The Feminization of Labor Migration and its impact on Gender relations and Transnational Families in Nepal

Abstract

Since 1990s, the participation of independent Nepali female migrants in the global labor market has transformed the traditional migration trends in Nepal. From 2002 to 2007, the government of Nepal promoted female labor migration to alleviate poverty in the country. Subsequently, the participation of independent Nepali women in international labor migration became popular. The Middle Eastern countries (Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Israel, etc.) and South-East Asian countries such as Malaysia remain the top destination for Nepali female labor migrants. Many Nepali women seek opportunities in domestic labor abroad such as domestic workers, housekeepers, and caretakers. The increasing trend of independent female labor migrants seeking employment abroad follows the global trend of “Feminization of Labor Migration”. The feminization of labor migration is a discursive subject that deals with political and social structures of a society, such as legal policies and hierarchical social values that perpetuate gender inequality in both working countries and the global labor market. It is necessary to focus on the role of gender in migration discourse in order to address the difference in experience of women to that of men before, during and after the process of migration. This Senior Thesis acknowledges migration in terms of gender perspective to explore the impact of women’s migration in reconstructing the hegemonic structure in their societies and in transforming the gender roles of women in their families. This qualitative research is based on three methods: in-depth individual interviews, focus group, and discourse analysis. This paper addresses Nepali migrant women’s agency in participating in feminization of labor migration and their roles in reconstructing the gender relations within their families and lives of those who are left behind after migration.