Impact of Male Out Migration on Women folk in Kumaon Himalaya

Abstract

Outmigration from Villages is a Perinneal phenomenon. The constant attraction towards urban areas from the villages and small towns is incessant. The Young Men from the villages move to big Towns/cities in search of better Job opportunities and good standard of living. The native village survives on money order economy and the agricultural produce for sustainability. The women folk who are left behind bear the entire burden of rearing children, looking after old parents, and performing various roles in the society like attending religious and marriage events or other such social obligations. The Out migrants merely come once or twice when there is harvest season or any emergency. The women folk have a larger role to play in the absence of their husbands, sons or brothers. The hilly terrain is also not very friendly for all the chores like carrying fuel wood as well as drinking water from far of distances. The dilemma here is that at the first place these women become very appreciative when their husbands and sons and brothers go to cities to earn a living but as time passes and these men folk stop visiting native village regularly these women become overburdened. Although the outmigrants send money regularly and the condition of village and their homes are becoming cemented and more facilities are available as compared to previous decades.The present paper is a hunch to know the impact of this widespread outmigration on the women folk of Kumaon Himalaya