The number of outbound women workers has almost halved in recent months mainly on the strict selection process followed in hiring for Saudi Arabia, officials said.
Following a large number of maids returning from Saudi Arabia since January this year, the authorities concerned have tightened the screw on the selection process.
According to the data available with the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the outflow of women migrant workers has dropped by about 50 per cent in recent months.
The official statistics showed that some 5,045 women went abroad in June and 4,611 in July. Earlier on an average, 10,000 women went overseas each month, according to the data.
However, rights campaigners hailed the government's initiative saying that it was a good decision. Safe migration should be preferred to the number, they added.
They also observed that violence against domestic helps would not come down only because of such a strict selection as they face harassment in many ways.
They also demanded intervention of the labour authorities in Saudi Arabia to this effect.
Because of workplace harassment, over 1,500 women had returned home from Saudi Arabia since January this year. The female domestic helps faced different types of abuse such as physical, mental and sexual exploitation.
The women also made complaints about denial of wages and proper food.
Due to the tough selection process, the number of women workers fell to 2,535 in July from 3,426 in June.
Earlier, about 8,000 women went to Saudi Arabia each month, the official data revealed.
Aminul Islam, additional secretary at the expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry, said they were strictly maintaining the selection process. "So, only skilled workers get a chance to go to Saudi Arabia."
Under the process, he said, they keep the aspirant domestic workers under watch after completion of the 30-day mandatory training.
Physical fitness as well as reading and writing skills are the primary requirement for aspirant maids to be selected for going to Saudi Arabia, he added.
Because of such strict measures, more than half the women in each batch were being disqualified from going to the Arab country, he said.
"We are now laying emphasis on quality migration instead of their number," Mr Islam added.
If women go through proper pre-departure skill training, they will be able to perform well as required by Saudi employers.
"Then workplace harassment will come down gradually," he expressed his hope.
On the other hand, a senior official of the ministry said they would set the same selection criteria for women for other job destination countries.
Bangladeshi women are often forced to come back home due to abuse in the Middle East countries, right activists said.
A total of 121,925 women went abroad in 2017. Of them, 83,354 women went to Saudi Arabia.
WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque said women workers leaving the kingdom for harassment cannot contribute to their families as well as the country's economy.
So, there is no benefit of raising such migration. The government should first ensure protection of the women, he said.
The rights activist also observed that without proper intervention by the labour department of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), such harassment would not be stopped.
According to Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB), over 4,000 women workers returned home between 2015 and 2017 from safe homes of the Bangladesh embassy in the KSA.
Dhaka and Riyadh signed a deal on hiring domestic helps from Bangladesh in 2015 with a minimum monthly wage of 800 Saudi Riyals each.
Since the signing of the deal, about 0.2 million Bangladeshi domestic helps migrated to the Gulf country, according to BMET figures.
Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, joint secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), said they also favoured quality migration for women workers.
"We are not unhappy, although the number of outbound female workers has declined," he added.
Since 1991, over 0.75 million women went abroad with jobs, according to the BMET data.
