Do the Kerala nurses in Germany break the myth of migration as a male-space?

Abstract

In this paper, we are interested in the curious case of the Kerala nurses in Germany in the 1960s and '70s and their location in the context of gender-migration interface. These migrants challenge the myth of migration that migration is quintessentially a male-dominated space where women are largely represented as dependents. The moot point of this paper is to explore their cases within the larger context of gender-migration nexus and break this myth. As a women-driven immigrant community, the nurses from Kerala offer a perspectival shift in terms of understanding heteronormative structures within migrant households and outside, including adjustments in gender-roles and gender-based performances. Through this paper we argue that heteronormativity is often replaced by transnational patriarchy, because diaspora formation, similar to nation-building, is a patriarchal process.