Gender Dimensions of International
Migration from Bangladesh and India:
Socio-Economic Impact on
Families Left Behind
Background
Selected Country-wise Distribution of Annual Labour Outflows from India
(2001 to 2007)
Country
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
UAE
53673
95034
143804
175262
194412
254774
312695
Saudi
Arab
78048
99453
121431
123522
99879
134059
195437
Oman
30985
41209
36816
33275
40931
67992
95462
Qatar
13829
12596
14251
16325
50222
76324
88483
Outflow of skilled/unskilled workers from India (2004 to 2006)
Year
Skilled
Unskilled
Total
Male
Female
2004
463502
11458
474960
471066
3894
2005
528122
20731
548853
534523
14330
2006
651893
25019
676912
664256
12656
Statement of the problem
 Men migrate - women stay behind. Migration of women has been
mainly secondary as spouses or family members of principal
migrants.
 In temporary labour migration, women from developing
countries like Bangladesh and India are engaging themselves in
ever increasing numbers to ensure the subsistence of their
families.
 Gender permeates every aspect of migration - decision to
migrate, process of migration and its consequences.
 Gender perspective is essential for understanding both the causes
and consequences of international migration.
cont….
 Feminization of migration alters the position of men:
they receive remittances from their female partners
living abroad, may have to attain new family or
household functions.
 Reversely, when men migrate, women may have to
take up men’s tasks and responsibilities, gain more
freedom and a higher status in the family.
 But migration may also lead to a backlash of
traditionalism and a reinforcement of existing gender
roles.
Objectives of the Study

Socio-economic background of migrant families

Changes and problems encountered by the
families back home and their coping
mechanisms

Role of men and women migrants in decisionmaking and use of remittances

Policy recommendations for the overall socioeconomic development of families back home.
Methodology
The study addressed the socio-economic impacts of
migration of men and women including issues of
empowerment and vulnerability.
Data sources: Primary & Secondary

Selected sample of 1,000 families from migration pocket areas in
Delhi of India and Bangladesh (Dhaka, Satkhira & Comilla)

Sampling: family back home, especially the spouses

Interviews using both structured and open-ended questions &
field observations

Case studies

Govt. Policies, official documents, report from NGO networks,
publications, newspaper clippings, etc.
Study findings - India
Family background of migrants:

Men migrants (59%) came from joint families and women migrants
(54%) from nuclear families.

Majority of households are male-headed (76% men migrants & 77%
of women migrants)

Number of family members of men migrants are higher

Majority of migrants were married
Profile of Men and Women Migrants

Men migrants were in the older age groups & women migrants were
in the younger age groups.

Official age for migration of women for work in India is 30 years. But
women had migrated below the minimum age limit because pretty
and young girls were in high demand in destination countries.

In many cases neither the family members nor the women migrants
themselves were aware of this clause as agents filled up forms.
Education

19% men migrants and 46% women migrants had completed higher
secondary level education

31% (men + women) migrants completed primary education

Migrants received formal or informal training before migration
Place of origin
Most migrants are from rural areas (83% men & 86% women migrants).
Majority of migrants are internal migrants also, who came to Delhi in
search of better job opportunities from different states of India.
Determining factors

Men migrants mostly went abroad for dowry payments, capital
building for business or building houses

Women migrated for the basic sustenance of family & children

48% men & 56% women migrated due to poverty

81% men and 92% women migrants migrated in search of
better job opportunities/more money

14% men & 17% women migrated due to unemployment

18% men &
landlessness

Women migrated due to abandonment/ divorce/ separation by
husbands with children to support, pre-matured death of
husband, migration of the employer who took them along and
for better pay packets

Also, especially women migrants were approached by agents,
which triggered them to go abroad
14%
women
migrants
migrated
due
Decision-making to migrate

91% men migrants decided themselves

For 91% women migrants, their husbands took the decision

Parents of 49% men and 56% women migrants and 17% inlaws of women migrants play an important role
to
Obstacles or problems regarding migration

77% women migrants faced resistance compared to 34% of the men
migrants

For 42% men and 54% women migrants, their spouses were against their
going abroad

For men migrants, parents (23%), siblings (14%), in-laws (8%) and 3%
children objected

Women faced problems from parents (6%), in-laws (7%) and 13% siblings,
while no children objected to their mothers going abroad
Channels used for migration

67% men and 86% women migrants used manpower and travel agencies as
channels of migration

Women used more than one channel of migration, such as employers,
companies or relatives whereas most men relied on manpower

Unfortunately, very few men and women went abroad through the formal
government channel
Money spent for migration purpose

Women had to spend far less money than men to migrate. 46% women
migrants spent less than Rs. 50,000 compared to only 21% men
migrants

24% men had spent Rs. 70,001-90,000 and above to migrate
Sources of money for migration

50% men & 46% women migrants use their own savings, loan from
different places and individuals with high interest rates or mortgage
and sell their assets

Mortgage of land is the most common source of money (75% men and
64% women migrants), besides selling their land (69% vs. 61%)
Migrants in destination countries

12 countries in the Middle East, South East, Europe & USA. UAE is the
most popular destination for women migrants (46%) and the second
most popular for men (30%). Next is Saudi Arabia which is the first
choice of men (33%) and the second choice of women (34%) migrants.

The number of migrants moving to other countries is relatively small.
Except for Libya; 14.9% of the men migrants chose this country.
Duration of stay

Men stayed longer than women migrants in destination countries

40% of the interviewed men migrants spouses said that their husbands
came back after 2 years and again went abroad
Occupation

Men - plumber, factory worker, carpenter and mason.

Women migrants predominately worked as housemaids or as nurses.

In the private service sector many migrants, of both sexes, work in
Monthly income

More men than women are present in the lowest (49% vs 20%) & (12%
vs 3%) the highest salary scales

37% of women migrants earned between Rs. 20,000- 29,999. 31%
women migrants are earning between Rs. 30,000-39,999 monthly.
Flow of remittances & channels

92% men migrants had their own bank account compared to 83% of the
women migrants

Most remittances were sent through banks from where family members
can draw in times of need

More women (11% vs 7%) than men, used a private channel to send
money home.
Usage of remittance by family members

93% men & 83% of family members of the women migrants - family
maintenance.

Education of children ( 63%) is the second purpose for family
members of both sexes

A lot of families used to save for their daughter’s marriage and dowry
payments (43% men & 57% women migrants)

Family members of men migrants used remittance for medical
treatment (36.7%), to build a new house (38.6%) or to repay loans
(35.3%) than family members of women migrants
Problems faced in the destination countries

Women migrants were treated more badly than men migrants by the
employers - hardly had freedom to move outside the employer's
residence

81% women migrants faced isolation/confinement & 77% felt like they
were treated like slaves

98% men and 61% women got paid less than was stated in the contract.
More women (80%) than men (54%) had to hand over their passports,
job contracts and other relevant documents.

Exploitative working environment (96% men & 50% women migrants).
Other problems that women as well as men encountered are the absence
of fixed hours and long working hours (49% women & 87% men
migrants).

96% men migrants felt lack of dignity from their employers,
humiliation, 91% reported misconduct/abuse by employers and 95%
worked in hazardous environment .
Positive impacts on family members

Family members enjoyed economic solvency, increase in status and
dignity (women migrants particularly), rise in educational status of
children compared to the neighbourhood

Family members were provided better medical treatment (11.2 vs. 20%),
better clothing (27.9 vs. 34.3%) and better food (35.3 vs. 25.7%).

Family members also enjoyed funds for starting a business, behavioral
changes and an increase of knowledge of the outside world.

Women empowerment was reported, especially in the context of joint
families with mother or mother-in-law as the head of the household and
in nuclear cases where the wife of migrant was left behind with her
children.
Negative impacts on family members

Loneliness was reported by family members of 73% women migrants
compared to 57% men migrants

Absence of proper childcare (39% women 48% men),

Problem with the schooling of children (35% men and 38% women
migrants) and family feud (6% men and 3% women).
Problems faced by family members

26% family members of men migrants had to wait a long time before they got
their money from abroad and the monetary problems (19%).

11% family members of women migrants encountered monetary problems.
They struggled more (20%) with the pressure to repay the loans. This was not
as big an issue for the other group (9%).

Lack of frequent communication with migrants abroad

Women left behind faced problems related to social security and children
faced social stigmatization (14%).

Few men (spouses of women migrants) had to take care of their children, cook
food and to do household chores.
Coping strategies of family members

The most common strategy, used by both family members of men
(55%) and women (66%) migrants is frequent communication.

Wives of men migrants often chose to live with parents.

In 2% cases of women migrants’, maids were appointed to do cooking,
child care, looking after elders, etc
Decision-making role in the family

Men migrants were consulted on marriage of their children (86%),
health and the medical treatment of family members (75%), migration
of other family members (48%), education of children (8%), use of
remittance (5%) & the acquisition of land/ house (7%)

Women are involved in more areas- the marriage of children (41%),
migration of other family members (47%), use of remittance (46%),
buying land/new property (43%)/ construction of a new house (34%)
Changing role of the family members

Both the family members of men and women migrants experienced to a
great extent that their decision-making power went up (76% for men
and 65.7% for women family members).

Also other members were now responsible for taking the children to
school (41% men and 34% women) and taking sick persons to the
hospital (respectively 32.1% vs. 17%).

Especially family members of women migrants noted a change in the
amount of economic work they could do (14%). Men did less economic
work in the pretext of looking after home n children and to cook food.
Similarities & differences in Bangladesh & India study

Women migrants in both countries are younger than legally
permissible age

Indian women migrants are better educated than Bangladeshi women
migrants

In Bangladesh, men migrants come from urban areas & women
migrants from rural areas, in India, both men and women migrants
came from rural areas and were found to be internal migrants also in
majority of cases

Women migrate for the basic sustenance of family members while men
migrate either for better pay packets/unemployment or due to a
tendency/lure for migration from both the countries

Bangladeshi migrants made the migration decision alone and less
frequently faced resistance

Formal government channels are hardly ever used in both the
countries
• Migrants from both countries take out loans or sold land
• Bangladeshi migrants are not always trained but Indian
migrants were trained.
• Saudi Arabia and UAE are the popular destinations. Libya is a
common destination for Bangladeshi migrants.
• Men stay abroad longer, spent more money on migration &
earned more than women migrants
• Occupational diversity among Indian migrants are more than
Bangladeshi migrants
• Indian migrants sent most of the remittances to their spouses.
Bangladeshi migrants had their father, mother, brothers &
children as recipients
• Family members of migrants used remittances for family
maintenance and education of the children. Indian families also
saved for daughter’s marriage
• Employers confiscated passport from Bangladeshi migrants and do
not pay according to the contract. For Indian migrants the main
problem had to do with the salary and working hours.
• More women than men have to hand over their passports, job
contracts and other relevant documents. Women migrants faced
isolation, confinement and slavery more than men migrants.
• Family members experienced an increase in economic solvency and
status, better medical treatment, better clothing and better food
• Migrants feel lonely & Bangladeshi families struggle with issue like
divorce, remarriage and extra marital relationships.
• Husbands of women migrants have a tendency to send their wives and
make them work, while they would remain idle and solely depend on
the remittance sent by the women with the excuse that they have to
look after the household chores and children. The biggest problem
which women migrants suffer is isolation from their kids, and giving
proper mother care to the child.
• Frequent communication is often used solution to deal with issues that
arise from the absence of the migrant
• Migrants are often involved in decisions that involve their families
Recommendations

Government to take initiatives to send migrants through proper channel,
reduce expenditure incurred for migration, provide loans at low interests or
interest free loans for migration, improvement in communication facilities, take
necessary measures to stop physical torture against women migrants

Provide skill development training to potential migrants before going abroad

Stop corruption of the private organizations namely recruiting and travel
agencies

Agencies dealing with migration should follow the approved government
guidelines, illegal activities of dalals and agents who exploit the potential
migrants should be curbed through vigilance and policing

Embassies abroad should provide support to migrants

Migrants should get salary according to the contract

Separate banks should be set up for migrants & proper channels for sending
remittance may be arranged

Migrants need to learn the language of destination countries

Travel agencies should give more facilities to migrants

Take initiatives to bring back the women migrants as they work in most
vulnerable situations without any support and cooperation
THANK YOU
Dr. Ranjana Kumari
Director
Centre for Social Research (CSR)
2, Nelson Mandela Marg,
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070
Tel: 26899998, 26125583. Fax: 26137823
Email: info@csrindia.org
Website: www.csrindia.org