Page 32 - A Gender-Sensitive Indian Foreign Policy- Why? and How?

Indian Council
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was confiscated by the employer and Suja could not acquire it before
escaping from the house. She became one of the ‘absconders’ in the official
eyes (Confiscating the passport of the workers has been one of the practices
in many employment contexts, particularly so in the context of domestic
work where the conditions of work are more private in nature). However due
to a demanding labour market for domestic work in Dubai, Suja managed
to get work in another household as a domestic. I met Suja at this juncture.
(Though the emiratization process in UAE has impacted various labour
markets for migrants, domestic work is one area which is not affected by
emiratization, thus there is a constant demand for migrant domestic labour).
Without passport and other documents, as an absconder in the official
category, Suja also easily became one of the cheap labourers available in the
demanding labour market.

Around this time in 2007, UAE declared general amnesty which provided
an opportunity for migrants without documents and other travellers who
have overstayed visa period, to return to the country of origin. However,
Suja decided not to use amnesty and decided to stay back and work in Dubai
in order to fulfil her dream to provide a good life for her daughter, to repay
the debt and also to piece together a shattered life. So Suja remained an
undocumented (in other words absconder) migrant domestic worker.

The story of Suja is not isolated. I met many women like Suja during my
fieldwork in Dubai and Sharjah, many of them could be considered
as ‘absconders’, ‘runaway domestics’ or ‘illegal migrants’ in official
terminology. Suja is not an illegal migrant, rather whose life
has become precarious through a system that perpetuates
inequality and discrimination. Can I call Suja a vulnerable
victim of the mobility regime or is she a survivor who
navigated cautiously and carefully through the rough
waters of migration trajectories?

So why am I interested in the story of many women
like Suja? In 2007, Government of India brought in a
legislation which restricts women below the age
of 30 years to travel if they have to go with an ECR
passport. Migrant domestic workers along with
many other women workers require Emigration
clearance from the protector of emigrants before
they plan to travel. This age ban essentially
restricts women to travel or force them to bypass
the state order. This makes their condition
precarious. What is the context of this age ban?
32 This has come under the pretext of protecting

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