Ethiopian girls narratives of risk and governance of circular migration to the Arabian Gulf

Abstract

AbstractThis article explores Ethiopian girls' narratives of risks and vulnerability during their migratory journeys to, in and from Saudi Arabia. It discusses how risks of deprivation and abuse that drive girls to leave their homes are sustained during the migration process. The research primarily draws on interviews with 35 deported girls from Saudi Arabia to analyse intersecting structural, sociocultural, gendered and personal factors that force them to take these risks. It argues that although Ethiopian girls migrate to escape childhood poverty and vulnerability, these conditions are not averted but reproduced during migration. By foregrounding the experiences of deported girls, the article further discusses how the desire to support familial livelihoods engenders their circular migration and how multiple actors of migration take advantage of their labour and bodies against the backdrop of limited institutional support systems.