Bindra Devi Pariyar, a 45-year-old woman from ward 1 of Birendranagar Municipality in Surkhet, still remembers the pain and suffering she received seven years ago while working abroad.

Pariyar’s life took a drastic turn after a flood in the Dhodekhali stream swept away her house in the monsoon of 2014.

Pariyar said that her whole life turned upside down after the flood, resulting in her family being buried in debt.

“After the flood, my husband, two daughters, a son, and my mother-in-law started living in a rented apartment with no money or valuables. Due to the disaster, we were unable to pay our home loan. Also, my husband and mother-in-law were struggling with illnesses. So I decided to go abroad,” said Pariyar.

Under the false promises of an agent, she was convinced of lucrative prospects in Kuwait, although it is banned for Nepali women workers for employment. She had a loan of Rs1.5 million including the money she borrowed from loan sharks to go abroad.

In June 2016, Pariyar was taken to Jhapa and from there to New Delhi (India), Bahrain, Dubai (UAE), and then to Kuwait illegally. Due to continued travel, jet lag, and other health issues, she was unable to eat or sleep for days upon reaching Kuwait, but she continued working there.

“In Kuwait, I was tortured physically and mentally to the point that I even contemplated killing myself, but the thought of my family back home kept me going. I worked there for some two months, but they did not pay me,” said Pariyar.

After some time, she fell seriously ill and was unable to work. Her employers kicked her out without paying and handed her back to the agent.

When she was unable to work, the employers used to even pour hot, boiling water on her and lock her in a cage.

The agent demanded some Rs400,000 to let her return home to Nepal.

“I managed to get in touch with some other women who had gone to Kuwait illegally, and along with them, we contacted the Nepali embassy, and we were rescued. After completing the legal procedures, I and two other women spent ten days in Kuwaiti prison before returning to Nepal,” Pariyar added.

Pariyar, who went abroad in June 2016, only came back to Nepal in March 2017 and is still struggling to repay the loans. Her husband died, and her mother-in-law is paralysed. Now her 19-year-old son is supporting the family by quitting his studies.

Pariyar further added that nobody, especially women, should go abroad illegally. If anything goes wrong, they will find themselves helpless in a foreign land with nobody to help.

Basanti Pant Karki, a 45-year-old woman from ward 9 of Birendranagar Municipality, legally went to Saudi Arabia in April 2016 and worked there for five years. Karki still vividly recalls the trauma and suffering she suffered in Saudi Arabia.

“I used to work as a cleaner in a hospital there, and the job was also good, but the agent who took me there was an evil man; he would force me to work extra hours without any pay and frequently threatened me,” said Karki.

After a year, Karki’s husband died in Nepal. When she got the news, she wanted to come back, but the agent did not allow her to leave. Later, she contacted the Nepal embassy in Saudi Arabia and requested assistance to return, but that also did not work.

Karki could return home only after a year of her husband’s death.

“The agent did not pay my dues but only handed me two tickets—one to go to Nepal and another to return to Saudi Arabia. He threatened me that I would not receive my payment unless I returned to Saudi Arabia. So I returned, after spending two months in Birendranagar,” said Karki. “Even those women who go to Gulf countries legally face physical and mental abuse. I advise all women planning to go to Gulf countries to find a job in Nepal itself, because those countries are not safe for foreign women,” Karki added.

According to the Labour and Employment Office, Karnali Province, 4,587 women in the province have received work permits for foreign employment in the last three years.

The office has no data on the number of women from the province who went to India and third countries for employment.