About 97 per cent of the Bangladeshi women aspirants surveyed do not know about formal services regarding migration at community level in Bangladesh, a study revealed on Wednesday.
Of the total respondents, only 5.0 per cent know about available training for women in their community on planned, safe and orderly migration.
Besides, all respondents who are informed about available services know that the services are provided by union parishad or upazila parishad.
Only two respondents spoke about NGO services.
The baseline study on promoting safe migration for women migrants was jointly conducted by CARE Bangladesh and WARBE Development Foundation (WARBEDF) from February to April this year.
It covered 10 unions under Nawabganj and Keraniganj sub-districts with the participation of an estimated 220 female aspirants.
According to the findings, nearly 60 per cent of them receive information about the process of migration from returnees, relatives, friends and families.
The remaining 40 per cent get information from union parishad, technical training centres and district employment and manpower offices, respondents said.
The research was conducted with an eye to meeting gaps and opportunities in the current policy framework and capacity-building needs of the aspiring women.
Women face many barriers during migration while some barriers preclude them from services for safe and organised migration, the study stated.
During a virtual consultation, migration experts and activists recognised the need for ensuring proper information about safe and orderly migration process.
Positive aspects aside, risk factors of labour migration abroad should also be shared with the aspiring migrants, they said.
In its recommendations, the study cited that the acts are very much category-specific, for example, for labour migration and trafficking.
There is a lack of a comprehensive framework that can contribute to safe and regular migration as a whole, including the issues of gender-sensitive migration.
Mostafa Sorower, CARE Bangladesh programme manager for promoting safe migration for women in Bangladesh project, presented the findings.
Humaira Aziz, director for women and girls' empowerment programme, moderated the event.
WARBEDF chairman Syed Saiful Haque, director Jasiya Khatoon and migration activists from different organisations addressed the programme.
