Gulf-bound women to be screened at TIA

REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Feb 26: Amidst reports of rise in trafficking of women to various Gulf countries in recent months, the home ministry has directed immigration authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport to interrogate women flying to Gulf countries on visit visa to ensure that they do not fall prey to women traffickers.

Sources at the home ministry said immigration authorities have been directed to ask women the place they intend to visit, the person or company that arranged for their travel and job, and the terms and conditions of their employers.

The immigration officials have also been asked to hand such women over to the concerned authorities if they fail to give convincing answers.

Officials said many women flying to Gulf countries do not even know where they are flying and what they would do when they reach their destinations. This is why women are forced to undergo severe hardships and are even trafficked in various Gulf countries, including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.

Home ministry officials said police have also been asked to keep special vigil on women flying to the Gulf countries on a visit visa.

Immigration officials have already started acting on home ministry´s directives and have succeeded in nabbing few traffickers in the past few days.

On Thursday, police rescued 13 women, who had been promised jobs in Kuwait. The women were kept as hostages when the police found them.

A police team deployed from the Police Headquarters on Thursday had also rounded up three agents for allegedly trafficking Nepali women to different Gulf countries.