Kathmandu, Dec. 16 -- Iraq remains legally closed to Nepali workers, with the Department of Foreign Employment keeping the country on its list of prohibited destinations for all categories of labour, including domestic workers.

Despite the ban, an estimated 30,000 Nepalis are still working in Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan region, according to Binod Shrestha, Chair of the Non-Resident Nepali Association in Iraq. Most are women employed in domestic work or the service sector, many of whom have spent decades there. Fearing they would be unable to return to their jobs, several have not visited Nepal for over a decade.

Nepal stopped issuing labour approvals for Iraq following security concerns after 12 Nepalis were killed by an Iraqi ins...