Skill gaps, abuse and stigma: The untold story behind the drop in Bangladeshi women migrants

Moksuda Begum went to Saudi Arabia with dreams of a better life. A widow raising two children in Narayanganj, she believed migrating for work would ease her financial struggles. Her agent had promised her a salary of Tk22,000 per month.

But her hopes quickly faded when she met a harsh reality. Moksuda was employed as a domestic worker, tasked with cooking, cleaning and managing household chores.

"They forced me to wake up at 4 am, prepare breakfast and work continuously until late at night," she said. "There was no time to rest and sleep was barely a few hours."

The long hours might have been bearable if she had received the wages she was promised. Instead, the payments went to the agent in Saudi Arabia who never passed them on to her.

"I worked for six months and earned only Tk20,000, less than a month's promised salary, with a lot of torture," Moksuda said. She recalled being beaten by her employer, who once dragged her by the hair and made her clean the kitchen repeatedly in anger.

Similarly, Dalia, another returnee, said her experience in the Middle East was short-lived.

She faced harassment, delayed payments and an unfriendly work environment. Upon returning to Bangladesh, she encountered stigma and neglect at home.

"I was treated badly, as if I were a bad woman," Dalia said. "Even my family members acted as though I had done something wrong there."

The experiences of Moksuda and Dalia reflect a broader trend.

According to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) data, 105,466 Bangladeshi women migrated abroad for work in 2022, marking a rebound after the Covid-19 slump of 2020. 

In several years preceding the pandemic, annual female migration figures exceeded one lakh. But since 2022, the numbers have continued to fall. 

In 2024, the figure dropped to just over 60,000. And according to the government's Overseas Employment Platform, about 56,292 women migrated between 1 January and 6 December 2025 – representing roughly a 47% decline from the 2022 total.

Over the past 22 years, about 1.25 million Bangladeshi women have migrated, but there is no official record of how many returned or the conditions they endured.

Experts cite rising reports of abuse and exploitation as a key factor discouraging potential migrants. They said the focus should be on improving women's skills, diversifying opportunities beyond domestic work and ensuring safer migration pathways.

Shakirul Islam, executive director of Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme, highlighted structural issues behind the decline.

"The Bangladeshi women who are sent as domestic workers abroad are generally not very skilled. Because of this, demand for them is gradually going down," he said. He added that lack of skills also correlates with higher rates of abuse.

This abuse, widely reported in the media, has led countries like Saudi Arabia to slow recruitment of Bangladeshi women, even though they are not highly active on human rights issues.

"Saudi Arabia for example has the 2034 World Cup coming, the 2030 Expo coming — they need a clean human-rights image for global support," Shakir said. "Skill is a major factor."

He added that Bangladeshi women migrant workers' plight has been compounded by sending women as domestic workers which has limited opportunities for more educated and skilled women.

"Countries like the Philippines have women working in hotels, accounting and other skilled sectors. Bangladesh never diversified into these areas. Instead, women from very remote rural areas, often with little education, were sent abroad, and abuse was high. Over time, a negative narrative developed that Bangladeshi women abroad are only domestic workers and they are likely abused and victims."

The lives of many women migrant workers have been reshaped – sometimes painfully, sometimes positively – by the opportunities and challenges they faced abroad.

Take the case of Ruma Begum from Munshiganj, who worked in Saudi Arabia as a domestic helper from 2018 to 2021, supporting an elderly woman.

"This family was very kind," Ruma recalled. "I've heard so many stories of people being tortured or overworked, but I never faced anything like that."

She returned to Bangladesh on two months' leave during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the family she worked for went into strict isolation.

Why didn't she go back? "My baby in Bangladesh was alone," she said. "The relative who was caring for her refused to continue. I had no choice but to stay. But now I'm a self-reliant woman – I've bought the machinery to set up my own tailoring shop."

She still keeps in touch with the family she worked for in Saudi Arabia.

Marina Sultana, programme director at Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), said the fluctuations in women's migration shouldn't be viewed too simply.

The numbers have dipped, but it's hard to point to one clear reason. In recent years, the process for sending women abroad – especially as domestic workers – has become more regulated, for example, women now go through a mandatory month of training.

"So part of the decline may actually reflect a more careful recruitment process," Marina said.

At the same time, she said, there are deeper social issues.

Women's migration is still heavily stigmatised especially in domestic work in the Middle East. Past cases of abuse contribute to fear and families sometimes discourage women from going altogether.

"Both men and women return from abroad without success, but only women are socially blamed or shamed," she added.

She warned that the decline in women's migration isn't just a statistic – it could mean the loss of opportunities for empowerment, income and mobility. Instead of asking only why the numbers have fallen, she said, we should be asking why the system isn't strong enough to keep this essential sector running safely and fairly for women.

In districts such as Faridpur, Munshiganj, Narayanganj and Narsingdi, shifting perceptions within households are now shaping decisions about who migrates

"Earlier, almost every household would send one woman abroad because migration costs for women are lower than for men. But after repeated cases of abuse and social stigma, households now prefer sending men," Shakir said.

Md Ashraf Hossain, an Additional Director General (Joint Secretary) of BMET, however, highlighted practical factors affecting migration numbers.

"Don't just report that the number of female workers has decreased. Whether they find employment or not is a major factor. In Saudi Arabia alone, eight to ten lakh people are wandering without work. They are being 'dumped' after free visas are issued by recruiting agencies and sometimes even by relatives," he said.

"If there's no demand in the destination country, women won't go. If countries like Indonesia or the Philippines supply labour instead of ours, fewer women migrate from Bangladesh."

He advised TBS to contact Mohammad Abdul Hai, Additional Director General of BMET. We did so, but repeated attempts to reach him were unsuccessful, as he did not answer our calls.

"We must diversify opportunities for women. There are many sectors beyond domestic work where Bangladeshi women can excel. Without addressing this, the negative narrative and risks will persist," Shakirul said.