Bringing Home the Money: Migration and Poverty in Gender Politics in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Foreign labour Migration constitutes the second largest foreign exchange source in the country, with female migration for domestic labour being a dominant factor in the employment sector. Females have overtaken males in the foreign domestic market and in spite of the economic benefits gained by the country and the families, and the role played by being the main breadwinners in their households, female migrants have not been bestowed the acknowledgment and recognition due to them. Traditional gender relations are partly responsible for this. The author explores this and other aspects of women migration for the overseas market, their impact, traditional concepts and the related social dynamics inherent in society.