Migration of Women Workers from South Asia to the Gulf
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Migration of Women Workers from South Asia to the Gulf V.V. Giri National Labour Institute , the authors of the report, are faculty members at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, India. An on issues related to employment and the migration of women. Dr. Sasikumar ([email protected]) is a labour economist; his areas of specialisation include labour migration, globalisation and employment and skill development. Migration of Women Workers from South Asia to the Gulf Rakkee Thimothy S.K. Sasikumar 2012 V.V. Giri National Labour Institute First Published in India 2012 Copyright © V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, NOIDA, and ISBN: 978-81-924272-0-1 All rights reserved. Publication of this report does not constitute an endorsement by the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and UN Women of the opinions expressed in it. Printed at : Galaxy Offset (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi III FOREWORD In recent times, the Gulf and North America have been prominent destinations for South Asian migrants, and the increasing feminisation of international migration is refl ected in these movements. Th e escalation in the movement of migrant women from South Asia to the Gulf calls for rigorous research and analysis, as well as policies and measures relating to this phenomenon that has wide-ranging economic and social ramifi cations. Th is study specifi cally looks at the processes, outcomes and problems of the international migration of women from South Asia to the Gulf region. By mapping structural and procedural aspects from a rights based perspective, the study emphasises the agency and empowerment of women migrants both as a desired outcome and as a policy driver. Th e report analyses the latest available data at macro and regional levels along with information from micro-level qualitative studies to trace the emerging patterns and characteristics of the migration of women workers from South Asia to the Gulf. Taking into account how the labour market in the Gulf mirrors the dominant sexual division of labour, the study details the vulnerabilities of low skilled women migrant workers. A major focus is the crucial role of regulatory regimes in shaping the processes and outcomes of migration and individual choices. Th e report examines the impact of policy measures of protection and restriction, which seems be more far-reaching than that of those aimed at the promotion of women’s migration in the South Asian region. Th e study elaborates how regulatory regimes of diff erent countries have oft en adopted contradictory policy measures, which refl ect the pressures experienced by sending and receiving States. Sending States attempt to balance the macro benefi ts of increasing remittances, the micro/local experiences of subtle yet important changes in gender relations within and outside the household, and the imperative of protection of migrant workers’ rights. Receiving States, on the other hand, while benefi ting from abundant and inexpensive low skilled labour, must balance anti-immigrant sentiments and demands for indigenisation. With these contexts, the study details how regulatory measures by sending and receiving countries simultaneously encompass restriction, protection and promotion of migration. Many conclusions emerge from this report; the importance and eff ectiveness of the collective voice for protecting migrant women is a prominent one. Th e study identifi es migrants’ associations as critical in liaising between governments and individual migrants. It recognises the important link between the pre-departure programmes conducted by government and non-government agencies, and the positive impact these have had in reducing vulnerability and empowering women migrants. Th e report acknowledges that migration of women from South Asia to the Gulf will see an increasing trend in the future. It locates the aforementioned institutional eff orts alongside the enormous increase in the scale of female migration, and the numerous positive responses from stakeholders to mitigate the risks and vulnerabilities of migrant women. Such measures have emerged from and contributed to an atmosphere of greater awareness and acknowledgement, at the national and international levels, of the need for migration policies to not just be gender- sensitive but also include specialised measures and programmes directed at women migrants. IV With the aid of the latest data, the study predicts an increase in income and welfare for both the individual migrant and for the sending economy. It links the multiplier effects of these changes in households and at the regional level to the spillover in the social and political spheres. These increases—in income and welfare—will have enormous consequences, it predicts, as the ensuing empowerment of women will reshape gender and power relations at the micro and macro levels. This research project was undertaken by the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and supported by UN Women as a part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions for promoting research and training in the area of women’s migration in a globalised setting. We hope that the findings of the report will stimulate an intensification of the debate on migrant women on the one hand, and provide valuable inputs for all concerned to evolve and implement proactive and rights based programmes and policies for women migrants, on the other. V. P. Yaj u r v e d i Anne F. Stenhammer Director General Regional Programme Director V.V. GIRI NATIONAL LABOUR UN WOMEN INSTITUTE South Asia Sub Regional Office NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh New Delhi V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are extremely grateful to the UN Women South Asia Sub Regional Offi ce, New Delhi, for supporting this research study. Special thanks to Ms. Anne F. Stenhammer, Regional Programme Director, UN Women South Asia Sub Regional Offi ce, for her leadership, Ms. Sushma Kapoor for her support and encouragement, Ms. Bharati Silawal Giri for her persistent interest, and Ms. Smita Mitra for extending admirable support at every stage of the work. Mr. V.P. Yajurvedi, Director General, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, was a great source of inspiration in undertaking and completing this research study on time and we express our sincere gratitude to him. Our heartfelt thanks to all the scholars, especially Prof. Nasra M. Shah, Dr. Prabhu P. Mohapatra, Mr. Anup K. Karan, Mr. Anish R, Dr. Archna Negi and Mr. Bhaskar Kowshik, who provided invaluable comments and research insights at diff erent stages of the study. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those institutions and individuals who were kind enough to help us during the collection of literature and information for this research work. We had presented the draft report of this study at an evidence sharing workshop in the course of which we received very constructive comments. We are grateful to all those who participated in this workshop. Our wholehearted thanks to Prof. N. Jayaram, Prof. S. Irudaya Rajan and Ms. Sushma Kapoor who chaired the technical sessions, and to Dr. Praveen Jha, Dr. Vinoj Abraham, Dr. Swati Ghosh, Dr. Sampath Rao, Mr. Basant K. Potnuru, Mr. Nitin Kumar, Ms. Deepa Bharathi and Ms. Sharu Joshi Shrestha for providing insightful comments and suggestions. We received excellent professional support from a number of faculty members and administrative staff at the Institute. We are thankful to each and every one of them for their kind cooperation. It would not have been possible for us to complete this study without the excellent research assistance received from our research staff . Th anks Sarika, Deepti, Vikesh, Sudha, Kushwaha, Smitha and Damayanti for your dedicated and ungrudging support. Ms. Rimli Borooah and Ms. Kavita Dutta did an excellent job in editing, designing, and formatting this report. We are grateful to them for their meticulous and professional work. Rakkee Th imothy & S.K. Sasikumar VI CONTENTS FOREWORD III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF FIGURES IX LIST OF BOXES IX ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS X 1 INTRODUCTION 01 1.1 THE CONTEXT 01 1.2 OBJECTIVES 03 1.3 APPROACH 04 1.4 OUTLINE OF THE REPORT 04 2 REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION 05 2.1 GLOBAL MIGRATION TRENDS 05 2.2 MIGRATION TRENDS IN ASIA 07 2.3 LABOUR MIGRATION FROM SOUTH ASIA TO THE GULF 08 2.3.1 Labour Inflow to GCC Countries 09 2.3.2 Labour Outflow from South Asia 12 2.4 TRENDS IN REMITTANCES 14 2.5 LABOUR GOVERNANCE: POLICIES OF GCC COUNTRIES 16 3 THE FEMINISATION OF MIGRATION 20 3.1 GLOBAL TRENDS 20 3.2 MIGRATION TRENDS OF WOMEN IN ASIA 21 3.3 LOCATING FEMALE LABOUR MIGRATION IN ASIA 23 3.4 THE FEMINISATION OF SOUTH ASIAN MIGRATION 24 3.5 MANAGING WOMEN’S MIGRATION: STATE RESPONSES 26 4 MIGRATION PROCESSES 28 4.1 THE PRE-DEPARTURE PHASE 28 4.1.1 Sources of Information on Migration 29 4.1.2 The Decision to Migrate 30 4.1.3 Recruitment of Labour 30 4.1.4 The Cost of Migration 33 4.1.5 Pre-Departure Orientation Programmes 33 4.2 IN THE LABOUR RECEIVING COUNTRY 35 4.2.1 Living and Working Environment in the Gulf 35 4.2.2 Violation of the Rights of Migrant Women 37 4.3 RETURN, REMITTANCE AND RE-INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS 39 4.3.1 Dependents to Breadwinners and the Changing Gender Roles 40 4.3.2 Savings and Remittance Utilisation 41 4.3.3 Changes in Consumption Behaviour 41 4.3.4 Social Recognition of Migrants 42 VII 5 RESPONSES OF THE STAKEHOLDERS 44 5.1 THE ROLE OF THE MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS IN GULF MIGRATION 44 5.1.1 UN and ILO 44 5.1.2 ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration 47 5.1.3 UN Women 47 5.1.4 Colombo Process 48 5.1.5