Transnational Migration and the Transformation of Gender Relations: The Case of Bangladeshi Labour Migrants

Abstract

The article discusses the transformations of gender relations due to transnational migration between Bangladesh and Malaysia. It is shown that the uneven economic development in Asia during the last decades has not only initiated new migration movements and patterns but has also led to a feminization of migration, which has resulted in transformations of gender relations. It is argued that the increased migration of Bangladeshi women as temporary labour migrants to Malaysia and the transnational discourses and practices these movements have initiated are leading to renegotiations and transformations of the existing gender order. Networks and transnational activities of Bangladeshi male migrants are analysed in order to show, first, that transnational spaces are gendered and, second, how transnational influences are changing power and gender relations. The successful exploitation of global markets by female migrants has not only resulted in new migration patterns and new gendered labour markets but has become an important agent for transformations of gender relations.