IOM-LIBYA TACKLES GLOBAL MIGRATION TRENDS, EXPERIENCES OF FEMALE OFWS IN LIBYA IN SPECIAL KAPIHAN
Tripoli, 13 March 2023 - The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)-Libya, held a seminar titled “Beyond the Numbers: Examining the Experiences of Female Overseas Filipino Workers in Libya,” on 11 March 2023 at the Chancery Building in Janzour, Tripoli, Libya. The resource persons were Ms. Glenda Maliwat, Head of Resource Management, Mr. Asfand Waqar, Programme Coordinator, and Ms. Chalank Yahya, Programme Manager, from IOM Libya.
Through the seminar, IOM aims to advocate for an evidence-based, gender-responsive policy that responds to the needs of all people on the move by understanding gender and migration trends and by gathering more nuanced data.
The Embassy hosted the seminar as “there is a need to prepare the Filipino community in the same manner as a mother would prepare in giving birth to a joy, a child,” said Mr. Alan Roi Q. Gabriola, Chargé d’Affaires, en pied, during the opening remarks. He added that “the Embassy recognizes that IOM is instrumental to the success of the repatriation program of the Philippine government since 2011. It contributed a lot to the Filipino community during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ms. Maliwat said, “We are here to emphasize the need to create compassionate and harmonized networks toward gender equality and women empowerment,” Meanwhile, Mr. Waqar pointed that there is anecdotal evidence that women migrants significantly contribute to their home countries and communities through sending remittances.
Ms. Yahya said that “female Filipino workers portray the human development approach, which is about expanding the richness of human life rather than simply the richness of the economy. It is an approach that focuses on improving the lives of people, giving people more freedom to live their lives, and providing people with opportunities.” She added that “more effort and work on improving the lives of women migrants is needed.”
Around 40 in-person and online participants attended the seminar, including members of the Filipino community in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya; the Philippine Embassies in Hanoi, Kuwait, Pretoria, London, Riyadh, Seoul, and Singapore; and the Philippine’s Foreign Service Institute in Manila. The seminar was the second activity of the two-part special edition of the Embassy’s Kapihan sa Pasuguan, in celebration of the 2023 National Women’s Month. END
