This chapter explores the intersection of internal migration, gender, and health in India by centring the lived experiences of women migrant workers in the informal economy. It analyses how the feminisation of migration has not translated into greater recognition or rights, as women continue to be seen as dependents rather than workers. Drawing on feminist literature and case studies, the chapter traces how gendered labour regimes and state inaction render migrant women invisible in policy and vulnerable in practice. Focusing on sugarcane harvesters in Maharashtra, it documents the structural violence embedded in seasonal migration, including forced hysterectomies undertaken by women to avoid losing work during menstruation. The chapter argues that the exclusion of women from the language of labour law and social protection policies reinforces gendered hierarchies and health injustices. It calls attention to how informal labour, reproductive exploitation, and caste-based inequalities converge in shaping migrant women’s health outcomes. By treating gender not as an additive category but as constitutive of migration itself, the chapter offers a critical framework for understanding how women’s bodies are regulated, devalued, and sacrificed in the name of economic productivity.

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Internal Migration, Health, and Gender: Analysing the Relationship in the Indian Context

  • Megha

摘要

This chapter explores the intersection of internal migration, gender, and health in India by centring the lived experiences of women migrant workers in the informal economy. It analyses how the feminisation of migration has not translated into greater recognition or rights, as women continue to be seen as dependents rather than workers. Drawing on feminist literature and case studies, the chapter traces how gendered labour regimes and state inaction render migrant women invisible in policy and vulnerable in practice. Focusing on sugarcane harvesters in Maharashtra, it documents the structural violence embedded in seasonal migration, including forced hysterectomies undertaken by women to avoid losing work during menstruation. The chapter argues that the exclusion of women from the language of labour law and social protection policies reinforces gendered hierarchies and health injustices. It calls attention to how informal labour, reproductive exploitation, and caste-based inequalities converge in shaping migrant women’s health outcomes. By treating gender not as an additive category but as constitutive of migration itself, the chapter offers a critical framework for understanding how women’s bodies are regulated, devalued, and sacrificed in the name of economic productivity.