By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO, Mar 12 2007 (IPS)

A ban by the Sri Lankan government on young mothers taking up jobs as housemaids in foreign countries, to minimise social disruption at home, has whipped up a storm of protests with rights groups slamming the move as hasty and poorly planned.

&#39&#39You just don&#39t enforce a decision like this without offering them (mothers) an alternate source of employment. Otherwise who is going to feed and clothe their families?" said Nimalka Fernando, a respected women&#39s rights activist.

The cabinet decision, announced at a press conference last week, said mothers with children under five years will not be permitted to work overseas. It was also decided that mothers with children over five must provide an undertaking, endorsed by a committee headed by a government official, that the children will be cared for by a responsible guardian.

More than 60 percent of the 1.5 million Sri Lankans who work abroad are women. Many, employed as housemaids in the Middle East and South-east Asia, leave behind broken homes and young children who are often neglected or abused, sometimes by a close relative or even fathers.

For years governments and migrant worker groups have grappled with the problem of children of migrant workers. In 2003, the United National Party (UNP) government planned a similar ban but with a relief package which included alternatives for women considering jobs abroad, said Fernando.

"The latest decision doesn&#39t enhance the rights of women but rather removes their right to mobility," said Fernando who is also president of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR). She added that it was ironical that the decision was announced on a day which seeks to empower women – International Women&#39s Day.

The initiative for the ban came from the minister for child development and women&#39s empowerment, Sumedha G. Jayasena, who said in a statement that the government was taking steps to restrict the migration of Sri Lankan mothers "into foreign employment, as a means of ensuring the welfare of their children."

Jayasena said the imposition of these limitations on migration will ensure the welfare of children who are left alone ‘&#39without the warmth of their mother&#39s love."

The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) backed the move saying it should have been done a long time ago. SLFEB&#39s deputy general manager L.K. Ruhunuge said there were constant requests to get the mothers back home. ‘&#39We have had doctors saying the mothers should come back to care for their kids," he told IPS.

Ruhunuge said the ‘&#39process has failed as it is voluntary but now with a law being brought in, it would be more effective&#39&#39. He said only about 15 percent of migrant workers would be affected. Saudi Arabia, the largest market for Sri Lankan housemaids (300,000 of them), only recruits housemaids who are over 35 years.

Conscious of the disruption caused by young mothers leaving their families, the government, in May, raised the minimum age of women seeking employment as housemaids (for countries outside Saudi Arabia) to 21 years.

According to the government, available statistics and reports suggest that the children of many mothers, who migrate for employment to the Middle East and other countries, have become helpless and vulnerable, and lack nutrition and healthcare.

Often, mothers who have small children migrate without making proper arrangements with regard to their children and families; children are left with husbands, mothers or relatives. There have been instances of accidents, or even death, caused to the children through neglect, the government statement said. "It has also been reported that some mothers have migrated to the Middle East leaving behind infants of three months.&#39&#39

David Soysa, director of the Migrant Services Centre (MSC), commented that the government always ‘&#39puts the cart before the horse" when it come to decision-making on migrant worker issues. "This is not empowerment," he argued. Other experts said the move would cause confusion and chaos for those preparing to go abroad and who have already spent a lot of money securing a job abroad – often mortgaging their homes, borrowing money or pawning jewellery.

The MSC has repeatedly urged the government to provide voting rights for migrant workers who represent 12 percent of Sri Lanka&#39s voting population, but the proposal – though tentatively accepted by the state – is slow to take off.

"These workers need to be heard; their interests need to be protected. This situation of a sudden ban wouldn&#39t have arisen if their interests are protected by parliament and decisions made after consulting all stakeholders," Soysa told IPS.

In January, the government decided to raise the minimum wage for jobs as housemaids overseas to 250 US dollars per month from around 100 to 150 dollars, but the plan quickly fell apart after employment agents protested saying foreign employers were not ready to pay such high wages for unskilled work.

The intention was to reduce the number of unskilled women going abroad but the plan has been suspended.

With Sri Lanka&#39s economy torn by civil war and populist budgets that are laden with subsidies, the government has had to bite the bullet with the ban. Last year, inflation rose to 19.3 percent, unemployment rates were increasing steadily and remittances made by workers remained the biggest earner of foreign exchange.

The plight of Sri Lankan women working abroad, particularly in the Middle East, has been known to be pathetic for some time now. Most of the women need the jobs to sustain their families but are not equipped to face the challenges of working in an unknown environment.

Caritas, a church-funded non-government organisation (NGO) working to alleviate the suffering of housemaids in Jordan, appealed to Sri Lankan authorities to discourage young mothers from going abroad two years ago.

Sister Consy, a Sri Lankan nun with Caritas, suggests that women should be clearly informed by experienced counsellors what to expect. &#39&#39They should be informed about life in a foreign household – the pros and cons – and then asked to make a choice,&#39&#39 she said.

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