2012.8.14 单词 New protection for Nepalese women

来源：http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/08/120813_witn_nepal_women.shtml

New protection for Nepalese women

Officially almost 60,000 Nepalese women are now working in the 

Middle East but the unofficial estimate is closer to 200,000. Many of

them are under 30 years old and will be directly affected by the new

ban. 

The government's been under growing pressure to do more to

protect its workers. Women employed in the informal sector as part

of a household are very vulnerable. Nepal's Embassies in the region 

say they deal with numerous cases of alleged physical or sexual

abuse, as well as complaints about unpaid wages and terrible

conditions. 

Many run safe houses to support women who flee their employer's

homes. It's only 18 months since the government ended a 12-year

ban on all women workers to the Gulf. That was imposed after a

young woman working in Kuwait committed suicide. Now they're

adopting this partial ban in the hope that older women might be less

at risk. Nepal has a high unemployment rate and the government is

trying to strike a balance between protection and allowing womento pursue opportunities. 

Other countries face the same dilemma. Two months ago, Kenya

banned its citizens from working in the Middle East because, it said,

increasing numbers were being mistreated. Last year, Indonesia

introduced a ban on women working as maids in the region. That

followed numerous cases of abuse and the execution of an

Indonesian maid who was accused of killing her former employer.

Vocabulary

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growing pressure

increasing force

vulnerable

exposed to being hurt physically or emotionally

alleged

unproven

safe houses

buildings in a secret location used to keep people who are in danger

imposed

put in place without any choice

strike a balance

find a compromise

to pursue

to follow

dilemma

difficult sutuation