAW
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Against Women
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
DEMO
District Employment and Manpower Offices
FDI
Foreign Direct Investment
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GoB
Government of Bangladesh
ILO
International Labour Organization
IMF
International Monitory Fund
IOM
International Organization for Migration
MoEWOE
Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment
MoWCA
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
MoFA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MP
Member of Parliament
MWC
Migrant Workers Convention
PKD
Probashi Kalyan Desk
PPP
Public Private Partnership
RMG
Ready Made Garments
UNIFEM
United Nations Development Fund for Women
Proceedings of the Policy Dialogue on the Global Economic Crisis: Impact on Women Labour Migration in Bangladesh
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
IOM Dhaka in collaboration with

UNIFEM Bangladesh organized a policy
dialogue on the Global Financial Crisis:
Impact on Women Labour Migration in
Bangladesh on 27 May 2009.
The meeting aimed to generate
discussion and to come up with
concrete
recommendations
for
gender-sensitive
policies
and
programmatic responses to the
ongoing financial crisis. The State
Minister for Foreign Affairs and the
Chairperson of the Parliamentary
Standing Committee reiterated their
commitment to this issue. The
Chairperson, promised to take on the
issues of women migrant workers and
provide the concerns of women labour
migration
due
attention
in
parliamentary discourse.
IOM Dhaka and UNIFEM Bangladesh
provided a joint presentation on The
Global Economic Crisis: Impact on
Women Labour Migration and
highlighted the need for more effective
policy responses that build on women
labour migrants role as agents for
socio-economic development.
Discussants at the policy dialogue

emphasized the need to consider
gender dimensions in any migration
debate. Discussants and participants
also raised the point that it is likely
that the current trend in women
migration from Bangladesh would
not get affected greatly by the global
economic crisis, as they are
predominantly limited to sectors
such as housekeeping and care giving.
The decrease in demand for such
sectors is less likely to be as
pronounced as other sectors such as
construction,
finance,
export
manufacturing, travel and tourism.
However, as women labour
migration is becoming an increasingly
important strategy for addressing
unemployment
in
Bangladesh,
generating foreign exchange and
fostering
economic
growth,
increased efforts need to be
undertaken to facilitate it while also
protecting women from vulnerable
situations.
05
RECOMMENDATIONS:
To impose stricter control of recruitment agencies and middlemen to
ensure that they charge the same service fee for women and men. All
migrant workers should pay the same amounts. These fees should be set
by the Government of Bangladesh.
To explore and prepare for new markets and demand sectors such as
nursing and care-giving.
To increase the possibilities for migration among women by improving
and extending their work skills. Training to be provided on in-depth skills
and in further sectors, such as nursing, care giving, electronics,
clerical/office management and foreign languages.
To highlight the importance of womens contribution to development
and the national economy by removing stigma and building the
perception of dignity around womenswork.
To increase allocation in national budget to the overseas employment
sector and support the Governments efforts to improve migration
management in Bangladesh.
To continuously develop the skills and understanding of the Foreign
Service Academy aiming at building their understanding and preparedness
in handling issues related to migrants at Bangladeshi embassies and
consulates abroad.
To promote the engagement of the Bangladeshi private sector in their
contribution to development. Under Private Public Partnerships and
Corporate Social Responsibility projects, the private sector can play a key
role together with for example returning migrants in joint undertakings of
business.
To develop stronger skills with migrant workers by extending the period
of skills training.
To centralize and coordinate training curricula and opportunities for
women migrant workers.
To increase public awareness of women migrant workers through large
scale information campaigns.
To make available information and services to potential migrant workers
about their opportunities, rights and risks. In particular, the Bangladesh
Overseas Employment Services Ltd. (BOESL), which is the government
recruitment agency, could open a special information desk for potential
women migrants.
To advocate for the protection of women migrants in accordance with
the CEDAW in countries that have ratified CEDAW.
To strengthen the legal framework surrounding women migrants rights.
06
BACKGROUND
Labour migration has become a reality

for people in Bangladesh and will
remain so in the future. An estimated
6.2 million migrant workers have left
the country since official records of
labour migration started in 1976.
While the total number of migrants
was about 6000 in 1976, there has
been phenomenal growth since that
year. In 2008, for instance, 875,000
workers left the country for overseas
employment. Today, more than 5.6
million Bangladeshi migrants are
believed to be living abroad.
Although the sphere of labour migration
has traditionally been a male dominated
industry in Bangladesh, an increasing
need in the service sector industries in
many wealthy countries encouraged
Bangladeshi women to join the force
with women migrants of other labour
sending countries. For example, in the
Middle East, women migrants from
Bangladesh continue to occupy a major
share in the domestic service sector.
Official figures show that more than
20,843 Bangladeshi women travelled
abroad in search of employment in
2008. However, this figure does not
reflect the overall number of undocumented women migrants working in

South Asia and the Middle East, which
is believed to be much higher.
Remittances
received
from
Bangladeshi migrants have also grown
at an average rate of 17 percent since
2001. It surged by over 32 percent
and reached a record height of about
$9 billion last year. This is said to be 9
times higher than the total FDI (729
million) and 5 times that of ODA.
According to the IOM Policy brief
(January 2009), the current global
financial crisis is expected to lead to a
downturn in the global economy.
During
economic
downturns,
however, migrant workers are often
the most vulnerable category of
workers, in terms of job losses and
mal-treatment in the workplace, and
while some may decide to return
home, others may remain in
unfavourable situations.
The impact of the global crisis on
international labour migration is
being debated, and although it may
still be too early to measure the full
07
impact of the crisis on labour

migration, early signs do indicate that
the labour migration growth seen
over the past few years may not
sustain because of the economic
crisis in major destination countries.
It is also evident that a good number
of the traditional destination
countries have stopped issuing new
work permits or renewing work
permits of foreign workers; some are
even
terminating
contracts
prematurely. Destination countries
such as Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand have announced that no
new visas will be issued, and in the
case of unavoidable retrenchment,
foreign workers would be laid off, to
be replaced by their own nationals.
Recent reports indicate that the
outflow to the GCC countries,
08
where more than 80% of the

Bangladeshi overseas labour force is
deployed, have declined by 16% in the
last year (BMET, 2009).
Given the context discussed above,
IOM Dhaka organized two high level
policy dialogues. The first high level
policy dialogue was organized focusing
on the global financial crisis and its
impact on overseas employment.
Considering womens vulnerabilities in
the context of economic crisis and
migration, it was decided to have the
second high level policy dialogue titled
the Global Economic Crisis: Impact on
Women
Labour
Migration
in
Bangladesh which was a joint initiative
with the United Nations Development
Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
INAUGURAL SESSION
The Policy Dialogue on The Global

Economic Crisis: Impact on Women
Labour Migration in Bangladesh was
jointly organized by the International
Organization for Migration (IOM),
Dhaka and the United Nations
Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM) on Wednesday, May 27,
2009 at Hotel Sheraton in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. (See Annex 1 for the
programme).
Dr. Hasan Mahmud, State Minister for
Foreign Affairs, attended the policy
dialogue as Chief Guest while Ms.
Meher Afroze Chumki, Chairperson,
Parliamentary Standing Committee for
the Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs (MoWCA), and Mr. Elias
Ahmed,
Secretary
Ministry
of
Expatriates Welfare and Overseas
Employment (MoEWOE) were both
present as Special Guests.
The meeting also had panel discussants
representing different sectors to
provide their perspective of women
migration and the possible impact of
the global economic crisis.
Sumaiya
Islam, Programme
Director,
Bangladesh
Obhibashi Mohila Sramik
Association
Ms.
Naheed M. Ahmed,
National
Programme
Manager, UNIFEM Bangladesh
Mr.
Ghulam
Mustafa,
President,
Bangladesh
Association of International
Recruitment
Agencies
(BAIRA)
Dr.
Kaniz Siddique, International Consultant, Ministry of

Finance
Ms.
Rabab
Fatima,
Regional
Representative for South Asia, IOM
chaired the dialogue. Participants
included civil society representatives,
NGO
officials
as
well
as
representatives
from
various
ministries and departments and
members of the media. (See Annex 2
for the list of participants).
09
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Women suffer multiple disadvantages

in terms of access to labour markets,
and seldom have the same degree of
freedom as do men in choosing work;
this problem is exacerbated given the
often informal nature of women
migrants employment in care-giving
and household work. Against such a
backdrop, she explained that it is only
natural to wonder in this recessionary
state, how and to what extent women
migrants are affected by the global
economic crisis.
The IOM Regional Representative
further stated that the policy dialogue
has been convened to generated
discussions, to come up with concrete
suggestions for gender sensitive policy
and programme responses and to help
find both long and short term solutions
to mitigate the impact of the current
crisis. First and foremost, she stressed
the need for proper recognition of the
existence and contribution of women
labour migration. Secondly, she
mentioned skill training as an essential
step towards improving the countrys
overseas employment sector, given the
need for Bangladesh to compete with
other labour exporting countries, and
added the need for a sustainable
market research mechanism to closely
monitor the international labour market
dynamics and adjust accordingly, so that
a two-pronged approach could create a
niche market for Bangladeshi women

labour. Thirdly, the issue of ensuring
adequate measures to protect and
safeguard women migrant workers
from exploitation and abuse
throughout the migration process
was highlighted. She commended the
government initiative to set up
reception centers for migrant
workers in destination countries. And
fourthly, she stressed the need for a
comprehensive
reintegration
programme for returning migrants,
especially to ensure they properly
utilize their acquired skills. Ms. Fatima
mentioned that such a programme
was required for all migrants in
general and women migrants in
particular. In addition to the
important role of the government,
the private sector also has a vital role
to play in this regard.
She concluded by thanking the
dignitaries present for their active
role in furthering the cause of
women migrants rights and thanked
UNIFEM for collaborating with IOM
on such a crucial, critical and timely
initiative and hoped all these efforts
combined would yield an effective
management of women migration
from Bangladesh.
11
Mr. Elias Ahmed

Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates
Welfare and Overseas Employment,
Government of Bangladesh
Address by the
Special Guests
Mr. Elias Ahmed emphasized particularly on how Bangladesh is operating amidst

the global economic crisis and its impact. He quoted several estimates on its
potential magnitude and shared the World Bank estimates which looks at a 5
percent decrease in remittances by 2009. He also voiced concern over how this
global recession is increasing protectionism, and as a consequence, in January 2009,
the outflow of workers fell by 40.51 percent. Total deported workers increased
year by year during January-April 2009 over the same period of 2008. However, in
regards to the influx of remittances to Bangladesh, he mentioned their volume had
increased, as it has been the case in many other Asian countries. On the other
hand, he stated that the estimated GDP of Bangladesh is expected to increase by
3.1 percent and per capita income has also increased. The performance of small
and medium enterprises and growth in agriculture sectors is contributing to this
GDP growth as well as the RMG sector, which had a 15 percent growth in earnings
over the same 9 month period of the previous year. Although the global economy
is suffering, Bangladesh economy is in relatively better shape, he reassured.
12
Agreeing that women workers do have

certain vulnerabilities, he stated that
the government has made special
arrangements, such as introduction of
19 points on women labour migration,
mandatory training for housekeeping,
etc. to help alleviate the situation. He
also shared the Ministers decision to
appoint women welfare assistants to

the Bangladesh missions, specifically
targeted for women workers in Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE). Saudi Arabia and UAE are
two prime destinations where
Bangladeshi women migrate for
employment (Please see Figure 3).
FIGURE 3
Remmitances by Year
Top destinations for Bangladeshi women, mid-2004-mid-2007
70000.00
Oman 3%
Mauritius 4%
Bahrain 4%
Lebanon 4%
Kuwait 6%
60000.00
50000.00
30000.00
Remmitances
FIGURE 2
40000.00
20000.00
10000.00
Saudi Arabia
39%
Jordan 6%
UAE 34%
0.00
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Source: BMET, 2007
At present, in regard to women workers, the data available does not reflect any
negative effect on women migration from Bangladesh yet. In 2008, Bangladesh sent
20,843 women workers and up to April, 2009, Bangladesh has sent more than
7,000 women workers; if this trend continues, Bangladesh will be sending more
than 22,000 women workers abroad by the end of 2009. He further stated that the
Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has plans to shift the focus from less skilled
sectors such as housekeeping to more skilled work, such as care giving and nursing.
He concluded mentioning that Bangladesh had signed the 1990 International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of their Families in 1998, but has not yet ratified it. He went on to say that on that
very morning, Engineer Khandker Musharraf Hossain, the Minister for Expatriates
Welfare and Overseas Employment, had assured to request the Foreign Ministry to
initiate the ratification process.
13
etc. She stated that promoting the

concept of womens empowerment is
essential to the growth in the number
of women migrants. She reiterated the
GoBs commitment to womens
empowerment and she referred to this
Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki,
Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki

Member of Parliament and Chairperson,
Parliamentary Standing Committee for
the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
Terming the topic of the policy

dialogue as a very important one, Ms.
Meher Afroze Chumki mentioned
that one of the direct impacts of the
recession is the setback that labour
markets are facing. She emphasized
on different factors which deter the
migration of women, which include
the cheating attitude of recruiting
agencies, lack of training of the
migrants, weaknesses in the rules and
regulation for protection of rights,
14
MP
as the most conducive time to increase

women
migration
further
in
Bangladesh. Her suggestions in this
regard included exploring new
employment opportunities abroad and
increasing the role of both the
MoEWOE and MoFA. Appropriate
training on the ways of life they are
likely to face when they leave
Bangladesh can help women cope
better with the circumstances they will
face in the country of their destination,
she stated. She further mentioned that
the GoB has to take drastic action
against recruiting agencies that do not
comply with the existing rules and
regulations to avoid further cases of
exploitation and to ensure that
exploitation of women does not take
place at all. She concluded stating that
the Parliamentary Standing Committee
she chairs will extend all its support and
cooperation to protect women labour
migrants from any forms of harassment
and exploitation.
Dr. Hassan Mahmud

State Minister for Foreign Affairs
Address by the
Dr. Hasan Mahmud congratulated IOM
Dhaka and UNIFEM for the timely
initiatives on migration management in
Bangladesh. He hoped that during the
course of the dialogue, he would get
feedback from the panelists and
participants on how to protect the rights
of women migrant workers in
Bangladesh. Looking at global trends and
figures of many major labour sending
countries, he stated that about 60
percent of total workers from the
Philippines and Sri Lanka, 22-23 percent
from Thailand, and 75 percent from
Indonesia are women (please see figure
4). The official figure of Bangladeshi
women workers is a mere four percent,
even though the unofficial figure is higher.
We have the political will
empower the women, he stated,
to
Chief Guest
Though Bangladesh is an example

for other developing and Muslim
countries in many instances,
unfortunately, a lot remains to be
desired in the case of migrant
workers in general and women
migrant workers in particular for
Bangladesh.
He mentioned he was pleased to see
that many development partners
were present in the dialogue and
hoped they would put forward their
valuable suggestions. He mentioned
that when the incumbent Prime
Minister first came to power in 1996,
she took initiatives to protect women
and made it mandatory to include
the identity of the mother for the
identity of the child; she appointed
the first female ambassador and first
15
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PRESENTATION
The Impact of the

Global Crisis on
Women Labour
Migration in
Bangladesh
Ms. Samiha Huda, National Programme Officer

of IOM Dhaka made a presentation on The
Global Economic Crisis: Impact on Women
Labour Migration. The key message of the
presentation was that it is essential to avert the
economic crisis from turning into a migration
crisis, and for this purpose, both immediate and
longer-term measures are needed. She
highlighted that migrants and migration are
essential components of todays globalized
world and effective policy responses need to be
built on women labour migrants role as agents
for socio-economic development. Although
migrants in general constitute a vulnerable
category of workers, women tend to be more
vulnerable to various forms of exploitation,
such as economic and sexual exploitation, racial
discrimination, poor working conditions,
increased health risks, forced labour, debt
bondage, etc. due to the informal, low skilled
and unregulated nature of their work.
17
FIGURE 5
Gender Distribution of Migrant Workers
in Bangladesh (2008)
4.5%
Male
Female
95.5%
FIGURE 6
While providing an overview of

women labour migration from South
and South-East Asia, Ms. Huda noted
that women and girls make up half of
all the international migrants, totaling
95 million, yet women labour migrants
confront the risk of exploitation and
abuse at every stage of the migration
cycle. The challenges faced by women
labour migrants, including their low skill
levels, low levels of awareness
regarding informal/migration channels,
the social challenges that include their
contributions being under-recognized
and the fact that they are often
cheated and exploited throughout the
migration process were mentioned.
While highlighting recent female labour
migration trends from Bangladesh, it
was noted that official statistics
underestimate both male and female
migration from the country. While the
official statistics underestimates both
male and women migration (please see
figure 5), according to research findings
the estimated women migrants share is
about 15% (source: Blanchet, Razzaque
and Biswas, 2008).
On the issue of remittances, it was
pointed out that Bangladesh ranked
fourth in Asia after India, China and the
Philippines in terms of remittances
received (please see figure 6).
18
The bulk of remitted money is spent

for consumption purpose, while only a
limited amount is invested in
productive use and as savings and a
very small amount is remitted for
community development investment.
Although women migrants are
reported to send home up to 72
percent of their pay and in most cases
the amount is spent on consumptionthere are no gender-responsive
investment opportunities. Highlighting
the measures instituted by the
Government of Bangladesh to
promote safe migration, it was
mentioned that the government has
promulgated a new circular to facilitate
women
migration
process.
Furthermore the training of women
workers has been strengthened, a
separate briefing for the women
migrants at the Technical Training
Centers has been arranged, a Women
Migrant Resource Center formed at
the BMET head office and safe houses
have been established in the
Bangladesh Missions in Riyadh, Dubai
and Kuwait. Monitoring measures by
Bangladesh Missions for house-keeping
workers include recruiters sending
reports to the concerned mission and
women workers also registering at the
mission office. An awareness campaign
for the safe women migration has been
set up through DEMO and DC offices
jointly with UNIFEM.
Highlights of
country specific measure
from the region
INDIA
O
Installation of a 24/7
Helpline in the host
countries
Defining a minimum
wage for emigrants
Stipulation of a security
deposit per worker from
the foreign employer
directly hiring Indian
worker
Compulsory attestation
of employment
documents for all
women emigrants with
ECR passport
Opening of Overseas
Indian Workers
Resource Centre in host
countries to serve as a
one stop service outlet
for addressing the
information and
assistance needs of
emigrants
Operating shelters for

distressed emigrants
19
Putting diplomatic
pressure on host
countries to extend the
protection of labour
laws to the workers in
the informal sector
NEPAL
O
Assistance for returnees

due to economic crisis;
25% of the cost of

migration to those
returning within one
year, 40% returning
within 6 months will be
shared by the
Government of Nepal
and the recruitment
agency at a 50:50 ratio
SRI LANKA
20
Government introduced
a stimulus package
Attempts to increase
Diaspora investments
through selling of bonds
Exploring alternative
sectors about
employment
IOM activities were highlighted regarding

women labour migration, where she
mentioned that IOM ensures gender
mainstreaming
in
projects
and
programmes and gives equal priority to
men and women migration issues. IOM
provides technical support for training of
the women migrant workers and
conducts relevant research. Specific IOM
initiatives in this context include
supporting the government by
developing a housekeeping training
manual for women migrants, preparing
Arabic and English language manuals,
establishing of language lab, conducting
research on women labour migration,
equipping the Technical Training
Centers (TTC) to enhance capacity for
women labour migrants and the ongoing
preparation of a caregiver manual.
Good practices from the region were
also shared in the presentation, where
it was mentioned that some of the
countries have actually already taken
positive initiatives to handle the
situation of economic recession and
migration.
The Colombo Process meeting which
is a consultation process with the aim
of greater regional dialogue and
cooperation on the management of
labour migration, was also highlighted.
The next Colombo Process meeting
will be held in Dhaka in 2010.
IOM policy recommendations to the

Government of Bangladesh to
overcome the current global economic
crisis mentioned by Ms. Huda in the
context of migrant workers include the
need to effectively protect the rights of
migrants,
protect
them
from
discrimination and ensure they are not
stigmatized for job losses. Furthermore,
awareness raising amongst general

population about the contributions
made by migrants, and efforts to
ensure that regular labour migration
channels remain open to meet the
continuing demand for migrant
workers and prevent irregular
migration and trafficking in human
beings, would be important.
21
In regard to UNIFEMs response to

safe migration, establishing a
rights-based approach, ensuring
regular and safe migration of women,
recognizing womens visibility in
overseas
employment
and
remittance
through
gender
disaggregated data, empowering
women migrant workers by
encouraging networking, providing a
platform for voicing needs and
interests,
promoting
dialogue
between sending and receiving
countries on gender sensitive
policies, sharing good practices
across the region and promoting the
use of human rights frameworks for
the protection of rights are significant.
The contextual policy response to
overcome the crisis include the
facilitation of remittance flows
through the lowering of transaction
costs, as well as public and private
sector initiatives, especially important
for women migrants, and the need to
have a specific gender approach in
the assisted repatriation, reception
and reintegration of returnees to
prevent discrimination.
UNIFEMs efforts and activities in
Bangladesh were also presented
which included a training manual for
22
the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) on

womens migration, capacity building of
national print media representatives at
district levels, capacity building of civil
society on rights of women migrant
workers through CEDAW, IEC
material for potential women migrants
in Bengali, regional peer learning for
partners, inclusion of migration as an
emerging theme in the CEDAW
alternative report and PRSP II, capacity
building of DEMO and DPKDs at the
district level and BAIRA members and
a study on the health status of women
migrant workers.
Recommendations put forward in the
presentation included:
Short term:
Q
Formulation of a gender
responsive stimulus package for
returnee workers.
Examining the impact of economic

downturn on Bangladeshi women
labour migrants.
Large-scale
communication/awareness
campaign at the destination
countries for the current migrants
Provision of legal support to the

women migrant workers
Linking the returnee women

workers to get jobs in the country
with private sectors assistance,
and strong monitoring of
recruiting agencies to avoid further
exploitation of both male and
Initiating more Public-Private

Partnership (PPP) initiatives
Withdrawing the remaining

reservations on CEDAW and
implementing the concluding
comments and GR 26 of
CEDAW.
Long-term:
Q
Exploring new sectors suitable for

women migrant workers
Formulating gender responsive

training needs assessment
Keeping a sex-disaggregated
detailed database at BMET for
gender sensitive analysis
Ratification of the 1990

International Convention on The
Protection on The Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families
Developing and adopting a

National Migration Policy
Ms. Huda concluded that for labour

sending
countries,
such
as
Bangladesh, women labour migration
is becoming an increasingly important
strategy
for
addressing
unemployment, generating foreign
exchange and fostering economic
growth and therefore increased
efforts need to be undertaken to
facilitate it. With these notes, she
welcomed the panel discussants for
further discussion.
23
PANEL DISCUSSION
PANEL DISCUSSION ON WOMEN LABOUR

MIGRATION: CHALLENGES, PROSPECTS AND
POLICY RESPONSES
Women Labour Migration: Challenges, Prospects and Policy Responses
by Ms. Sumaiya Islam, Programme Director, Bangladesh Ovibashi Mohila
Sramik Association (BOMSA)
Ms. Sumaiya Islam presented her expert views on Womens Migration from
Bangladesh: Perspective of a Migrants Association as the first panelist. Mentioning
that BOMSA works primarily for the women migrant workers and their families,
she stated that poverty, violence against women, climate induced displacement are
some of the major factors for migration of women from Bangladesh. Official
statistics puts the percentage of Bangladeshi women migrants at two percent in
place of four percent before. She stressed the importance of trying to find new
labour markets for sending women workers. Given that BOMSA is founded by
migrant workers, she mentioned it conducts HIV-AIDS training for them, alongside
other training and orientation programmes. Women going abroad want to know
what problems they might face; she lamented that there is no mass awareness
programme
through
the
electronic media, particularly TV
or radio. She stated that that
such
mass
awareness
programmes need to be
launched.
She
further
emphasized the need for
public-private partnerships to
improve the situation for the
24
Regional perspective on the global economic crisis and its impact

on women migrant workers. by Ms. Naheed M. Ahmed, National
Programme Manager, UNIFEM Bangladesh
Ms. Naheed M. Ahmed then provided her expert views on Regional
perspective on the global economic crisis and its impact on women migrant
workers. She highlighted that in the Asian context, women comprise 50
percent of migrant workers and they are vulnerable at three levels because: a)
she is a women, b) she is a foreigner, c) she is in isolation due to the nature of
the job she is engaged in, making her more vulnerable to various forms of
harassment and exploitation. Ms. Ahmed reiterated that there will be erosion
of economic and social rights as the global recession deepens paving way for
more exploitation and violence as a consequence. When it comes to limited
opportunities, nationals will get priority; as a result, there will be less food
consumption and less health care available for migrants. Therefore, economic
stimulus packages coming from the government need to cover these aspects
also.
Her recommendations, comprising short, medium and long term solutions, include:
Q
Even though in context of Bangladesh, womens representation in the
labour force is less, and even less in overseas employment compared to
mens, it needs to be recognized that women have different needs.
Q
Not enough information is available on what is going to be the actual

impact of the global recession on women migrant workers. Thus, there is
a need to expand knowledge on this issue. All this debate that is going
around should be taken as an early warning to influence policies to tackle
the possible situation.
Women have little voice in influencing policies. There is a need to take

recourse to the human rights framework to assist women migrant
workers.
25
She opined that the government

needs to withdraw the remaining
reservations from CEDAW and
ensure the full implementation of
the concluding comments and the
newly approved GR 26 focusing on
women migrant workers. She
stated that ratification alone is not
enough, implementation is also very
important. She called out to civil
societies and NGOs to come
forward. The economic stimulus
packages and special packages need
to cater to this issue and budgetary
allocations for safety nets need to
take care of those who are coming

back and are affected as a result of the
global recession. Friendly channels for
dissemination of information to
women are required, as is the
exploration of new labour markets for
women.
Ms. Ahmed concluded, mentioning
generation of sex-disaggregated data
on remittances would be helpful in this
context, as information on how much
remittance comes from women would
allow women to have more voice on
this issue.
Implication of the global economic crisis on overseas opportunities for

women labour migrants by Mr. Ghulam Mustafa, President, Bangladesh
Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA)
Mr. Ghulam Mustafa then provided
his expert views on Implication of
the global economic crisis on
overseas opportunities for women
labour migrants. He stated that the
implication of the global economic
recession on overseas employment
opportunities for women is less,
because of the nature of job they are
doing. He felt that the decrease in
demand for women labour migrants,
if any, will be a short-term
phenomenon. In the longer term, we
will see bigger prospects for women
labour migrants from Bangladesh.
26
The issue of women migration brings

to mind household help, i.e. domentic
workers, who are more vulnerable to
sexual exploitation due to the fact that
they are trapped within the four walls
of a house and thus are not exposed to
the public eye.
The BAIRA President highlighted on
the bad experience of Bangladesh
sending workers to Romania as almost
80 percent of the workers sent there
proceeded to Western Europe to
work there illegally despite the
reasonable terms under which they
were employed in Romania. These
incidents have brought bad reputation

for male labour migrants from
Bangladesh. BAIRA now proposed
sending women workers there. He
requested that the Government of
Bangladesh should take a policy
decision in this regard, he added. There
are hundreds of electronic factories in
Singapore and Korea where women
can work. He added that awareness
building is very important to reduce the
vulnerability of women workers.
Nursing is another big area, where the
women
workers
have
ample
opportunities
for
overseas
employment of women workers. He
felt that large local hospitals like
Square and United Hospitals should
be asked to open training schools for
nurses to cater to both national

needs, as well as the overseas
market. He lamented that while
recruiting agencies face a lot of
criticism, in reality only a selected
few are authorized to send women
workers.
The
number
and
percentage of women going abroad
would have increased had there not
been restrictions on the number of
agencies allowed to send abroad
women workers. Currently only
nine agencies are authorized to send
women workers abroad. He stated
that such practices has frustrating
effects on recruiting agencies; there
are many good ones, despite the
bad name the negative actions of a
few have caused.
27
Enhancing female labour migration: preparedness of Bangladesh in

benefiting as the world emerges out of recession. by Dr. Kaniz Siddique,
International Consultant, Government of Bangladesh
Dr. Kaniz Siddique presented her expert views on Enhancing female labour
migration: preparedness of Bangladesh in benefiting as the world emerges out of
recession. First of all, she highlighted that almost all economies operating in the
market cycles go up and down; she stated that this one has gone deeper perhaps
due to the interconnectivity of world economies, and thus, the domino effect has
been quite intense. While she found it interesting to see that the IMF projection for
growth is negative for all developed countries, for developing countries, this is not
so. For Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Bangladesh, the scenario is good
with the years growth projection as 5.5 percent, down from 6.2 percent last year.
How is Bangladesh connected, given that Bangladesh is not exposed to the global
financial scenario? Dr. Siddique stated that although Bangladesh is not greatly
28
connected to the global financial scenario, the country was still exposed due to its
reliance on exports and labour migration. Terming the impact as not having been
that bad so far, given that there is still positive outflow of labourers and overall
export growth, she attributed this to the low-level nature of Bangladeshi RMG
products that has saved Bangladesh, given that low-skilled workers are the last to
be fired. Low-end exports of Ready Made Garments (RMG) are recession resistant,
as they are low-priced, feel good items, and thus are found to be relatively
recession resistant. What we were trying to get out of (high end products and high
skilled workers) has helped the country out of this situation. Often local nationals
in destination countries do not want to do low-skilled work so people from
Bangladesh are engaged in such areas. She expected that from the fourth quarter
of 2009, the recession will bottom out in developed countries. Hopefully, coming
out of the recession, Bangladesh will benefit much more quickly and should utilize
this time to prepare for the future.
29
From her perspective, Dr. Siddique felt Bangladesh needs to do the following:
Q
Bangladesh itself is a country where women are suppressed and oppressed and
women are going to countries where the social situation is even worse we
need to think about this issue and prepare the women workers who will be
sent there.
Embassies need to be very vigilant to look at non-traditional countries as

prospective labour markets , where population structure is becoming older.
Bangladesh can try to cater to old age care for western countries in this area,
vulnerability is a lot less.
Since it takes time to prepare people for nursing and tending to old-aged people,
she felt a lot needs to be done if Bangladesh wants to send people abroad for such
jobs. Working in hospitals as cleaners and maintaining cleanliness, clerical jobs,
office management, etc. jobs do not require a whole lot of investment for
developing such skills. She stressed the need to build language skills. In terms of
awareness, the media, especially the electronic media, could help out by airing even
a five-minute documentary to cover problems faced in the labour markets of other
countries. It is through such documentaries that people can be made aware of what
is in store in such countries. The GoB is engaged in a lot of activities; however, none
of it is advertised, she concluded that it is very important to let the people know
about existing initiatives.
30
O P E N DISCUSSIO N
Following the statements by the panel
discussants, the IOM Regional Representative
opened the floor for questions, comments and
suggestions.
Discussants at the policy dialogue
emphasized on the need to consider
gender dimensions in any migration
debate. Discussants and participants
also agreed that there is likelihood that
the current trend in women migration
from Bangladesh would not get affected
greatly by the global economic crisis, as
they are predominantly limited to
sectors such as housekeeping and care
giving. The decrease in demand for such
sectors is less likely to be as
pronounced as other sectors such as
construction,
finance,
export
manufacturing, travel and tourism.
The following themes were highlighted by the
discussants:
Protection of migrants rights:
Concerns were expressed about the
human rights of women migrant
workers. GOB representative from the
Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and
Overseas Employment informed the
meeting that the Ministry is in dialogue
with representatives from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs on the ratification of the
1990 Migrant Workers Convention.
31
FIGURE 7
DISTRICT AND YEAR-WISE WOMEN MIGRATION
4000
3500
3000
DHAKA
2500
MANIKGANJ
2000
NARAYANGANJ
1500
GAZIPUR
1000
FARIDPUR
500
0
2004
2005
2006
Reintegration programme:
It was discussed that since migration
of women is often not seen in the
best positive light in the Bangladeshi
context, this is further compounded
if women come back empty-handed.
This makes it essential to consider
comprehensive
reintegration
programmes for returning migrant
workers. There was broad consensus
on formulating a reintegration
strategy to assist returnee workers.
Skills training:
The discussants and participants
agreed that women workers are
more vulnerable than male workers
32
2007
2008
going abroad. There are some districts

identified from where most of the
women tend to migrate mainly due to
strong social and family network. The
top five districts are Dhaka, Manikganj,
Narayanganj, Gazipur and Faridpur
over the last few years (please see
Figure 7). The 2-week mandatory
training
for
domestic
workers
(developed for the GoB with technical
support from IOM) has been
extremely successful in ensuring that
skilled domestic workers are sent
abroad. There was also consensus
amongst the participants that training
should not be limited to only skill
development, but also on international
labour laws, labour laws of their
country of destination and migrants

rights.
It was further suggested that it is
difficult for the women labour migrants
to stay in Dhaka for long durations to
undertake any training; and therefore, it
would be important to take the
training facilities to the workers at the
district level.
Capacity Enhancement of GoB:
The discussants and participants
emphasized on the need to enhance
the capacity of government agencies
working in migration management
sector to provide the type of support
needed
by
migrant
workers,
particularly women migrant workers.
The need to provide additional
resources to Bangladeshi missions in
destination countries was highlighted. It
was further highlighted that issues
related to migration, migrants rights,
remittances,
etc.
would
be
incorporated in the Foreign Service
Academy during the training of Foreign
Service officials. It was mentioned that
to ease the suffering of Bangladeshi
workers abroad, the Missions abroad
would take measures to open
complaint boxes and report on regular
basis to both MoFA and MoEWOE.
New markets:
Discussants agreed that women are
predominantly limited to the informal
sector, which opens up scope for
exploitation. At present, GOB stated
that they are planning on shifting
focus from domestic work to more
diverse sectors including, caregivers,
nurses, etc. as there is a huge
demand for these types of workers in
developed countries. Discussants
further mentioned that Bangladesh
should look to send women to
countries where there is a large aging
population-because of the need for
workers there and the more
protective labor laws, BD should
begin training its workers to fill the
need for workers in these countries.
Awareness Raising:
The discussants also focused on
information dissemination. There was
consensus amongst the discussants
and participants that there should be
more help desks and information
centers available at the grassroots
level to create awareness amongst
migrants, especially women migrants
about the legal opportunities and
procedures. It was also reiterated
that communication materials should
be simple, given the education
background of most of the
Bangladeshi migrants. Involvement of
33
the
private
sector
in
establishing 24-hour hotlines
and help desks were also
mentioned. In regards to the
Bangladeshi missions abroad,
the importance of equipping
them as friendly and reliable
sources of information was
reiterated.
The
GoB
representative shared that
they have decided to appoint
female welfare officials in the
destination
countries
to
ensure safe migration as well
as protect the safety and rights
of women migrants at
workplaces. The need for
34
strengthening the pre-departure

orientation services of BMET as
well as NGOs was emphasized
on it is essential that all
migrants be provided with a
thorough orientation about the
culture and customs, rules and
regulations and working and
living environment of the
destination countries prior to
ones departure. It was further
suggested that returnee migrants
themselves could serve as
resource persons during such
orientations to provide a reliable
and accurate account of life
abroad for migrant workers.
35
In his closing statement, Mr. Elias Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates Welfare
and Overseas Employment, GoB thanked the organizers and mentioned that even
though it was only his fourth month in this ministry, this was his first chance to listen
to the opinion of the civil society. Admitting that the government has to work
within various limitations, he mentioned that his Ministry had extended the training
for women migrant workers from two to three weeks. Admitting there are stigmas,
taboos, cultural problems, problems with perspectives, he mentioned it would take
much time and a lot of awareness to overcome the situation. On the issue of why
only nine recruiting agencies are permitted to send women workers abroad, he
mentioned that a Taka 15 lac additional deposit in cash had to be submitted by
agencies interested in sending women workers abroad along with their application
for this purpose as a form of security. Only nine applied and were selected.
Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki, MP and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, thanked all the
speakers for their valuable suggestions which she termed very important and
recognized the importance of advocacy, awareness build-up and training. She
mentioned that the reason why not many mid-level people go abroad despite
sometimes women being interested is often due to their families not liking it. She
also felt that the language and communications barrier is very important and a
major impediment. She concluded by saying she had learned a lot during the past
three hours.
36
The Regional Representative for South Asia, IOM mentioned that it would not be
easy to sum up the discussions given the volume of dialogue and the various issues
that had come up. However, several important points came up, which include:
Q
Reduction in the migration cost for women through stricter control of

recruitment agencies and middlemen to ensure that they do not charge
women migrant workers more than the prescribed fee set by the
government.
Provide better skill training on nursing, care giving, electronics, clerical/office

management and language to women workers
Remove stigma by highlighting on the importance and dignity of womens

work
Increase allocation in national budget to the overseas employment sector

support the Governments efforts to improve migration management in
Bangladesh and enable them to be able to undertake many of the essential
initiatives
The Bangladesh Overseas Employment Services Ltd. (i.e. the government

recruitment agency) could open a special cell/desk for potential women
migrants.
Foreign Service Academy to include orientation on consular service.
CSR/PP initiatives and involvement should be promoted.
37
Encourage longer period of skills training (instead of 2-3 weeks).
There should be decentralized and localized training for women.
There is great need for large scale public awareness information campaigns.
CEDAW could be used to protect rights of women workers among

destination countries that have ratified CEDAW.
Legal and policy framework is weak and need to be strengthened.
Within the government, she hoped that the Honorable MP and Secretary will look
into these issues mentioned above and hoped that the GoB would be proactive
instead of being reactive in the future in regards to overseas employment from
Bangladesh.
Ms. Fatima concluded by thanking UNIFEM for coordinating with IOM on this
important issue.
38
ANNEXURE
Annex 1: Programme
POLICY DIALOGUE ON
THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS:
IMPACT ON WOMEN LABOUR MIGRATION IN BANGLADESH
27 May 2009
MARBLE ROOM, DHAKA HOTEL SHERATON
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
02:30- 03:00
Registration of Guests and Participants
03:00- 03:10
Welcome Address by Rabab Fatima, Regional Representative for South Asia, IOM
03:10-03:20
Statement by Special Guest, Mr. Elias Ahmed, Secretary

In-charge, Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas
Employment
03:20-03:30
Statement by Special Guest, Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki,

Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee for
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
39
03:30-03:40
Statement by Chief Guest, Dr. Hasan Mahmud, MP

Honble State Minister for Foreign Affairs
03:40-03:50
The Global Economic Crisis: Impact on Women

Labour Migration in Bangladesh Presentation by IOM
Dhaka
03:50-04:15
Tea Break
04:15-05:15
Panel Discussion on Women Labour Migration:

Challenges, Prospects and Policy Responses
Moderated by Ms. Rabab Fatima, Regional Representative for South Asia, IOM
PANELISTS:
Expert views on Women Migration from Bangladesh: Perspective of a Migrants
Association by Ms. Sumaiya Islam, Programme Director, BOMSA
Expert views on Regional perspective on the global economic crisis and its impact
on women migrant workers by Ms. Naheed M. Ahmed, National Programme
Manager, UNIFEM
Expert views on the Implication of the global economic crisis on overseas opportunities for women labour migrants by Mr. Ghulam Mustafa, President, BAIRA
Expert views on Enhancing Female Labour Migration: Preparedness of Bangladesh
in benefiting as the world emerges out of recession by Dr. Kaniz Siddique, International Consultant, Ministry of Finance
40
05:15-06:00
Open Discussion
06:00-06:30
Closing Session
Statement by Special Guest, Mr. Elias Ahmed, Secretary,
Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment
Special Guest, Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki, Chairperson,
Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of
Women and Children Affairs
Closing Statement by Ms. Rabab Fatima, Regional Representative for South Asia, IOM Dhaka
41
Annex 2:
List of participants
42
No.
Name
Designation
Organization
Advocate Tipu
Bureau Chief,
Dhaka Division
Daily Shatakantha
Anindita Kamal
Staff Reporter
ABC Radio FM 89.2
Ariful Rahman
Gender Advisor
Canadian International
Development Agency Programme Support Unit
Arpana Awwal
Reporter
News & Images
Ashik Chowdhury
Special
Correspondent
Bangladesh
Sangbad Sangstha
Asif Munier
National Programme
Officer
IOM Dhaka
Ayesha Khanam
Chairperson
Bangladesh Mahila Porishod
Bithika Hasan
Project Coordinator
Bangladesh National
Woman Lawyers
Association
Disha Sonata
Faruque
Senior Project
Coordinator
IOM Dhaka
No.
Name
Designation
Organization
10
Denis Nguyen
Coordination
Specialist
UN RC Office
11
Elias Ahmed
Secretary In-Charge
MoEWOE
12
Ferdous Ara Begum
Member
UN CEDAW
Committee
13
Ferdousi Sultana
Social Development
and Gender Officer
Asian Development
Bank
14
G.M. Masood
Staff Reporter
Ajker Khabar
15
Ghulam Mustafa
President
Bangladesh Association of
International Recruiting Agencies
16
Israt Jahan Urmi
Staff Reporter
Boishakhi
17
Jeahia
Photo journalist
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
18
K.B. Dipu
Cameraman
ETV
19
Kajal
Reporter
Ittefaq
20
Kallol Karmakar
Staff Reporter
dhakanews24.com
21
Kamran Reza
Chowdhury
Senior
Correspondent
bdnews24.com
22
Kaniz Siddique
International
Consultant
Ministry of Finance
23
Kavin Ornenyd
24
Lily Jahan
Embassy of Sweden
President
BOMSA
43
44
No.
Name
Designation
Organization
25
Maksuda Akhter
Lawyer
Bangladesh Mohila
Parishad
26
Mamum Neysar
Diplomatic
Correspondent
Manabzamin
28
Marufa Akhter
Project Associate
IOM Dhaka
29
Masud Karim
Diplomatic
Correspondent
Daily Jugantor
30
Md. Mostafa
Cameraman
BTV
31
Md. Salim Reza
Director
BMET
32
Montu
Photo journalist
Jai Jai Din
33
Mushfiqul Fuzul
Diplomatic
Correspondent
The Daily Ittefaq
34
Nahida Sobhan
Director (UN)
Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
35
Nasimun Asa Huq
President
Bangladesh Nari
Sangbadik Kendra
36
Noushin Safinaz
Shah
Project Associate
IOM Dhaka
37
Nawshin Nusrat
Programme Officer
Kormojibi Nari
38
Nazir Hossain
Senior Cameraman
Boishaki TV
39
Nurul Islam
Director
BMET
No.
Name
Designation
Organization
40
Partho Rahaman
Diplomatic
Correspondent
Channel I
41
Parvez
Reporter
ATN Bangla
42
Porimal Palma
Staff Reporter
The Daily Star
43
Rabab Fatima
Regional
Representative for
South Asia
IOM Dhaka
44
Raheed Ejaz
Diplomatic
Correspondent
New Age
45
Rajib Khan
Senior Reporter
RTV
46
Rasheda K.
Choudhry
Executive Director
Campaign for Porular Education
47
Reza
Reporter
Lal Salaam
48
RoB McDougall
High Commissioner
Canadian High
Commission
49
Robert Smith
Challenge Fund
Manager
Remittances and Payments

Challenge Fund
50
Rokia Afzal Rahman
President
Bangladesh Federation of
Women Entrepreneurs
51
Saidul
Reporter
The Daily Bartaman

Bangladesh
52
Salma Khan
President
Women for
Women
45
46
No.
Name
Designation
Organization
53
Samiha Huda
National
Programme Officer
IOM Dhaka
54
Sarowat Binte Islam
Programme Manager
Manusher Jonno
Foundation
55
Shabana Gulshan
Newsroom
Editor and Staff
Reporter
ETV
56
Shafiqul Alam
Photo journalist
The Daily Star
57
Shahbuddin Khan
Programme Officer
ILO
58
Shakil Bin Azad
Senior Assistant
Director
TMSS
59
Shakirul Islam
Chairman
OKUP
60
Sharmin Hossain
Project
Coordinator
BNWLA
61
Shiblu
Reza Ahmed
Staff Reporter
Radio Today
62
SK. Mujibul Huq
Senior Coordinator
(Advocacy &
Human Rights Unit)
BRAC
63
SK. Rumana
General Secretary
BOMSA
64
Steep Sarowar
65
Sultana Razia
Lal Salam
Incharge (Law and
Our Rights)
The Daily Star
No.
Name
Designation
Organization
66
Sumaiya Islam
Programme Director
BOMSA
67
Sumaiya Islam
Programme
Specilalist
Bangladesh Rural Advancement

Committee Human Rights and
Legal Aid Services
68
Syed Saiful Haque
Chairman
WARBE
Development
Foundation
69
Uttam Kumar Das
National
Programme
Officer
IOM Dhaka
70
Wajid H. Shah
Research Fellow
Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies
71
Walior
Press
Dhakar Katha
47

Global Economic Crisis Impact On Women Labour Migration in Bangladesh

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Global Economic Crisis Impact On Women Labour Migration in Bangladesh

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The opinions and recommendations expressed in the report are those of the authors and

PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLICY DIALOGUE ON

THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS:

WOMEN LABOUR MIGRATION

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies

Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training

Bangladesh Overseas Employment Services Limited

Bangladesh Obhibashi Mohila Sramik Association

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Corporate Social Responsibility

District Employment and Manpower Offices

Foreign Direct Investment

Gross Domestic Product

International Labour Organization

International Monitory Fund

International Organization for Migration

Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment

Ministry of Women and Children Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Migrant Workers Convention

Probashi Kalyan Desk

Public Private Partnership

Ready Made Garments

United Nations Development Fund for Women

IOM Dhaka in collaboration with

Discussants at the policy dialogue

Labour migration has become a reality

reflect the overall number of undocumented women migrants working in

impact of the crisis on labour

where more than 80% of the

The Policy Dialogue on The Global

Kaniz Siddique, International Consultant, Ministry of

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Women suffer multiple disadvantages

niche market for Bangladeshi women

Mr. Elias Ahmed

Mr. Elias Ahmed emphasized particularly on how Bangladesh is operating amidst

Agreeing that women workers do have

appoint women welfare assistants to

Top destinations for Bangladeshi women, mid-2004-mid-2007

Source: BMET, 2007

etc. She stated that promoting the

Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki,

Ms. Meher Afroze Chumki

Terming the topic of the policy

as the most conducive time to increase

Dr. Hassan Mahmud

Though Bangladesh is an example

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The Impact of the

Ms. Samiha Huda, National Programme Officer

While providing an overview of

The bulk of remitted money is spent

Operating shelters for

Assistance for returnees

25% of the cost of

IOM activities were highlighted regarding

IOM policy recommendations to the

awareness raising amongst general

In regard to UNIFEMs response to

the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) on

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JIQEPI ,MKL 'SYVX NYHKI ,I WXEXIH