Bangladeshi Migrant Workers in the UAE: Gender-Differentiated Patterns of Migration Experiences
2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 47; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00263206.2011.544102
ISSN1743-7881
Autores Tópico(s)Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts
ResumoAbstract This article examines the migration experiences of women and men under conditions of temporary migration. It has been amply shown that gender is relevant to most aspects of migration. However, despite the fundamental increase in research on gender and migration, a transnational space, where gender matters but which has not bee so thoroughly explored to date, is the experiences of women and men migrants in the migration process, especially under conditions of labour migration in the Gulf States. Focusing on Bangladeshi male and female migrant workers in the UAE, this research sheds light on gender-differentiated patterns of demographic profiles, recruitment and pre-departure costs, working and living experiences, wages, savings, and remittances, health care and leisure activities and reports substantial variation in migration experiences across gender lines. Notes The author would like to thank the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Dhaka, Bangladesh, for financing this study in the UAE and Bangladesh. Special thanks go to Rabab Fatima, Samiha Huda, Noushin Safinaz, and Disha Sonata Faruque, IOM-Dhaka for their support and assistance. My greatest debt is to the interviewees for their time, patience and hospitality. 1. M. Humphrey, 'The Changing Role of Asian Labour Migration in the Middle East', Des Migrations Internationales, Vol.7, No.1 (1991), pp.45–63; N.M. Shah, 'Arab Migration Patterns in the Gulf', in Arab Migration in a Globalizing World (Geneva: International Organization for Migration, 2004); N.M. Shah, 'Restrictive Labour Immigration Policies in the Oil-Rich Gulf: Implications for Sending Asian Countries', Conference paper, International Population Conference, Tours, France, 18–23 July, 2005; N.M. 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