Project for housemaids going to Gulf on the anvil

With growing incidents of physical and sexual abuse of Indian domestic helps in Gulf countries, the Central Social Welfare Board along with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is drawing up a project for their welfare.

The project, which is expected to be ready by April, is mainly for Kerala as lot of women from this state go to Gulf to work as housemaids but end up being exploited, board chairperson, Rajani Patil, who was on a recent visit to Kochi, told reporters. The project aims to launch awareness schemes besides teaching women some self defence methods, Patil said.

About 200,000 Indian women are believed to be working as household service workers in Gulf. Complaints of physical torture and abuse, non payment of salary for several months abound, social activists here say.

Some who are lucky are able to find their way back to the state, but many languish in the Gulf in virtual house arrests with their families here having no clue about their whereabouts.

The Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry had already made stringent rules with regard to women going abroad as domestic helps. They have to register with the respective Indian embassies as soon as they reach the Gulf countries, she said.

Patil said she had visited Gulf countries as part of a delegation of MPs and it was noticed that several women, mostly from Kerala, had been taken for a ride by agents and were being trafficked.