Regional Women Migrants Agenda
The Regional Women Migrants Agenda reflects the issues, aspirations, and demands of women migrants and their families in and from Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
It is the synthesis of the national and regional level discussions during the Regional Women Migrants Encounter, contributed by over 167 participants across more than 10 organisations of women migrants, migrant workers, migrant domestic workers, marriage migrants, returned migrants, families of migrants, trade unions, migrant-serving institutions, researchers, academics, and faith-based organisations.
The experiences, ideas, and demands expressed in the Regional Women Migrants Agenda come from the contribution of women migrants, migrants’ rights advocates and other sectors that participated in the National Women Migrants Encounters held in Australia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Middle East, Thailand, and Taiwan.
Neoliberalism gave superprofits to host countries while leaving origin countries in perpetual poverty, joblessness, no rights protections, and conflict that caused forced migration. The pandemic only worsened that situation for migrants, particularly women migrants. Women migrants were the first to lose their jobs and those with jobs faced increased exposure to COVID-19. We experienced more discrimination and racism, stigmatization and scapegoating as virus spreaders, and increased abuse, human rights violations, and domestic violence.
The changes promulgated to address the pandemic have tripled our workload, lengthened our working hours, further limited our rest time, and trapped many of us in unsuitable accommodations, without any commensurate wage increase. Mental health of many deteriorated because we worried about our families with limited means to go home, send money, and get news. More costs, travel requirements, and restrictions put us at increased risk of illegal recruitment and trafficking.
Not many host or origin country governments provided sufficient support and protections for women migrants. They neglected and abandoned women migrants by passing responsibility to the employer or placement agency. Governments denied the call and demands of women migrants for protection and assistance and used the pandemic to repress the democratic rights of women migrants.
Yet, we women migrants and our supporters advance our work. Migrant organisations and their supporters responded to the pandemic by distributing relief and services. Many migrants volunteered directly in the service and relief efforts. To adapt to the pandemic restrictions, organisations held hybrid online and offline campaigns, advocacy, capacity building, and alliance building. If they were not able to take to the streets, organisations would send letters to the government and use online platforms for expression.
Here summarised are the calls and campaigns of women migrant workers:
LABOUR RIGHTS AND ANTI-TRAFFICKING
In collaboration with migrant groups, end labour export policy, modern day slavery, and labour trafficking of women migrants and develop a people-centered and sustainable economic pathway that is based on human rights and justice and independent of foreign intervention or control.
Resolve the root causes of poverty and forced labour migration.
Ensure women migrants’ labour and human rights, including but not limited to decent wages, employment benefits and social security, occupational health care regularisation, and the right to a livelihood without being forced to migrate, among others. Recognize domestic work as work.
Stop overcharging and other money-making schemes against women migrants.
Develop cooperation among origin countries to ensure the complete implementation of pro-migrant worker policies across all workers.
HEALTH
Ensure adequate health-related measures and protection for all women migrant workers and their families, including mental health care and counselling.
Ensure the creation and sustainability of temporary shelter facilities in host and origin countries for distressed women migrant workers.
Provide free PCR testing.
SUPPORT, WELFARE, AND ASSISTANCE
Extend access to welfare and support to all women migrants regardless of status. Continue COVID-19 related resiliency and repatriation programs to compensate for lost jobs, reduced hours, and increased risk of exposure.
Reduce barriers to access for women migrants undergoing legal processes.
Create complaint mechanisms and regulate/enforce legal control on recruitment agencies.
PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY, ETC.
Scrutinise the enactment of pandemic restrictions and state emergencies to limit its negative impact on labour rights and labour conditions.
Prohibit the use of pandemic restrictions to curtail the freedom of expression, assembly, movement, and speech of women migrants who are seeking a platform to voice their concerns.
DISCRIMINATION,RACISM AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
End stigmatisation, scapegoating, and criminalisation of migrants regardless of status.
End all forms of violence against women migrants.
Address the particular vulnerabilities of women migrants intensified during the pandemic.
For marriage migrants, allow those impacted by family violence to transition to a permanent visa without the need for a sponsor to avoid them being forced to go back to abusive partners.
