Decision Making Process on Women Migrant Workers in West Java: Between Religion, Culture and Social Reality

Abstract

The decision to work abroad is a unique dynamic for women migrant workers because they have to leave their homes for a long time. The decision is not an easy thing to do. For women in West Java, who are predominantly Muslim, leaving their homes is still a theological and cultural debate as to whether women may work outside the home. Culturally, women are "Dulang Tinande," in which they are "not as a determinant" in family life. This research uses a feminist approach to uncover the experiences of and to give women migrant workers from West Java. Research shows that these workers have three motives for choosing to work abroad: economic, Human Capital, and social. Besides, they go through four decision-making processes to become migrant workers: self-stabilization, consultation with relatives, seeking information related to employment agencies (PJTKI), and consulting with Muslim clerics to ask for prayer and safety amulets.