Husband's Migration Research Articles

Methodological Paradoxes in Understanding Rural Egypt: Deconstructing Young Women’s Challenges in the Public Sphere

Despite noticeable efforts to include women in different facets of public life, rural women’s participation is low compared to their metropolitan counterparts, and to men in general. This paper argues that rural young women face double discrimination: first, through disempowerment in regards to basic economic, social, and cultural rights which facilitate participation in public life, and second, that their challenges are not fully captured by most research. Utilising constructivist ethnographic qualitative research conducted in three rural villages in Egypt, this study navigates through disadvantaged young women’s realities and captures the unique and unrecognised challenges they encounter in regards to participating in public life. In addition to sharing challenges common to most women, the findings reveal challenges specific to rural young women. Some of these challenges directly impede women’s participation in the public sphere; such as lack of ID, early marriage, and limited mobility while others indirectly limit their public participation, such as social norms, migration of husband, and marriage cost.

Wsparcie społeczne w percepcji matek dzieci z zaburzeniami ze spektrum autyzmu doświadczających migracji męża

The main aim of this study was to determine social support in the perception of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders who experience their husband's economic migration. An important goal was also to show the differences in between the perceived social support in among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders who experience their husband's migration, and those whose husbands do not go abroad for work. The research involved 94 mothers raising children with autism spectrum disorders, 46 women whose husbands migrate (A) and 48 women who do not experience their husbands' migration (B). The sample selection was deliberate. The Polish adaptation by E. Szlachta of the ISEL questionnaire (The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List) was used to achieve the goals, as accompanied by a self-made questionnaire. Analysis of the data on perceived social support showed statistically significant differences in the studied groups both in the overall result and across all scales. The results indicate that while mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders whose husbands go abroad are in a better financial situation, the absence and lack of active participation and support of the husband in caring for the child makes them feel there is less social support (scale of cognitive support, belonging, self-esteem), and they cope with problems much worse than women whose husbands do not go abroad. The results are statistically significant.

Temporary migration as a mechanism for lasting cultural change: evidence from Nepal

Abstract When a husband migrates, his wife may control more household resources and therefore change how the household spends income. Given the prevalence of seasonal migration in developing countries, even these temporary changes could affect economic development. The extent to which these changes persist after migration spells will magnify these consequences. Using panel data on rural households in Nepal, we examine how a husband's migration interacts with intrahousehold decision-making and consumption patterns both during and after migration spells. We find that a husband's absence is associated with a 10 percentage point increase in the expenditure decisions over which the wife has full control. This coincides with a shift away from expenditures on alcohol and tobacco in favor of children's clothing and education. Importantly, we find that migrant husbands resume their role in decisions following their return, but decisions are more likely to be made jointly. These persistent effects are consistent with a model in which households are pushed to a new, more-equitable equilibrium and then are driven to form habits, which, in turn, cause the new equilibrium to stick, thus facilitating long-term cultural change in gender norms.

Spousal migration and human papillomavirus infection among women in rural western Nepal.

In April 2014 we investigated the association of migration of a woman's husband with her high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection status and her abnormal cervical cytology status in the Achham district of rural Far-Western Nepal. Women were surveyed and screened for HR-HPV during a health camp conducted by the Nepal Fertility Care Center. Univariate and multivariable statistical tests were performed to determine the association of a husband's migration status with HR-HPV infection and cervical cytology status. In 265 women, the prevalence of HR-HPV was 7.5% (20/265), while the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology, defined using the Bethesda system as atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance or worse, was 7.6% (19/251). Half of the study participants (50.8%, 130/256) had husbands who had reported migrating for work at least once. Women aged ≤34 years were significantly less likely to test positive for HR-HPV than women aged >34 years (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.71). HR-HPV infection and abnormal cervical cytology status were not directly associated with a husband's migration. Older women were found to have a higher prevalence of HPV than younger women. It is possible that a husband's migration for work could be delaying HR-HPV infections in married women until an older age.

Contraception and Abortion in a Low-Fertility Setting: The Role of Seasonal Migration

Seasonal labor migration is common among men in many former Soviet republics. Little research has examined contraceptive use and induced abortion among women in such low-fertility, high-migration settings, according to husband's migration status. Combined data from 2,280 respondents of two surveys of married women aged 18-45 in rural Armenia-one conducted in 2005 and one in 2007-were used. Logistic regression analyses examined whether a husband's migration status was associated with his wife's current use of the pill or the IUD, or with the probability that she had had a pregnancy that ended in induced abortion. Additional analyses were conducted to determine whether relationships were moderated by household wealth. Women with a migrant husband were less likely than those with a nonmigrant husband to be currently using the pill or the IUD (odds ratio, 0.6); with increased household wealth, the likelihood of method use increased among women with a nonmigrant husband, but decreased slightly among women with a migrant husband. Overall, the probability that a pregnancy ended in abortion did not differ by migration status; however, the likelihood of abortion increased with wealth among women married to a nonmigrant, but not among those married to a migrant. Despite their husband's absence, women married to a migrant may have an unwanted pregnancy rate similar to that of women married to a nonmigrant. Improved access to modern contraceptive methods is likely to be positively associated with contraceptive use among women with a nonmigrant husband, but not among those with a migrant husband.

Embedding or Uprooting? The Effects of International Labour Migration on Rural Households in Armenia

AbstractThe impact of international labour migration on human wellbeing and socioeconomic development in communities of origin is an important yet understudied issue in contemporary migration research. This study examines whether men's labour migration from rural Armenia to Russia and other international destinations enhances the economic and social connections of the left‐behind households to their communities or, on the contrary, undermines those connections and encourages household members' own migration. Using survey data, it compares families of migrants and non‐migrants with respect to ownership of productive and major non‐productive assets in the community and women's non‐farm labour force participation, their social engagement in the village, and their desires to migrate abroad. The results of statistical tests indicate that men's migration is negatively associated with households' asset ownership and with women's non‐farm employment. The results for women's social engagement in their villages are less consistent. Finally, regardless of economic attachment, social engagement, and a host of other factors, wives of migrants were significantly more likely to wish to move abroad than women married to non‐migrants, and the difference in propensity to emigrate between migrants' and non‐migrants' wives increases with duration of husband's migration. We situate these findings in the context of Central Eurasia's international labour migration system and discuss their implications for future migration trends and for socioeconomic development of Armenia and similar settings.

The Impact of Remittances on Transnational Families

This qualitative and exploratory study was conducted in a rural community in Puebla, Mexico, in August 2008. The study specifically explores the decision-making process, as well as the interpersonal dynamics involved in the act of remitting, and how the family remaining in the community of origin manages the financial and emotional transactions as beneficiaries of the remittances. This study found that in this particular community, once a husband migrates, his wife typically moves in with her family in-law. In most families, the migrant initially sent the remittances directly to his mother, enabling her authority and power over his wife. This dynamic has psychological impacts and also influences the relationship between the migrant and his wife. Additionally, change occurs throughout the course of the husband's migration that affects family relationships and functioning. For example, the remittances sent by the husband may allow his wife and children to obtain their own property and gain independence from their in-laws.

International Migration of Partner, Autonomy and Depressive Symptoms Among Women From a Mexican Rural Area

The emigration of Mexicans to the USA has increased in the last decades, and little is known about the effect of this on the mental health of those who stay behind. To evaluate the association of emigration of husband and depressive symptoms (DS) among women who stay in Mexico. We also tested the hypothesis that the husband's migration would increase the woman's autonomy, which in turn would decrease DS. A survey was conducted in a rural area in Mexico. Participants (n = 418) were selected through probabilistic sampling in three stages: localities, households and individuals. DS were evaluated using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Having a partner in the USA was associated with higher odds of scoring above the cut-off point in CES-D (OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.92-7.43). Economic autonomy was also associated with DS (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.04-2.02). Migration of husband was associated with DS among women. The construct of autonomy and its operational definition should be further explored.

Some Social and Economic Impacts of Husband's Migration on the Status of Women and the Formation of Their Roles in Family and Society

تهدف الدراسة إلى استكشاف الآثار الاجتماعية والاقتصادية لهجرة الزوج على المرأة اليمنية وتشكيل أدوارها في الأسرة والمجتمع. تعتمد الدراسة على منهج المسح الاجتماعي وتطبيقه على عينة من النساء في المناطق الريفية اليمنية. تشير النتائج إلى أن هجرة الزوج تؤثر بشكل كبير على المرأة من حيث زيادة أعبائها الأسرية والزراعية. تلعب المرأة دورًا محوريًا في تربية الأبناء وإدارة شؤون الأسرة في غياب الزوج. أظهرت الدراسة أن التحويلات المالية من الزوج المهاجر تساهم في تحسين المستوى المعيشي للأسرة ولكنها تزيد من الاعتماد على المرأة في تحمل المسؤوليات المنزلية والزراعية. كما كشفت الدراسة عن تأثيرات سلبية تتمثل في تغيير القيم والمفاهيم الاجتماعية بسبب غياب الزوج لفترات طويلة. وأوصت الدراسة بضرورة تقديم الدعم اللازم للمرأة الريفية لتحمل الأعباء الناتجة عن هجرة الزوج والعمل على تعزيز مكانتها في المجتمع من خلال برامج التوعية والتدريب المهني.

Women and the Economics of Family Migration

N OTWITHSTANDING this early statement by Ravenstein (1885, p. 196), the separate study of geographic mobility among women has been virtually ignored by students of migration.' The reason is obvious: women are assumed to migrate because their husbands do.2 While it is undoubtedly true that most migration involves family units (the migration of husband and wife occurring jointly), the possibility that the wife's welfare is considered in the family's decision to migrate should not be ruled out. It is at least desirable to test the hypothesis that the wife's employment is considered in the migration decision and to examine the effect of that decision on women's earnings. In this paper an economic model is developed to explain the family's decision to migrate and the effect of migration on the labor market earnings of men and women. It is based on the tenet that family utility, defined operationally as the husband's and wife's labor market earnings and leisure, is maximized. The model suggests that the wife's labor market involvement is a significant consideration in a (husband-wife) family's decision to migrate. The data from the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are well suited for empirical testing of this model.3 The surveys provide the opportunity to examine the change in labor market earnings of families and individuals over a five-year period. Availability of data on migratory status as well as on other personal characteristics of women and their families permits the direct testing of the model. In section I a family utility maximization model is used to derive implications with regard to the probability of migration by the family and the effect of migration on individual and family earnings. These implications are tested in section II using multiple regression analysis and the NLS data for white women who were 35 to 49 years of age in 1972. The implications of the empirical estimates for the economic welfare of women and for interpreting the observed earnings distribution are discussed in section III.