Travel ban on Nepalese women who are unmarried and are below the age of 40!
With the rise of news that fill the newspaper and the news channels about stories of women of Nepal being abused, exploited and trafficked in foreign countries, Department of Immigration under the Government of Nepal proposed their new law. The new law puts restrictions on foreign travel for women who are unmarried and are below 4o years of age.
As per the proposed law, any woman who is unmarried and under the age of 40 require to present the following documents to be able to get her travel permit:
- A letter of consent from her family or guardian
- For a married woman, the consent of her husband or her in-laws
- A letter from the ward office that specifies her reason of travel
Well, this is not the first instance of how women have been restricted for foreign travel and foreign employment. The history dates back to 1985.
The Foreign Employment Act 1985 presents the laws and acts on how the Government of Nepal has on and off, banned women from migrating to foreign countries in the informal sector, primarily as domestic help. The Foreign Employment Act 1985 had prohibited recruitment agencies from providing ‘foreign employment to children and women without the consent of her guardian”. The Second Amendment to the Act in 1998 expanded the permissions required for women and children to take “permission of His Majesty’s Government and guardians”. (1)
On August 9, 2012- Nepal’s cabinet approved a ban on women under the age of 30 from travelling to the Gulf for work on the grounds of concern over women abuse and exploitation. The ban eventually was lifted partially but regulations were never formulated to benefit Nepali women, who have the same aspirations as men to work abroad.(2)
While the entire world is moving forward, with the women advancing and empowering themselves, while most of the countries today have women in leadership position including Nepal, the policies that has once again been proposed to the government marks nothing but regressive thoughts.
The new “proposed” act not only suppresses the interest of a woman who is looking to travel or work abroad but also violates the fundamental rights guaranteed for a women. The proposed law violates the fundamental and basic human rights of a woman.
The Constitution of Nepal 2015, guarantees the Right to Freedom in Article 17 under Part 3. In Article 18, the Constitution of Nepal 2015 guarantees the Right to Equality which states that “1. All citizens shall be equal before law. No person shall be denied the equal protection of law. 2. No discrimination shall be made in the application of general laws on the grounds of origin, race, caste, tribe, sex, physical condition, condition of health, marital status, pregnancy, economic condition, language or region, ideology or on similar other grounds.”
I deem it as extremely paternalistic and parochial approach reflecting the misogynism thought process of the concerned authorities. I take it as a safe move from the Government as they are putting the name of vulnerable women who have been brutally exploited, trafficked and stranded on the foreign land while also attacking all women in general.
I regard it as a violation of my rights as a citizen of a country and as a woman. It violates my Right to Freedom as I cannot travel freely, I cannot make choices regarding my employment and this law deprives a girl like me and many others from several opportunities.
I regard this law as a violation of my Right to Equality as it prevents “women” from travelling abroad. Women in general. Women under the age of 40. Women who are unmarried. I regard this as a discrimination on the grounds of gender, age and marital status. And even for a woman who is married, the consensus from the “husband” is required.
Well, we can, for the time being, ignore this and talk about from the perspective of the government. It is very thoughtful of the government to be concerned of such sensitive issues regarding the safety of women. The government is absolutely right for thinking about brining in policies for the women ensuring their safety and dignity.
In an interview with Republica, Mr. Tek Narayan Paudel- Director of the Department of Immigration, he was adamant about the proposal submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs for approval and could be understood that he was blissfully unaware of the response.
Mr. Paudel in the audio interview revealed that the policy was for “all women, under the age of 40” and “to minimize the risk of women as the women should not be left stranded, helpless anywhere.” He further went on to say that it shouldn’t be a big deal.
There are thousand of men and women who have been facing exploitation abroad. There are thousands of them who have been victims of assaults and trafficking’s. Is it not the responsibility of the government to take care and be concerned about the safety of “the men” of the country as well? Why are there no provisions regarding safety of men? Why isn’t a man who is travelling for the first time required to seek approval from the local ward office? Why isn’t a man required to present a letter of consent from his wife and parents?
I feel that the government is absolutely wrong for bringing in the baseless policies. Is seeking consent from parents, spouse or being the age of 40+ going to put a fullstop to every issue that the policy addresses? Would the implementation of this policy bring end to the way a man behaves with a woman?
Rather than imposing a ban, the Government should focus on formulating better policies from rescuing our people who are stranded and are vulnerable in the foreign land. The Government of Nepal should make policies that require the manpower agency and the consultancies to seek approval of the government as they send a person abroad. They should be the ones who would get their license after they submit the papers of consent from the countries that they are trying to send people to. The Government should assign the Nepalese embassies abroad the duty of safety and safeguarding of its citizen in trouble. The government should focus on strengthening the relations with the foreign countries and draft policies that would guarantee the safety and security of its citizen in the foreign land. The Government of Nepal should focus on making strict regulations of checking the immigration policies of other countries, their provisions of foreign employment, their policies regarding the safety and security of the immigrants.
With several protest march and protest campaign being running across country, all we can do now is wait for the decisions by Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the “proposed policy” regarding the travel ban.
Meanwhile let me know your opinions in the comment section about the proposed bans and the steps the government should take to ensure the safety and security of not just women but everyone who is exploited, assaulted, trafficked and stranded abroad.
