Thiruvananthapuram: The unskilled women workers from Kerala continue to seek their fortunes in the Gulf countries with Kottayam district sending the maximum number. There are 25 districts in the country from where a significant number of women are employed in those countries and all the 14 districts in Kerala come in this list.
According to the data with the Ministry of External Affairs, out of 916 women who went to the Gulf countries from the 25 districts this year, 710 were from Kerala and 115 of them from Kottayam, followed by 94 from Pathanamthitta.
There are 50 districts in the country that send the maximum number of both men and women to the 18 countries to which emigration clearance is required. Only two districts in Kerala figure in the list with Malappuram coming in the 41st position (3,336 emigrants) and Thrissur in the 49th position (3,003). Murshidabad in West Bengal topped the list with 19,333. The total number of emigrants from the 50 districts this year was 3.07 lakh.
According to sources in the emigration sector, a major chunk of women was seeking jobs as maids. However, considering the widespread exploitation, the centre had recently insisted on the recruitments of maids through the government-run recruiting agencies, including NORKA-Roots and Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Council.
The UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia were the major destinations for the women workforce. Of the 916 women from the 25 districts, 468 were to the UAE, 229 to Oman and 154 to Saudi Arabia.
During 2015 also, all the 14 districts from Kerala figured in the list of 25 districts and Kottayam topped the list then too. However, there was a slight decline in the number this year with only 916 women going abroad while it was 1,167 in 2015.
