Left-behind Women Research Articles

Women as Alternates: A Study on the Mechanism of Village Official Replacement in the Context of Rural Revitalization – A Case Study of Village J in Southeastern Hubei

Abstract The trend of left-behind women serving as village officials and participating in village governance is on the rise. Research in clan-based villages in the general agricultural regions of central and western China reveals that village factional conflicts make it difficult for elderly male village officials to win in village committee elections. Additionally, the emphasis on younger village officials by local governments forces these older men out of their roles. The economic resources available through village governance are limited and fail to meet the material needs of middle-aged and young male village officials, leading to their withdrawal as well. With the departure of men, left-behind women have become significant candidates for village official positions. Because of the increasing “administratization” 行政化 of village governance, village organizations need to mobilize these women to handle the growing administrative tasks in village management. Serving as village officials allows left-behind women to both care for their children and earn a decent income, while fulfilling the local government’s requirements for village officials. Consequently, through a series of training mechanisms, an increasing number of women are becoming the principal cadres within village committees.

Guardians Looking From Outside: Gendered Experiences of Labor Migration and Psychosocial Health Among Nepalese Migrant Fathers and Left-Behind Mothers.

Nepalese migrant workers are at heightened risk of adverse mental health problems. However, the social mechanisms by which experiences of labor migration create such vulnerabilities are not well understood. Moreover, limited attention has been paid to the experiences of left-behind spouses. This study explores how migrant fathers and left-behind mothers experience labor migration and how migration affects mental health across migrant household members, paying special attention to the role of gender. We conducted 29 in-depth interviews with Nepalese migrant fathers (N = 18) in South Korea and left-behind mothers (N = 11) in Nepal. Labor migration imposes substantial stress on the entire family. Migrant fathers discussed their feelings of guilt and worry regarding their relationships with their children due to physical and emotional distance. Left-behind mothers indicated loneliness and caregiver stress due to additional responsibilities as a single parent. Migrant fathers reported that they felt respected by their communities for their work, while left-behind mothers felt heavily scrutinized. Our findings highlight how labor migration reinforces gender inequalities in domestic responsibilities and norms regarding the expected roles of migrating men and left-behind women. These findings suggest that psychosocial services must be tailored to the unique needs of migrant workers and left-behind families.

Archiving the initiative of the Chinese rural left-behind women of migrant men in modern epistolary narratives (1910s–1920s)

ABSTRACT Based on an examination of a corpus comprising 244 letters authored by Chinese women residing in Wangxia, a rural district within Guangdong province, to their emigrant family members settled in Arizona, the United States from the 1910s to 1920s, this article posits that the phenomenon of being left-behind constituted a pivotal catalyst for the social and economic empowerment of women within rural contexts, fostering heightened self-awareness and autonomy. These accounts of their personal experiences, emotions, and reflections on gender relations document the awakening initiative and self-empowerment of ordinary women in the first half of the twentieth century. On the one hand, the absence of male authority in the family caused by the exclusive emigration of males out of villages created space and conditions for women’s independence and autonomy; on the other hand, transnational epistolary communications with emigrants empowered these women to control remittances and enabled them to increase their families’ fortunes, which further stimulated their desire for economic independence and education. These women’s letters offer rich historical testimony to the reality that an awareness of gender equality and female empowerment were the result of the Chinese women’s own initiative.

Research on the problems and countermeasures of education and training of left-behind women in rural areas under the background of rural revitalization

As China’s urbanization process accelerates, it has become common for rural men to go out to work and women to stay at home. The implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy is in dire need of a large amount of high-quality human capital, and education and training are an important way to improve human capital and empower left-behind women. Starting from the background of China’s rural revitalization, this study focuses on the education and training of rural left-behind women, a topic that has received less attention. Through in-depth interviews and participatory observation, we analyzed the factors affecting rural left-behind women’s participation in education and training, as well as the problems that exist in China’s rural education and training process, and proposed strategies to solve them. The study found that education level, traditional attitudes, economic income, knowledge of education and training, and mental health are important factors affecting the participation of left-behind women in education and training in rural China. At the same time, there are some problems in the process of education and training, such as a single main body of supply and training methods, a lack of teachers, and a lack of management, etc., which affect the development of education and training, and thus also the promotion of rural revitalization.

Impact of Male Migration on the Empowerment of Left-behind Muslim Women in Malappuram, Kerala

Migration has been projected as a force capable of developing economies of the labour exporting nations. In the past, religious orthodoxy among the Muslims in Malabar especially in the Malappuram district prevented women from obtaining higher education and finding employment which restricted their freedom and well-being. However, there have been changes in women's perspectives in reaction to changing needs and situations, for which migration and remittances made by migrants abroad have been the important contributing factors. When the male migrates, the left-behind women have to assume increased responsibilities which increases their control over household resources, mobility and decision-making power and the foreign remittances are utilised by the left-behind women to improve their quality of living, education and information. This article explores the effects of male migration and foreign remittances on the left-behind Muslim women in the Malappuram district through the lens of the Capability approach by constructing the Women’s Capability Index based on a sample survey in the Malappuram district using a Stratified Multi-stage random Sampling method. The study identifies a set of capabilities that are appropriate to the context of male migration and the consequent effect on the left behind women’s living arrangement, provides a framework for efficiently evaluating these capabilities, aggregates the capabilities into a single index, and then validates and tests the index. The Ordinal Logistic Regression, used to analyse the role of migration in the capability expansion of left-behind Muslim women shows that the foreign remittances sent by the husbands from abroad have a positive statistically significant effect on the left-behind Muslim women in the study area, implying that with the increase in the foreign remittances received by the left behind women, their capability also increases, whereas the husband's migrant duration does not have a statistically significant effect on the left-behind Muslim women’s capability

Left-behind women: perspectives on seasonal labor migration in Guagusa Shekudad community, North West Ethiopia

ABSTRACT In 2021, about 281 million people worldwide reside outside of their country of birth. By taking the Guagusa Shekudad district in Ethiopia as an example, the current study aims at to assess perspectives of the community on men’s seasonal labor migration and women who were left-behind in the process of seasonal labor migration. Moreover, the study aims to identify constraints that hinder women’s participation in seasonal labor migration. For this study, a qualitative research approach, ethnographic research design, and thematic data analysis technique were employed. Different data collection techniques such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGD), participant observation, and informal conversation were used to collect first-hand ethnographic data. Accordingly, the findings of the study reveal that the local community has positive perspectives toward seasonal labor migration, migrants, and women left-behind in the process of their husband’s migration. Furthermore, men seasonal labor migrants have positive perspectives toward their left-behind wives. Likewise, left-behind women conceived their husband’s migration positively. In general, men’s seasonal labor migration is an integral part of life in the community. As a result the majority of the population has positive perceptions towards seasonal labor migration and women left-behind in the process of seasonal labor migration.

Modeling the Factors Influencing the Quality of Life of Rural Left-Behind Women in Guangxi, China

Background: Based on the theoretical foundations of social support theory, empowerment theory and endogenous development theory, this study examines the relevant literature on "quality of life", "social services access", "socio-economic status", "organizational cooperation", "rehabilitation strategy" and "self-esteem" and other related literatures were sorted out. An exploratory study of the relationship between social service access, socioeconomic status, organizational cooperation, rehabilitation strategies, self-esteem and quality of life was conducted. Latent and observed variables are extracted to construct a model of factors influencing the quality of life of rural left-behind women in Guangxi, and relevant research hypotheses are proposed. This study attempts to clarify the relationship and interactions between social service access, socioeconomic status, organizational cooperation, rehabilitation strategy, self-esteem and quality of life, in order to explore the overall quality of life of rural left-behind women in Guangxi and related influencing factors, and to improve the quality of life of rural left-behind women in Guangxi. Objective: The objective was to find influencing factors to improve quality of life rural left behind women. Theoretical Framework: Through the above analysis, this study establishes a model of factors influencing the quality of life of rural left-behind women in Guangxi, China. Th(Wu Jing & Lang Ying, 2021)e model includes five independent variables: access to social services, socioeconomic status, organizational cooperation, rehabilitation strategies, and self-esteem, and one dependent variable, quality of life of left-behind women. The research framework model is shown in Figure 1 for reference: Method: This was a conceptual study Results and Discussion: The study found that social services access, socioeconomic status, organizational cooperation, rehabilitation strategies, and self-esteem have an impact on the quality of life of rural left-behind women in Guangxi. Social support, including government support, support from social organizations, support from other kinds of cooperative organizations, and support from the families of left-behind women, is very important to improve the quality of life of rural left-behind women. At the same time, the development of left-behind women themselves, including self-esteem and socio-economic status, is also important to improving their quality of life. Research Implications: The framework can help in human capital development of China with respect to women population who are left behind in rural area. Originality/Value: This study is not conducted yet in context of Guangxi province

Multidimensional relative poverty alleviation of the targeted microcredit in rural China: a gendered perspective

PurposeThis study explores whether targeted microcredit can effectively alleviate households’ multidimensional relative poverty (MdRP) in rural China in the new era following the poverty elimination campaign and discusses it from a gendered perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies a fixed-effects model, propensity score matching (PSM) and two-stage instrumental variable method to two-period panel data collected from 611 households in rural western China in 2018 and 2021 to explore the effects, mechanisms and heterogenous performance of targeted microcredit on households’ MdRP in the new era.Findings(i) Targeted microcredit can alleviate MdRP among rural households in the new era, mainly by reducing income and opportunity inequality. (ii) Targeted microcredit can promote women’s empowerment, mainly by enhancing their social participation, thereby helping alleviate households’ MdRP. The effect of the targeted microcredit on MdRP is more significant in medium-educated women households and non-left-behind women households. (iii) The MdRP alleviation effect is stronger in villages with a high degree of digitalization.Research limitations/implicationsLearn from the experience of targeted microcredit. Accurately identify poor groups and integrate loan design into financial health and women empowerment. Particularly, pay attention to less-educated and left-behind women households and strengthen coordination between targeted microcredit and digital village strategies.Originality/valueThis study clarifies the effect of targeted microcredit on women’s empowerment and households’ MdRP alleviation in the new era. It also explores its various effects on households with different female characteristics and regional digitalization levels, providing ideas for optimizing microcredit.

Men's Migration and Women's Health in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Migration's Economic Returns and Spousal Communication

In this study, we investigate the association between men's labor migration and changes in their non-migrating wives’ self-rated health (SRH) over time using longitudinal data from rural Mozambique. In addition to comparing wives of non-migrants and wives of migrants, we account for variation in the economic impact of migration and in migrants’ phone communication with their spouses. We find that migrants’ wives are significantly less likely to report low SRH, compared to non-migrants’ wives, net of other factors. However, this net advantage is concentrated among migrants’ wives who receive frequent remittances and who report that their households’ conditions have improved thanks to husband's migration. We also find that women who engage in frequent phone communication with their migrant husbands have decreased likelihoods of low SRH, compared to migrants’ wives who do not communicate with their husbands during their migration and to women married to non-migrants, regardless of other characteristics. We interpret these findings within the context of multifaceted gendered implications of men's migration for left-behind women's health and wellbeing.

Becoming a nun in the absence of her husband: male migration and female religiosity in nineteenth-century China

AbstractThis article investigates the impact of male migration on left-behind women in nineteenth-century Chongqing, focusing on the intersection among gender, migration, and religion. It analyze the unintended consequences of failed male migration, in which the husband's failure to send regular remittances was prone to cause tremendous anxiety and financial difficulties for his wife. In the absence of strong male-centered kinship organizations, Chongqingese women exploited unorthodox options to support themselves. Buddhist monasticism proved appealing because it provided both a stable source of livelihood and an inclusive all-female space. However, female renunciation was controversial because it challenged state-sponsored patriarchal values. Returned husbands enlisted the state's help in revoking their wives' religious decisions. Paradoxically, for vulnerable women like concubines, nunhood proved an attractive option because it helped them obtain migration-triggered divorces on favorable terms. They strategically synergized the bodily practice of monastic celibacy with the discourse of female chastity to assure their estranged spouses of lifelong commitments to non-remarriage. By doing so, these women succeeded in receiving generous financial compensation. This study highlights how the combination of religion and translocality enabled women to renegotiate their positionality within the patriarchy.

Impact of Men’s Labour Migration on Non-migrating Partner’s Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Globally, international and internal labour migration are common phenomena. In LMICs, labour migration, particularly international migration, typically means the men migrate while their wives/partners remain at home to take care of their family. Little attention has been paid to the impact of men’s migration on non-migrating partner’s health. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review to explore the impact of men's migration on the health of women who remain behind in LMICs. We searched five databases, CINAHL, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus, for publications from 2005 to 2022. Thirty-three peer-reviewed publications were included in the review out of which 15 explored mental health, 13 looked at sexual and reproductive health, ten at physical health, five at health-care accessibility and four studies focused on other health related issues. Findings suggest that women who remained behind or ‘left-behind’ women had increased access to healthcare due to better financial positions (via remittances). Remittances led to improved food and housing security, a critical wider determinant of health. However, some studies reported that in the longer term, the physical health of women who remain behind was negatively impacted. Almost all studies on mental health reported higher depressive symptoms among migrant wives compared to women co-habiting with their spouses. Left-behind women feared contracting sexually transmitted infections from their migrant partners. Our findings also showed that several marriage, family, finance and individual factors could affect the health of women who remain behind. National and local policies should include support groups and counselling services at the local health centre for women who remain behind. We recommend further studies on the areas presented above as well as unexplored areas such as vulnerability to violence and impact of remittance on health and nutrition.

The effects of spousal migration on perinatal healthcare utilization

Over the last three decades, out-migration has become a stable source of income for more than 12 million Bangladeshis. Of those migrants, 90% are men. Due to patriarchal cultural norms in Bangladeshi society, the migration of a male spouse may have significant consequences for the social well-being and health of left-behind women. In this study, we examine the impact of external (out of country) and internal (rural to urban) spousal migration on the perinatal healthcare utilization of left-behind women. We used data from the 2012 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey (MHSS2) to examine use of antenatal care, presence of a medically qualified attendant at birth, and delivery at a healthcare facility for live births that occurred between 2007 and 2014 for currently married women aged 15-45 (N = 1,458 births among 1,180 women). Adjusted regression models indicated that for births occurring to women with a migrant spouse, odds of receiving antenatal care were significantly higher (OR: 4.1 for births to women with a domestic urban migrant spouse and 4.6 for births to women with an international migrant spouse, p < 0.01). Spousal migration was not linked to having a medically qualified attendant at birth or delivery at a clinic or hospital. Results suggest that spousal migration may be beneficial for receiving health care during a pregnancy, but not for the type of attendant or place of delivery at birth.

After the Long Walk Home…the Gendered Rural Safety Net

In the absence of adequate social security for migrant workers, the recession forced the mass exodus of millions of circular migrants supported by their rural households of largely left-behind women. Our article looks at what happened after that. How did the returned migrants manage to survive and retain their capacity to work till they were required back in urban employment? This article argues that gendered rural households functioned as safety nets in the severe recession in the Indian economy which highlights the weakness in the state policy and lack of resources in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were safety nets not only for workers directly working in food value chains but also for reverse migrants. Overall, the recession did not just result in a temporary loss of income but also increased inequality and strengthened the oligopoly structure of the Indian economy.

Husband’s migration status and contraceptive behaviors of women: evidence from Middle-Ganga Plain of India

BackgroundMale out-migration is negatively associated with contraceptive use in developing countries. This study aimed to examine the effect of male out-migration on the contraceptive behaviour of women in the Middle-Ganga Plain (MGP) region.MethodsThe data has been collected from the Middle-Ganga Plain survey (2018–19), which was conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). The overall sample size was 1314 wives left behind and 1402 non-migrant wives. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the variables. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 25.ResultThe result shows that female sterilization was the most common method used by both left behind wives (30.9%) and non-migrant wives (34.6%). Most of the left-behind women didn't use contraception because their husbands were away from home (30.86%). The result also shows that left behind wives were less likely to use any methods of contraception than the non-migrant wives. Left behind women were more tended to use the modern methods (OR-0.71, 95%CI = 0.57–0.88) than any traditional methods (OR-0.61, 95% CI = 0.46–0.80). Age, religion, family type, working status, and marital duration were strongly associated with women's contraceptive use.ConclusionThese results strengthen the existing literature that explains how migration affects women's health. Therefore, there is an important need to develop and implement comprehensive education programs and policy on contraception use.

Mobility, Gender, and Experiences of Familyhood Among Migrant Families in Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe

Migration has a long-standing history in Southern Africa. This paper aims to understand how ongoing contextual transformations due to migration actively shape narratives about families. Specifically, how families and familial relationships have been constructed through the everyday interactions and roles within the family. Through the family histories method, we generated novel data that shows how family accounts transcend normative boundaries of familyhood and how they change in time and across place, which, we argue, are required to understand migrant families. We adopt a multi-sited and gendered approach to gather data from left-behind women in Tsholotsho and migrant men in Johannesburg. The findings show that the meaning of family for left-behind women has remained confined to the normative parameters of kinship, biological, and marital ties. In the past, with husbands and fathers who migrated, families invoked substitute authority in decision-making, where power was conferred onto other men, perpetuating patriarchal dominance and gender inequality. Furthermore, the findings reveal that in the past, while away, migrant men’s family-linking practices were very minimal, limited by distance. For migrant men, migration invoked a reconceptualization of family that differs from the normative assumptions of family composition. These assumptions notwithstanding, migrant men still thrived on maintaining links with their families to retain their dignity and legitimacy.

The Effect of Left-Behind Women on Fertilizer Use: Evidence from China's Rural Households Engaging in Rural-Urban Migration.

Rural-urban migration in developing countries has required left-behind women to assume the role of key decision makers and take increasing responsibility for agricultural production. However, little is known about the effect of rural-urban migration on fertilizer use when left-behind women assume key decision-maker roles. This study highlights the effect of left-behind women on fertilizer use, drawing on nationwide household survey data in China. The results indicate that households with recognized left-behind women heads use less fertilizer than those with recognized men heads, while households with de facto left-behind women heads use more fertilizer. Moreover, the average nexus between households with recognized left-behind women heads whose major agricultural income comes from grain crops and fertilize use is negative but small in size and statistically insignificant. The findings indicate that future policy efforts aimed at decreasing rural environmental degradation should place greater emphasis on left-behind women's empowerment in socioeconomic decision-making within and outside the household, thereby contributing to an environment in which left-behind women farmers can succeed in a sustainable way.

Research on Entrepreneurship and Employment Innovation of Left-behind Women under the Vision of Rural Revitalization

Since General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the rural revitalization strategy in his report to the 19th CPC National Congress, the problem of agriculture, rural areas and farmers has become a fundamental problem related to the national economy and people's livelihood in the country's current social development. Developing rural characteristic industries and broadening the new channels for farmers to increase their income is an important link. With the binary system process for a long time, the rural personnel structure has changed significantly, left-behind women become an important force of rural revitalization, this paper focuses on the minority left-behind women analyzes the rural left-behind women in today's society survival situation and reasons, put forward the development of characteristic handicrafts and develop niche tourism mode, aims to improve the quality of rural women, enhance employment entrepreneurial skills.

Women who do not migrate: Intersectionality, social relations, and participation in Western Nepal

Migration impacts left-behind populations, disrupting established norms of social interaction, participation, and inclusion. In western Nepal, labour migration is common among young men, with implications for household and community participation among those left behind, who are predominately women. In this study, we use mixed methods to examine how labour migration impacts the social inclusion of migrant households, especially, of left-behind women in community groups and activities. For our analysis, we use quantitative survey data from over 3600 households in the Karnali and Mahakali River Basins of western Nepal and qualitative data from 16 focus group discussions and 37 in-depth interviews held in the same region. Our analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in the experiences of women and households left behind by migrants. Women’s opportunities to participate in economic systems such as natural resource user committees and non-governmental organisation trainings are moderated by intersecting identities including gender, caste/ethnicity, kinship, age, and economic status. Young women from nuclear, low caste, and poor households with limited social ties suffer from disadvantaged positions and face restricted access to spaces of participation. Accordingly, left-behind women’s opportunities to benefit from community resources remain dependent on their caste and kinship networks. These findings contribute to ongoing debates on the impacts of migration, and can help inform improved targeting of interventions to advance gender equity in rural Nepal.

Study on the Impact of We Media Work on Rural Women's Employment and Personal Development

Since September 2020, China has launched the "rural web celebrity" cultivation program, calling for more new farmers to return to rural areas for employment, and rural women as more than half of the potential surplus labor force in rural areas, their career intention to a large extent related to rural development. Empirical survey results show that most left-behind rural women in China are unwilling to engage in agricultural production, and prefer to choose jobs with close distance and flexible time. Combined with the empirical survey results and theoretical analysis, it is found that the we-media work is relatively in line with the career intention and living conditions of Chinese rural women, and can play a positive role in women. Therefore, county melting media need to be center of the whole scale media matrix, with the help of the media work to promote the development of rural women non-agricultural employment and suggestions, to help rural online coordinated development of culture communication and assign rural industry revitalization.

Technology empowerment: A path to poverty alleviation for Chinese women from the perspective of development communication

By 2020, China had won a comprehensive victory in poverty alleviation, having completed the largest poverty alleviation task in human history and provided a Chinese solution to poverty alleviation worldwide. From the perspective of development communication and through the case study approach, this paper focuses on the practice of poverty alleviation conducted by Chinese rural left-behind women with the help of Internet technology. Furthermore, the paper summarizes three main forms of women's poverty alleviation, including the model of Internet celebrities using social media to sell local products; the model of the government taking the lead in building an online learning, training and sales platform; and the model combining government guidance, enterprise empowerment and media promotion. This paper explores the paths to poverty alleviation and the sustainable development of poor Chinese women in rural areas. It also provides a reference for the future practice of women's poverty alleviation for developing countries and regions.