Gender and Migration

Abstract: Female Indonesian migrant domestic workers (DMWs) often get a negative predicate both in Indonesia and in destination countries. For example, DMWs in Singapore are treated unequally by Singaporean society, in Indonesia, as well, their work is seen as a lowly job. They can be categorized as a marginal group. Marginals are marginalized people whose rights are ruled out by people that have power. Hence, they find it difficult to adapt to their environment and they are always suppressed. The circumstances lead to the feeling of alienation for DMWs. The alienation they have experienced is often ignored as a reality of the life of migrant workers. This study takes the object of poetry by Female Indonesian DMWs in Singapore. It explores how marginalization and alienation are expressed in literary work by female domestic migrant workers. This study, also analyzes how the expression of literary work can be functioned as a medium to voice alienation and to overcome its problem. This research used textual analysis, including the application of semiotics and narratology to see the marginalization and alienation faced by the migrant workers which are represented through a literary work. As complementary data, virtual interviews with the author of poetry was conducted.

Introduction:Uptake of cervical cancer screening services in Chinese migrant workers is unknown and may be lower than non-migrant workers in China.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study among migrant and non-migrant women aged 21-65 at 7 provinces across China and administered a questionnaire investigating knowledge and attitudes regarding cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccine. We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate odds of previous cervical cancer screening in migrant workers.Results:737 women participated in the study. Mean age was 41.9 ± 7.2 years. 50.2% of the participants were migrant workers. 27.6% of the migrant workers reported previous cervical cancer screening compared to 33.2% of local participants. 36.6% migrant workers reported awareness of HPV compared to 40.2% of local participants. In adjusted analysis migrant status was not associated with increased odds of previous cervical cancer screening (aOR = 1.11 95%CI: 0.76-1.60). High school or higher education compared to less than high school education and employer-sponsored insurance compared to uninsured were associated with increased odds of previous cervical cancer screening (aOR = 2.15 95%CI: 1.41-3.27 and aOR = 1.67 95% CI: 1.14-2.45, respectively). Having heard of HPV compared to no awareness of HPV was associated with increased odds of cervical cancer screening (aOR = 2.02 95%CI: 1.41-2.91). Awareness of HPV among migrant workers was associated with increased odds of cervical cancer screening compared to migrant and local participants without awareness (aOR = 2.82 95% CI: 1.70-4.69 and 2.97 95%CI: 1.51-5.83, respectively).Conclusions:Efforts to increase education opportunities, provide insurance, and promote HPV awareness could increase cervical cancer screening uptake in migrant women in China.

Remittance, labor migration and the significance of the female role in the process of labor migration have recently become entrenched in many developing countries, such as Indonesia. The influential role these female migrant workers play in supporting their own families and in their self-fulfillment is of significance and worthy of being fully expounded and discussed. As breadwinners, these female migrant workers strive to pursue higher education by working their way through college. Qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to obtain five Indonesian female migrant workers' opinion and experiences about their experience of being a worker and a student in Taiwan. The data in this study were analyzed and evaluated with thematic analysis. This study describes the factors which cause the Indonesian female workers to become migrant workers in Taiwan. This includes getting high-paid jobs, shouldering the responsibility for supporting their own families, and pursuing self-fulfillment overseas. Besides, this study has investigated the difficulties and challenges that female Indonesian migrant workers had encountered while working and studying at the same time. On the whole, as caregivers, most of them often fail to have a flexible schedule to study due to the temporary jobs assigned by their employers. Also, some employers are unwilling to allow them to pursue higher education for feat that they would not concentrate on their own work. Above all, it is these female migrant workers that can define what their lives truly mean as migrant workers on their own, and that can align their talents and ambitions with their pursuits of higher education. This study provides a new exploration of how the female migrant workers’ gained a sense of self-fulfillment by pursuing higher education with working and studying at the same time. Facing a variety of challenges and hindrances, their persistence and perseverance can be further examined for those who are interested in studying this field deeper.
 
 Keywords: Female migrant workers, higher education, Indonesian migrant workers, labor migration, remittance
 
 Cite as: Bali, S., Liu, M. C., & Lin, H. H. (2019). Pursuing higher education careers and the process of migration among Indonesian female migrant workers in Taiwan. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 4(2), 302-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol4iss2pp302-317

Economic migrant women often experience oppressive living and working conditions in the receiving societies. Activism is a liberatory behavior these women may employ to transform such situations. This study explores the activism experience of female migrant domestic workers from Latin America settled in southern Spain, in terms of its psychosocial benefits and costs. A purposeful sample of eleven activist migrant women engaged in a grassroots organization of domestic workers and eight members of social organizations supporting their activities were interviewed in-depth individually. After a qualitative content analysis approach to the data, the study presents activism as a community engagement behavior with benefits such as the strengthening of social ties, sense of community, opportunities for sharing stories of oppression, and psychological empowerment. Activism also emerged as a demanding activity requiring high investments in time by activists and producing interpersonal conflicts, hopelessness, and burnout in some cases. Such costs may pose limits to its potential to produce well-being and liberation, implying challenges for research, intervention, and activism sustainability.

Food security among female migrant workers in Kerala returning from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

Working as a female migrant worker has a positive and negative impact. Negative impacts include children who are left without love, this will cause children to experience intellectual, emotional and moral social problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in emotional intelligence of teenagers with the employment status of mothers as migrant workers and non-migrant workers. Method used comparative descriptive research design with cross sectional approach. Sample was 31 teenagers with mothers of migrant workers and 30 teenagers with non-migrant mothers was taken by purposive sampling technique. The study was conducted at Nurul Huda and Mambaul Ulum Islamic junior high school, and also junior high public school 1 Bantur in September 2017. The dependent variable was emotional intelligence, measured by the TEIQue-ASF questionnaire (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Adolescent Short Form). Data analyzed by independent t test. The average value of emotional intelligence in teenager with mothers of migrant worker is 129.03, in teenager with non migrant workers is 141.53. P value (0.005) < α (0.05), meaning that there are differences in emotional intelligence in both teenagers, where in teenager with non migrant worker their emotional intelligence is higher. Parental attachments, especially mothers can influence emotional response patterns, so this will affect emotional intelligence. It is recommended to the school to monitor emotional intelligence, because it can have an impact on their social behavior and conduct direction to surrogate family members who work as migrant workers about how to educate children in their teens. Keywords : Emotional Quotient, teenager, Mother Migrant Workers, Mother Non Migrant Workers

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have age old relations. Indians and people from these countries have frequently travelled to each other’s countries for trade as well as other activities. Indians have been traced in GCC countries for a long time. Indians going to those countries for business, work and other purposes have been a very old phenomenon. Even in pre-oil era, thousands of Indians went to earn a livelihood in GCC countries and many of them settled there forever. However, Indians going to work on a massive scale to these countries is a post-1973 oil era phenomena. The massive inflow of oil revenues consequent to the high rise in global oil price saw unprecedented level of economic development in these countries. However, such development required massive level of manpower, which these countries did not have and this is why these countries are characterized as capital rich labour scarce countries. The economic development in post-1973 oil era in these countries resulted in large scale import of manpower from abroad. As Indians were not new to these lands, the Indian workers also started migrating to these countries in search of employment and better life. Today Indians are present in each sector of economies of GCC countries. Millions of Indian migrant workers abound the GCC countries and contribute their bit in building those economies. However, this benefits them also as well as the Indian economy. These Indian migrant workers are crucial for both Indian as well as GCC countries. This study is a detailed probe into this phenomenon.

Due to social considerations, labour market pressures, and economic inequality, women's migration both domestically and internationally has expanded dramatically in recent decades. Human rights violations such as theft of wages, compelled labour, assault based on gender, and lack of proper healthcare and legal protection are disproportionately experienced by female migrant workers, especially those employed in the domestic service, providing care, and informal labour sectors. Global human rights conventions and national labour laws exist, but their enactment and enforcement mechanisms are either ineffective or uneven. The purpose of this study is to apply a human rights perspective to the existing situation of female migrant workers. In order to evaluate the extent of violations experienced by these women in different host nations and locations, it looks at both statistical and qualitative data. Language problems, lack of documentation, legal invisibility, and the lack of specific to gender migration policies are some of the major issues highlighted in the report. Sociocultural discrimination, restricted mobility, and insufficient grievance redress systems frequently exacerbate these problems. The effectiveness of current legal frameworks and policies such as the United Nations Conventions on the Rights and Freedoms of Migrant Workers (1990), the ILO Convention 189, and national labour laws in nations including the Philippines, India, and the Gulf states in safeguarding female migrants is assessed. Findings, however, show serious implementation gaps, including weak labour inspections, little access to legal aid, and little outreach. The study offers a fresh, comprehensive framework that combines technological, legal, and policy advancements to address these issues: · The Digital Rights Access Portal for safety alerts, job verification, and legal assistance. · Changes to migration laws that are gender-sensitive and specifically designed for women in high-risk occupations. Establishing community legal support units in important migration routes. Rising the number of victimization and abuse reports through the usage of mobile grievances redress services. The framework provides a durable and doable road map for governments, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations to safeguard this vulnerable group, and it is in line with durable Development Goals 8 (Decent Work) and 5 (Gender Equality).

The present chapter highlights the exploitation faced by low-skilled Indian migrants to the Middle East and attempts to enhance the understanding of evolution of the policies and measures undertaken by India for their protection. The chapter revisits a study done by the author on Indian migrant workers based on first-hand data collected in the host country Lebanon during the late 1990s, regarding poor living and working conditions of migrants and their exploitation. The study had brought out the need for the intervention by the government of sending countries to frame effective policies to protect the migrant workers from exploitation and inhuman treatment. Since then, the Indian government has undertaken several measures for protection of low-skilled migrant workers, especially in the Middle East. Drawing upon comprehensive literature review and anecdotal evidence, it has been observed that the exploitation of low-skilled migrant workers, including Indian workers, in the Middle East still continues. Thereafter, comprehensive look is taken at the efforts made to protect migrants’ rights at various levels, including the steps taken by India as a sending country. Detailed analysis is undertaken as to why exploitation continues in spite of extensive proactive measures taken by India to protect the migrant workers. It is found that several factors join together in continuing exploitation of migrant workers in the fiercely competitive labour markets in the Middle East. The chapter concludes with several suggestions, including adoption of pro-migrant policies by sending countries as well as destination countries in order to empower the migrants, to ensure that they do not fall prey to unscrupulous agents at home and are protected in host countries and to harness the migration for the benefit of both sending and destination countries.

Objective To learn the reproductive health status and health need of the migrant female workers in service industry of Chang'an Town and to provide some references for proper intervention on improving the reproductive health of the migrant female workers in service industry.Methods A cluster sampling was carried out on 523 sexually active unmarried and married women in hotel,salon,and entertainment venues of Chang'an Town.In order to find out the common,multiple reproductive diseases and their risk factors,relevant inspection was carried out on them and then the results were statistically analyzed.Results The overall incidence of reproductive diseases of the migrant female workers in service industry of Chang'an Town was 72.1％.The incidences of cervicitis,pelvic inflammation,and vaginitis were 31.4％,25.4％,and 16.8％,respectively.These indicated that reproductive diseases were the common and frequentlyoccurring diseases of the migrant female workers in service industry of Chang'an Town.There were statistical differences between the different education levels,ages,incomes,ages of first sexual intercourse,abortion times,working hours,and frequency of regular Health check of the workers (P ＜ 0.05).The females having low level of education,young age,low income,first sexual intercourse in young age,long work hours,and irregular health check had a higher probability in getting reproductive diseases.There was no statistical difference in the numbers of sexual partners (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion In order to increase the reproductive health level of the migrant female workers in service industry,multichannel and multiform health education should received by them in term of the levels of their own education and receptivity. Key words: Service industry; Migrant female workers; Reproductive health; Influence factor

Studies of transnational domestic workers have been conducted in varied disciplines with different focuses of discussion such as women’s studies, international development, human rights, and social welfare. To figure out the life of female migrant workers living in coastal areas is crucial since the women and community examine some more issues. This study specifically explored the main questions of how is the life of women in the coastal community of Prapag Lor village, the district of Brebes in Central Java Province of Indonesia; how are life’s episodes (before, during, and after working) of the women that worked previously as female migrant domestic workers (FMDWs), and the proposed solutions to improve their lives as FMDWs. To explore all of the points, this study collected data by conducting observation, secondary data analysis, and focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 50 female participants (n=50) aiming to explore the dynamic life of women and people living in coastal areas, life as migrant workers, and efforts to improve the living condition of the women, family and the whole community members.

The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on the migrant workers: A cross-sectional survey.

At the beginning of the 1960s, Austria joined Western and Northern European states in recruiting temporary migrant workers. While the European “guestworker” and migrant labour regimes have been subject to multiple studies in the last 40 years, migrant women have rarely been at the centre of these investigations, although their specific issues have comprised a facet of the international labour movement since the 1970s. Female migrant workers faced a double marginalization in the labour movement, both as migrants and as women. By analysing printed source material, archival documents, and interviews with women trade unionists, this chapter examines this specific double marginalization; how gender, class, and ethnicity shaped the labour activism of domestic and migrant working women; and how the international, national, and local levels interacted in the context of the deindustrialization of the Austrian textile industry.

Background Forced migrant women are increasingly becoming destitute whilst pregnant. Destitution may exacerbate their poor underlying physical and mental health. There is little published research that examines this, and studies are needed to ensure midwifery care addresses the specific needs of these women. This study aimed to explore vulnerable migrant women's lived experience of being pregnant and destitute. Methods Six in-depth individual interviews with forced migrant women who had been destitute during their pregnancy were conducted over one year. Results A lack of food and being homeless impacted on women's physical and mental health. Women relied on support from the voluntary sector to fill the gaps in services not provided by their local authorities. Although midwives were generally kind and helpful, there was a limit to how they could support the women. Conclusions There is a gap in support provided by local authorities working to government policies and destitute migrant pregnant women should not have to wait until 34 weeks gestation before they can apply for support. Home office policy needs to change to ensure pregnant migrant women receive support throughout their pregnancy.

This chapter explores the meaning of the link between sex work and migration for female migrant sex workers, based on interviews with migrant women in Switzerland. While sex work and other sexual-economic exchanges can constitute ‘migratory resources’ for some female migrants, the combination of migration and sex work is often problematic, as it limits the autonomy of women, confining them to a stigmatised economic sector. We particularly investigate whether the materialist feminist concept ‘a continuum of sexual economic exchanges’, which is still often applied in French and Italian speaking research, is still valid today for understanding female migrants’ situations. While the notion highlights that exchanges of sex for money occur in different contexts not associated with prostitution, such as for instance in marriage, we argue that the concept fails to grasp the complexity of lived experience of female migrant sex workers for two interrelated reasons. First, focusing on gendered logics of constraints and resistance, this concept does not include an intersectional perspective. Second, as such it does not capture the various negotiations set up by sex workers. Finally, we suggest that the concept of ‘weak agency’ offers a way to address these limitations.