For the Sake of My Family: Sri Lankan Female Return Migrants

Abstract

Of the Sri Lanka labour migrants, over 50% are women and almost 90% work as housemaids and thus is an appropriate setting for a study on female migration. This study is based in Batticoloa, along the East coast of the country. A field study is conducted to determine the compelling reasons for migration, their concerns and priorities, and expectations from migration. It emerged that one of the prime factors relating to migration was the dowry system, which requires a bride to bring along a sum of money/estate with marriage. It is evident from this that migration cannot be explained in pure economic and political terms, but is a combination of inter related factors such as socio cultural, ethnicity, gender and family relationships.