ABSTRACT
The historical development of the Gulf region provides a central background to the understanding of labour migration from Sri Lanka to the respective countries in the area. The Gulf as a region represents the demand—or pull—side of the migration link and thus constitutes a necessary precondition for the traffic in the first place. The Gulf countries were also invariably sparsely populated and had a very low rate of female employment. The low participation of women in the labour market is partly a result of social and religious customs that restrict females in working outside the home, except in a limited number of professions like teaching and nursing and within certain women’s organizations. Common to the vast majority of the foreign workers in the Gulf area is their lack of protection. They lack clearly defined rights; local courts and administrative procedures are ineffectual, and foreign workers are dependent on the goodwill of their institutional or individual sponsors.
