In this report, we offer an urgent examination of the deaths of Nepali female migrant domestic workers abroad and the consequences for their families. Drawing on 17 cases across multiple districts in Nepal, we foreground the voices of bereaved family members and argue that Nepal’s migration industry systemically fails its most vulnerable citizens – women from Dalit, Janajati and low-income backgrounds. At the heart of this pilot feminist research is an important question:

What happens when the state that benefits from migrant women’s labour disowns them in death?

Research findings

1. Grief, debt, and dispossession

• Families of deceased female migrant workers suffer severe mental health related issues. This including, but not limited to, depression, trauma, anxiety, and social withdrawal. Elderly parents and children are particularly impacted but receive no formal psychosocial support.
• The death of a female migrant workers often results in financial collapse due to unpaid migration debts and lost income. As a result, several family members are forced to sell their houses, land and assets and relocate to different locations. Many families fall into high-interest debt cycles, with women-headed households suffering the most.
• Families endure social stigma and blame from their communities for sending their women via irregular channels. Marginalised castes face heightened exclusion, and children are often ostracised at school.

2. Institutional failures and irregular migration

• Body repatriation is slow, uncertain, or denied, especially for undocumented migrant women. Families often pay large sums or rely on community and diasporic donations to bring their loved ones home.
• Nepali missions provide minimal support, civil society’s support are mostly absent, and there is no systematic investigation into suspicious deaths is conducted despire supreme court of Nepal’s order of dual post mortems. These deaths are often labelled as suicides or natural causes and family members refuse to accept these official reasoning.
• Migration bans on domestic work force lower class and caste women into irregular migration channels. This increases their vulnerability to exploitation, abuse, and death.

3. Structural inequality and intersectional Injustice

• Nepali women’s labour and deaths are rendered invisible through a combination of gendered, caste-based, and class-based oppression.
• Protectionist policies, like the domestic work migration ban, are based on outdated assumptions on gender and serve to control women’s life, mobility and labour, not protect them despite their enormous contribution to Nepal.
• Even those with legal documents face bureaucratic hurdles and lack access to justice. These highlights a fragmented, inefficient system more concerned with regulating migration than safeguarding lives.

Core policy recommendations

To restore dignity and justice to female migrant domestic workers and their families, we call for a comprehensive restructuring of Nepal’s migration governance.

1. .Lift migration bans in domestic work and enable legal migration

• Lift the ban on domestic work migration.
• Facilitate accessible legal migration channels.
• Unconditionally, recognise, register and protect all undocumented migrants in embassies.

1. Strengthen compensation and social Protection

• Extend financial support and insurance coverage to all migrant families.  
• Establish a government-funded repatriation programme.
• Create simplified and localised claims processes.
• Improve institutional capacity and accountability
  • Increase staffing and resources at embassies.
  • Mandate dual post-mortems for migrant deaths.
  • Create a Migrant Death Review Board and a legal aid cell for bereaved families.
• Expand mental health infrastructure and community support
  • Establish ward-level psychosocial counselling infrastructure.
  • Support community-based organisations in offering legal and emotional support.
  • Launch national campaigns to reduce stigma around women’s migration. 
• Promote intersectional feminist migration governance
  • Include returnee migrants and bereaved families in policymaking.
  • Promote intersectional research led by Dalit, Janajati and other researchers and scholars from intersectionally marginalised communities.
  • Release disaggregated data on migrant deaths and repatriation.
•  Build gender-sensitive Structures
  • Conduct gender impact assessments of migration policies.
  • Recognise care work as labour in both policy and practice.
  • Ensure safe, transparent, and just migration systems for all citizens.

This report is a refusal to forget the women who left Nepal to support their families and never returned. It challenges all actors, government, civil society, media, and academia, to recognise the systemic violence that allows these deaths to occur without justice or acknowledgement. Their deaths are not isolated events, but the result of policy failures, institutional neglect, and deeply rooted inequalities. Each death is a national failure. Each story is a demand for change. This report is both an archive of grief and a call to action.

सार्बजनिक स्थलमा महिला तथा किशोरीमाथि हुने हिंसालाई सम्बोधन गर्न लैङ्गिक न्याय र मानव अधिकारमा आधारित दृष्टिकोणबाट बिध्यमान नीतिगत ब्यवस्थामा गरीनुपर्ने सुधारहरु र नीतिगत कार्यान्वयनमा प्रभावकारीता बृद्धि गर्न सहयोग गर्ने उद्धेश्यले ओरेकले सार्वजनिक स्थलमा महिला तथा किशोरीमाथि हुने हिंसा न्यूनिकरण र यसको संबोधन सँग सम्बन्धित नीतिको समीक्षा अध्ययन गरेको छ । सो नीतिगत समिक्षाको सारांश निम्न लिंकबाट अध्ययन तथा डाउनलोड गर्न सक्नुहुनेछ । 

Link: https://www.worecnepal.org/publications/113/2021-12-02

The survey findings confirm that personal, social, financial and political aspects of women migrant
workers have always been subjected to public scrutiny of Nepali society deeply entrenched in
patriarchal norms and values. Some of the key findings are as outlined below:
On a personal front, all of the 25 returnee women migrant workers claimed that they made
a conscious decision to return to Nepal because of the pandemic. The respondents who had
returned to Nepal as early as October-November 2019 had returned on their own. Only one
had returned in June 2020 in the government chartered flight to Nepal from Kuwait.
These respondents returning in between January and March 2020 had either left their jobs
or were laid off by their employers. One respondent coming in June 2020 returned from her
country of employment in an extended leave provision and was receiving half wage.
Three out of the five non-returnee migrant women workers consulted with their family and
decided to stay back. Two respondents could not come back since their country of employment
suspended flights before their flight date.
Social Status of returnee women migrant workers was tied to their family relationships, mainly
with their husbands who were either deceased or alive but separated. Larger part of their
remittance goes towards maintenance of their household, in case of married women, their
husband played a larger role in how the money would be spent. In case of unmarried single
respondents, fathers were the key user of income sent by the respondents. The Married but
single (divorcee, widow) respondents were staying with their maternal parents or siblings who
were the caretakers of their children.
Stigma attached to the pandemic on their return affected only one of the respondents who did
not communicate with anyone outside of her immediate family. Rest of the respondents felt
a varying degree of passive aggression in their neighborhood, that subsided after they were
tested negative during their 2-week-long stay in quarantine shelters.
Financial Situation of the returnee migrant workers in Nepal and women migrant workers in
countries of employment is different. Returnee migrant workers have little or no savings of their
own to sail through uncertain times brought by pandemic.
The uncertainty around their employment opportunities was the biggest worry. Therefore, at
present, they are willing to work as daily labour even for a half wage. Being underpaid is not an
issue for the returnee women migrant workers. Same views were expressed by non-returnee

women migrant workers who are being paid half wage by their employing companies. They are
hopeful that their companies will compensate for this once situation normalize.
The respondents with small scale business in destination country or home country expect their
business to be negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Wage theft had been there for two of the twenty-five returnee women migrant workers who
had not been paid the same amount as mentioned in their work contract. One of them had not
even received any increment during her 2-year-employment.
Placement agency were also found to be extorting money from the women migrant workers.
Every month, one of the respondent’s placement agency would take 2000/- INR from her as
placement fee.
Working Hours had increased for the non-returnee women workers as in case of Oman. However,
for the ones in Kuwait and Baharain, the work was on call basis. One of the respondents in
Kuwait works in her company’s online customer service which is lesser than her working hours.
Employment opportunities in future is uncertain as pointed out by all of the respondents. They
stated that it is due to them being either unskilled or semi-skilled labour, their level of education,
and their age. The respondents’ highest level of education was higher secondary dropout and
lowest is basic literacy.
The respondents especially the unskilled and semi-skilled are worried of their financial
up keeping, and are oblivious to government policies related to skill upgrade training and
employment opportunities including loans on subsidized rate. However, when informed of these
available means, they were still sceptic about their access to such government facilities and
benefits from it. For many migrant workers foreign employment still remains a lucrative option
than working in Nepal.
Self-employment is an option that they would like to seek, however, they are equally skeptic
of government’s policies on subsidized loan schemes, entrepreneurial grants, skills based
trainings, and employment funds.
Quarantine shelters set up by the government lacked not only the adequate infrastructure
to deal with COVID-19 issues but also other common health related issues, such as drinking
water, medicines for diarrhea, fever, etc. This survey’s respondents who had stayed in quarantine

shelters of their respective districts did confirm mismanagement.
This survey’s Dalit respondents, were not subjected to discrimination since they had come
months before these shelters had been set up and lock down was enforced.
Though hurt and mindful of social stigma attached to their timing of return, they are unfazed
by it and question rather the intent and double standard of the society, including their family
members who benefit from their remittance.
Federal Government Package/Programmes such as Prime Minister’s Employment Program,
Small Farmer’s Credit, Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self Employment Fund and Private
Sector were unknown to all of the respondents. They were skeptic that such schemes will be
accessible to them. Forty seven percentage (47%) of the survey respondents are keen to work
in Nepal if such schemes are availed to them.
Foreign Employment Board (FEB) is developing migrant worker and their families focused
guidelines specifically to address their needs at times of pandemics like COVID-19. Additionally,
the board has already introduced repatriation guidelines which holds recruitment agencies
and employing companies responsible to cover evacuation costs of the migrant works in such
situations. The guideline with this provision is being opposed by the recruitment agencies on
the ground that they were not consulted while drafting the guidelines, and also they are not in
a position to cover such costs. The objective of the recommendations made below have been
made with an aspiration to ensure the rights of women migrant workers, mainly the returnees
are ensured at all times irrespective of perceived normal times and age of ‘new normal’
induced by situations such as COVID–19 pandemic. The basis of these recommendations are
conversations with the respondents, review of media reports, statements, and participation in
consulting webinars on concerns of migrant workers’ rights and their advocates/lobbyists with
the government.
Government of Nepal’s policy on Women Migrant Workers:
Since the 1990s, Government of Nepal has backtracked on mobility of Nepali women seeking
foreign employment, reality of which have shown that women become more vulnerable to human
trafficking and irregular labour market. The present COVID-19 crisis has also reflected how
they can be denied return to their home country. Therefore, this survey would like to support the
advocacy of migrant rights community and women rights movement in Nepal that such restrictive
policies are not an answer to protect women migrant workers. The government should introduce
policies that allows women to opt for foreign employment with dignity and safety.

Employment Schemes of the Government has budgeted 1.474 trillion1 in fiscal year 2020/21
among which employment generating, conducting training programme, and availing small
financial grants for self-employment are the key focused areas. This will be availed for all
Nepali citizens through Prime Minister’s Employment Program, Small Farmers Credit, Youth and
Small Entrepreneur Self Employment Fund and Private Sectors. Therefore, this survey calls for
a concrete laid out implementation plan from the government on how returnee migrant workers,
especially the returnee women migrant workers will benefit from this. This implementation plan
should also include a dedicated detailed information dissemination plan which will ensure that
none of the returnee women migrant worker will be left out.
Nepal’s present three-tier administrative structure – local, province and federal – can serve the
migrant workers and their families only through proper data analysis. Therefore, Government of
Nepal has to use its quantitative data available with its line Ministry of Labour, Employment and
Social Security to identify and explore areas through which skills and knowledge of returnee
women migrant workers can be absorbed for a financially sustained dignified life. This can
only be done through the best practice of consulting with right holders, i.e., returnee women
migrant workers and their families while introducing any policies. Such policies should also
consider how non-implementing agencies can be held accountable should there be absence
of effective implementation of these policies and programmes. These consultations should
also include returnee migrant workers who were on irregular working status in their countries
of employment and have now returned to Nepal. They should not be excluded from benefiting
from any of the government policies and programmes implemented to benefit returnee migrant
women workers.
Identified Areas of Support outlined in this survey is the expression of 30 respondents (25
returnees migrant woman worker and 5 non returnee woman migrant workers) and it covers
their concerns related to finance, social security and mental health. The government and its
line agencies should consider these indicated areas and plan implementation and execution of
its policies accordingly.
Comprehensive Technical Assistance should be provided by the government to set up
businesses for returnee women migrant workers seeking self-employment opportunities.
Considering this reality, the government should provide basic financial literacy skills including
1 a) Factsheet published on 14 July 2020, Centre for Social Change;
b) https://risingnepaldaily.com/main-news/fm-khatiwada-unveils-rs-147-trillion-budget-for-fy-202021

taxation training for the self-starters. This should also include promotion of their service in
larger entrepreneurial scene, investment and saving of their earnings, etc.
Foreign Employment Board has plans to introduce guidelines2 focused on COVID-19 and its
impact on migrant workers and their families. Therefore, migrant rights community especially
those who work for the rights of women migrant workers need to see if this guideline has
feminist lens or not.
Foreign Employment Board’s proposed pilot reintegration programme in pipeline for migrant
workers should be prepared in consultation with migrant rights community and women migrant
workers and their families themselves. It should also address how the above mentioned
implementing agencies and announced budget can be availed by returnee migrant workers,
especially returnee women migrant workers keeping in mind how diverse this group can be in
terms of socio-cultural background.
This survey brings the attention of the government and migrant rights community that returnee
women migrant workers, irrespective of her migration employment status with Department of
Labour – Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security, should also benefit from this
fund, especially in context such as COVID19.
Consultation with returnee women migrant workers, especially with the ones who were given
amnesty by Kuwait government on the reasons behind their undocumented and irregular stay.
This will be helpful in understanding their choices, situations they have to live in which will be
a good reference for the Government of Nepal to revisit its agreement with the countries of
employment on employment policies benefiting Nepali women opting for foreign employment
opportunities.
Psycho-Social Counselling, though not raised by any of the respondents, the survey
conversations with the respondents indicate that they are in need of a counsellor who can walk
through with their anxiety and stress induced by the pandemic, strained relationship with the
family members, and uncertainty around their financial wellbeing.
2till this report was prepared, the guideline was still in preparatory phase

Ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families has to
be the priority of Nepal Government as urged by the migrant rights groups since the last
decade. The government’s initial stand on evacuation of migrant workers from their countries
of employment at the time of pandemic has shown how critical it is for a labour export country
like Nepal to ratify this convention so that migrant rights community as well as government
bodies and recruitment agencies including employing companies are clear about their roles.