Recruitment agencies order Sri Lankan women to take contraceptives before working in the Middle East
Agencies offer guarantee that women desperate for work will not fall pregnant
Sri Lankan women who move to the Middle East and Gulf states in order to take up domestic jobs are being are being told to take contraceptives before leaving.
Six recruiters licensed by the Sri Lankan government said they could provide an employer with a “three-month guarantee” that a maid would not become pregnant.
An agent from Gulf Jobs in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, told The Guardian: “Before we can send a maid, there is a medical check-up by the government and no one can influence that. But once the medical test is done… there is a device we can give in them. If you want it, we can arrange it.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While no women affected were prepared to speak openly about being forced to take contraceptives, the Guardian found that many recruitment agencies make migrant workers take Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive that lasts for three months.
Rahini Bhaskaran, coordinator of Migrants Network, a migrant rights organisation, said women were so desperate for work that they complied unquestioningly with the stipulations of recruiters.
“Most women don’t know what the injections are for,” she said. “They are not told anything about it.”
Bhaskaran added that the contraceptive serves a double purpose: covering up potential sexual assaults by recruitment agents and serving as a guarantee to prospective employers in the Gulf that workers will not get pregnant.
“Some women think it’s necessary… to have sex with the agents to go abroad. The agents coax women, even promising marriage in some cases, and then abuse them,” said Bhaskaran.
Rothna Begum, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “Migrant domestic workers in the Gulf are treated as commodities by agencies and employers to the extent that their bodies and their choices are no longer theirs at the point of migration. When they go into employment, it’s this power dynamic that allows exploitation and abuse to flourish.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - September 14, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - a second debate, Europe on the menu, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 cleverly clashing cartoons about the presidential debate
Cartoons Artists take on a deepfake debate, winners and losers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Pélicot case: a horror exposed
Talking Point This case is unusually horrifying, but the misogyny that enabled is chillingly common
By The Week UK Published
-
A brief history of third parties in the US
In Depth Though none of America's third parties have won a presidential election, they have nonetheless had a large impact on the country's politics
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Modern royal scandals from around the world
The Explainer From Spain to the UAE, royal families have often been besieged by negative events
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Zelenskyy says 31,000 troops dead in 2 years of war
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a rare official military death toll
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published