82 Nepali women migrant workers commit suicide in 18 months

The number of Nepali women migrant workers committing suicide in the Gulf is increasing each year.

About 82 Nepali women working as housemaids in the Gulf countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates have committed suicide in the last 18 months, according to UN Women.

About 244,000 Nepali women are believed to be working in Gulf countries and a majority of them are said to be illegal.

Mostly young and vulnerable Nepali women workers have faced severe mental and physical torture. This had forced Nepal government to set the minimum age criteria of 30 years to be eligible to work as housemaids in Gulf countries few months back.

According to UN Women, about 2,822 Nepali women were rescued from their workplaces in the last 18 months till June 2012 after they complained of extreme physical and mental torture including sexual exploitation. About 25 unmarried girls working as housemaids had returned home with a child during the period. Nepalnews.com