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Pak govt urged to allow maids to work abroad

Pakistanis living in the UAE have urged their government to allow maids from Pakistan to work abroad so as to facilitate the community, besides earning the much-needed foreign exchange for the country.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, several members of the community said that female household helpers from various countries of the world contributed a great deal towards earning foreign exchange for their countries. However, Pakistan is missing out on the list.

Osama Shah, a Dubai-based businessman, said that by banning maids, Pakistan was denying itself an opportunity to earn in foreign remittances. “This way, Pakistan is losing out on income from foreign remittances which is very much needed by the country,” he said.

Many people also said that they were facing problems regarding sponsorship of maids from countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and many other places. “Though the sponsorship of maids from any country is an expensive and tedious process, we find it even more difficult to sponsor maids from unknown cultures, especially when we do not have the option of meeting them physically,” said M Farooq, a businessman who has a big family living in the UAE. “If we could sponsor a maid from Pakistan, the selection process would be easier as we would be able to meet and interview a person of our choice in our home city,” he added.

Issuance of work visas to Pakistani women to work as household maids worldwide was stopped by the Pakistan government some years ago to rule out the probability of unaccompanied or unmarried Pakistani women indulging in immoral activities while working abroad.

In this regard, Amanullah Larik, Consul General of Pakistan, said that the Pakistan government had stopped the visas for maids so as to protect the exploitation of the female population abroad. “The UAE market has been taken over by Sri Lankan, Philippine, Bangladeshi and Indonesian maids. There is no room for Pakistani maids to adjust here, especially when what the government has done is in their favour,” he said.

While appreciating the steps taken by the Pakistan government to safeguard women’s rights, the members of the community suggested that a stricter check could be imposed on the maids to curb such activities.

“The activities of sponsored women can be monitored from time to time by the Pakistani government in cooperation with the UAE authorities so as to prevent them from indulging in immoral activities,” said Fareen Akhtar, a Sharjah-based housewife, who wishes to sponsor a Pakistani housemaid to take care of her children.

Sadia Asghar, a working mother, lamented the fact that she had to leave her children with women from other nationalities which was placing a negative influence on her children. “I have a full time Filipino maid, but I would have preferred to sponsor a maid from Pakistan so that at least my children could know our language, culture, religion and values. It is very frustrating to be unable to sponsor a female to work as a maid from our own country, while we see several women of other nationalities working comfortably among us,” she pointed out.