Women's overseas jobs have declined by more than 18 per cent in the past 10 months of this calendar year, according to official statistics.
Some 81,000 women went abroad with jobs during the January-October period of the year, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data said.
The number of overseas jobs for female workers was 100,136 in the corresponding period last year.
Because of the strict selection process for Saudi-bound migrants, sector insiders said, the number of outgoing job-seekers dropped during the period.
Again, batches of women have returned home from Saudi Arabia this year being exploited at workplaces.
The arrival of such migrant workers seems endless.
To help check abuses and exploitations, the authorities concerned tightened the process of selecting aspiring domestic workers.
Under the procedure, the BMET follows up the aspirants on completion of 30-day mandatory training.
The data showed the number of female workers dropped to 59,376 in the past 10 months from last year's 66,773.
Physical fitness, reading and writing skills are the requisites for a woman to go to Saudi Arabia, said a BMET official.
Because of the move, a good number of women are being disqualified for going to the kingdom, he added.
But rights campaigners said violence on domestic helps cannot go only through making such strict selection process as they face harassment in many ways.
Besides, migration is the right of every individual. Women are not an exception in this case.
"It's not good that women go through rigorous selection process several times," said Sumaiya Islam, director of Bangladeshi Obhibasi Mohila Sramik Association.
"Follow-up interview is illogical after completing mandatory training," she said, adding that most job-seekers are from poor family background.
Their sufferings mount when they undergo interview and selection procedure several times, Ms Islam added.
The government should rather strengthen its monitoring system and diplomatic initiatives to ensure workplace rights and safety, she observed.
Because of harassment, about 2,000 females returned home from Saudi Arabia since January this year.
They faced physical, mental and sexual exploitations.
The returnees also made complaints over denial of wages and proper food by their employers.
Bangladeshi women secure jobs mainly in 18 countries. Of them, the Middle-Eastern countries are the key destinations.
In the January-October period, 1,923 women went to the United Arab Emirates, 8,821 to Oman, 2,744 to Qatar and 6,452 to Jordan.
A total of 121,925 women went abroad in 2017. Of them, 83354 went to Saudi Arabia.
Since 1991, over 0.75 million women went abroad with jobs, according to the BMET data.
