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Pragati Nepali is just 19 but already she has been married, migrated to work in neighbouring India, and then moved to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu for other opportunities. That’s where friends told her about a job in a garment factory in Jordan. When we talked last week she estimated that she might be finished her paperwork and winging toward the Middle Eastern country by mid-December.

Jordan is one of very few Middle Eastern countries to which the Government of Nepal allows women to migrate for work. That’s because of past incidents of violence against women migrant workers in the region’s countries. We talked about this ban earlier this year in our chat with expert Sadikshya Bhattarai. The flow of migrant workers from Nepal to Jordan has never been  huge, peaking at just over 2,700 in 2016-2017 and then falling to just 621 in 2022-23. Regardless, tens of thousands of women have made the trip to other countries in the region illegally, often being trafficked through India. We spoke with one such woman, Sushma, earlier this year.

Pragati says an aunt working in Jordan encouraged her to apply for a job in the factory, which reportedly makes clothing for Nike and other brands. Pragati has already set out a path after she completes her three-year contract in Jordan: she will return to her home district, Mugu, and start a design business.

Resources

• Nepal labour agreement with Jordan, 2017
• Flow of migrant workers from Asia to Jordan
• Previous episode — Women migrant workers from Nepal: Lift the ban and get positive

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Music by audionautix.com.

Thank you to Himal Media in Patan Dhoka for the use of their studio.