The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are major destinations for Asian migrant labour, particularly from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka. Labour nationalizing drives like Saudization, Emiratization, Omanization, Kuwaitization, Qatarization, and Bahrainization have varying degrees of restrictions on hiring male migrants, while hiring female migrants remains relatively liberal. The demand for low-skilled male migration fluctuates depending on development projects and nationalization implementation. However, the demand for female labour remains stable and on the rise. This gendered aspect of labour demand to the Gulf states is expected to shape the volume and nature of Gulf migration in the future. This paper examines the future of female labour migration to the Gulf states, focusing on patterns, reasons for migration, experiences, and how migration transforms personal development. This study uses both primary and secondary data. Different statistical data sources have been used with regard to patterns of male and female migration to the Gulf states in order to demonstrate the increasing feminized migration in the Gulf. This paper examines the experiences of 15 female migrants in the Gulf, focusing on Bangladeshi females, as Bangladesh emerges as a major source country for Muslim female migrants to the Gulf states. The paper highlights that the rise in higher education and women’s employment in the Gulf has led to a surge in female migrant labour. This feminization of labour migration has allowed women to transition from roles as a dependent to an independent and to transform their status in traditional Asian societies. This shift allows both host and home societies to free women from traditional roles.

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Feminized Migration in the GCC States: The Future of Asian Female Labour Migration to the Gulf

  • Sabnam Sarmin Luna,
  • Md Mizanur Rahman

摘要

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are major destinations for Asian migrant labour, particularly from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka. Labour nationalizing drives like Saudization, Emiratization, Omanization, Kuwaitization, Qatarization, and Bahrainization have varying degrees of restrictions on hiring male migrants, while hiring female migrants remains relatively liberal. The demand for low-skilled male migration fluctuates depending on development projects and nationalization implementation. However, the demand for female labour remains stable and on the rise. This gendered aspect of labour demand to the Gulf states is expected to shape the volume and nature of Gulf migration in the future. This paper examines the future of female labour migration to the Gulf states, focusing on patterns, reasons for migration, experiences, and how migration transforms personal development. This study uses both primary and secondary data. Different statistical data sources have been used with regard to patterns of male and female migration to the Gulf states in order to demonstrate the increasing feminized migration in the Gulf. This paper examines the experiences of 15 female migrants in the Gulf, focusing on Bangladeshi females, as Bangladesh emerges as a major source country for Muslim female migrants to the Gulf states. The paper highlights that the rise in higher education and women’s employment in the Gulf has led to a surge in female migrant labour. This feminization of labour migration has allowed women to transition from roles as a dependent to an independent and to transform their status in traditional Asian societies. This shift allows both host and home societies to free women from traditional roles.