Lived Experiences of Bangladeshi Muslim Female Migrant Workers in Malaysia

The study focuses on Bangladeshi Muslim female migrant workers in Malaysia. Bangladeshi culture is built on conventional notions of what a man or woman should perform in accordance with usual gender roles because it is a Muslim-majority nation. Female migration was a societal taboo in Bangladesh. But in this globalized world, by breaking the societal taboo, women are migrating to different countries to earn foreign currency for Bangladesh. Using a qualitative research approach, the study investigates how these migrants adapt to the perplexing gender roles in Malaysia associated with their living and working conditions. Semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were held with migrants, which aims to provide a detailed description of the lived experiences of the Bangladeshi Muslim Female migrants and fill a significant gap in the research literature. Malaysia is selected as a study area because it has one of the largest immigrant populations in Asia. On the other hand, Bangladesh is one of the largest labor-sending countries in Asia, with high unemployment rates. This chapter will also reveal why Bangladeshi Muslim women migrated and how their experiences impacted their lives during their migration.