Interrupting the Middle: Doing and Undoing Gender of Nepalese Students in Australia

Abstract

This research aims to explore gender relations in the course of student migration from Nepal. It enquires into how Nepalese migrant students in Australia continue or discontinue traditional gender roles by disclosing the lived experiences of a small cohort of Nepalese female students in Brisbane, Australia. A review of the relevant literature indicated that, despite significant development in the field of gender and migration research worldwide, the gender aspect of Nepalese student migration is still under-researched. Responding to this gap, I have developed a study that investigates the ways in which Nepalese female student migrants are negotiating gender relations between home and abroad. This study revolves around their changing perspectives on traditional gender relations as a result of living in the changed socio-cultural settings of host country, and the inherent challenges of implementing the changes in conventional interpretations of gender- based roles after returning their home country. Importantly, I share the same ethnic background and similar migration history with the research participants. Furthermore, my several years of professional experiences in education consultancies became the primary motivation for commencing this study from the position of an ‘insider researcher’ utilising both ethnographic observation and autoethnographic reflection as research tools. Six married Nepalese female students, studying in different institutions in Brisbane, were requested to participate in a qualitative semi-structured interview. In addition, I draw from autoethnographic observations and reflection on my personal encounters as a student migrant in Australia, as well as professional engagement as an education consultant. The semi-structured interviews provided the primary data for the research. Interview transcripts were manually coded based on their affinity with two distinct themes: negotiating in-betweenness in gender relations in the course of living in a different context; and circumstances of mobility either in the origin country or in the host country. At the same time, whether playing the role of passive observer or interviewing the participants as a researcher, their activities, as well as personal experiences and stories, were at times similar to my own. The most revealing and common experiences of all the participants after living in Australia was the feeling of emancipation from the yoke of patriarchy, which required them to play traditional gender roles in their country of origin. In spite of their commitment to make people aware of this new-found freedom, even after returning to their country of origin, the lack of confidence to continue to live with this changed philosophy of life was equally evident in their responses. Moreover, mixed opinions about the metamorphosis of their male counterparts regarding doing and undoing gender also posed a question on whether or not the Nepalese males would continue to cooperate with their wives in introducing changes in the traditional gender roles upon returning to their home country.