Crisis-hit Sri Lanka reduces age limit of women allowed to work overseas to 21

Economic crisis-hit Sri Lanka on Tuesday (June 21) has reduced the minimum age for women to work overseas to 21 years as it needs funds for the bankrupt economy. The national capital of the country, Colombo, placed a restriction on the age of women working abroad after an incident that happened in Saudi Arabia when a 17-year-old Sri Lankan nanny was beheaded for the murder of a child in her care. Followingthe anger over this execution, the minimum age for women to work abroad was set to 23 for other countries and 25 for Saudi Arabia, reported by AFP.

The South Asian country of 22 million people, nearly 1.6 million individuals work overseas, primarily in Middle East.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Bandula Gunawardana, an official spokesman said, “The cabinet of ministers approved the decision to lower the minimum age to 21 years for all countries given the need to increase foreign employment opportunities.”

Watch |Fuel shortage continues to plague Sri Lankans amid the ongoing economic crisis

Remittances from Sri Lankans working overseas have been a major source for foreign currency, bringing an estimated amount of $7 billion per year. However, the figures dropped to $5.4 billion in the year 2021 during the Covid pandemic and expected to go down to $3.5 billion this year due to the economic downturn.

The Sri Lankan government has limited imports of essentials, such as fuel, food, medicines since the country’s foreign currency reserves are low.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

(With inputs from agencies)