Nepali Women’s Labour Migration: Between Protection and Proscription

With the increase in female migration, especially in the domestic sector, and accompanying reports of worker exploitation and abuse, labour-sending countries are grappling with questions about how to protect these workers. Drawing on a critical feminist policy analysis framework, this article analyses the policy and regulatory frameworks of Nepal related to female labour migration and examines their implications. Our analysis indicates that Nepal’s policy regime is constituted by a set of measures which are simultaneously liberal, protective and restrictive, and as such, they have not altered the structural conditions and economic reasons for women’s migration. Instead, women appear to be largely uninformed about government regulations, and most importantly, working conditions abroad are not affected by sending country policies, including the various migration bans put in place to protect women.