MANAMA: A fresh row has erupted on the island after a member of the Kuwaiti Parliament proposed recruiting Bahraini women to work as maids in Kuwait.
A website quoted the Kuwaiti MP's parliamentary proposal, which is aimed at replacing the increasing number of Asian domestic workers in the country.
Sheikh Azam Al-Subah, Kuwaiti ambassador to Bahrain, however, denied the reports and termed them as baseless. "Kuwait wouldn't accept anything that could disrespect or harm Bahrain," he said.
He added the report came as a surprise and said an investigation would be launched to probe the claims made in the report posted on a website.
"We are against such news that affects the strong ties between the two countries," he said.
In 1997, Al-Naim Charity Fund here proposed setting up a plan with other associations to employ Bahraini women in Gulf households.
The project ran into controversy after lawmakers and activists said it was not acceptable for Bahraini women to work in GCC households or participate in other voluntary work. According to NGOs, Bahraini women account for 82 percent of the country's pool of unemployed workers. An increasing number of women are also keen on taking up employment in Qatar once the Friendship Causeway linking Bahr-ain and Qatar begins operating.
Last year, the Bahrain Ministry of Labor set up an employment office in Qatar to help Bahraini citizens find jobs in neighboring countries.
