Women migrant workers demand a fair deal

Speaking at a gathering of women workers and activists from Asean countries, Dede Elah, a 35-year-old Muslim woman from Indonesia, said that many Muslim women from her country, including herself, who went to work as domestic workers in other countries faced sexual harassment by employers. Elah told how she had had to run away from her male employer to seek help from the Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

"A lot of women who returned from Saudi Arabia were pregnant as a result of rape by their employers," she said.

Women migrant workers from Burma are in the same plight in Thailand, said Aye, a 26-year-old Shan migrant worker.

Aye said that many of her friends, including one of her relatives, had had to leave their jobs as domestic workers because their male employers tried to rape them while some had failed to escape and become pregnant as a result of rape. "In many cases, their female employers force them to have abortions," said Aye, who has been working in Thailand for nine years.

Aye added that most women migrant domestic workers also had to work without days off, which affected their psychological and physical well-being. Aye said a single day off a week is what they wanted from their Thai employers. In Malaysia a local NGO has been campaigning for a one paid day off per week. Thailand and Malaysia are not alone, however, as other Asean member states have similar violations.