preview

Social Impacts Of Housemaid Migration

Powerful Essays
Open Document
The housemaids leave their homes and migrate to the GCC in search of a better life for themselves and their families. This comes with a myriad of social and economic impacts for themselves and their families, and these impacts can be positive or negative. Social impacts can be positive, when there is an increasing involvement of women in decision making. Throughout the housemaids’ period of migration, their chances of decision making increases as they have no one to depend on other than themselves, especially in financial matters and household activities. Improvement in the skills of the migrant is also a positive, as the housemaid is able to become skilled in various ways that she may not have been exposed to in Sri Lanka. The time spent in…show more content…
There is Family disruption that is caused by the separation of parents when the mother goes abroad to work as a domestic worker. This affects every member of the family and their personal development, especially children. Disruption to family life is part and parcel of having one parent migrate to another country, especially for as long as two years, which is the contract period required by the SLFBE. This also leads to Loss of recognition, behavioral changes of children. Children whose mothers are forced to find work in another country, sometimes very soon after giving birth, will not be able to recognize their mother once they come back home. The lack of a mother’s love and attention can cause various deep-rooted impacts later on in life. Any child, infant or toddler or otherwise, whose mother has to leave them behind for a long period will be impacted in a negative way because there is no alternative to the kind of care mothers…show more content…
Land is a commodity that lasts generations and being able to invest in a piece of land and build a home for their children is something that most migrants work toward. Getting out of debt is another common economic factor. Housemaids use their remittances to repay debts which they cannot do easily in Sri Lanka. Remuneration for the work that they do is higher in the gulf, so they are more likely to get rid of their debts faster. However, because of having to repay debts, sometimes accrued by their husband or their parents, some housemaids are not able to achieve other important targets like their children’s education or be able to build a house. The migrant housemaids mostly increase their Household income savings and achieve their objectives by saving a bulk of the money in the country that they are in rather than sending it back home. In general, remittances can raise families out of poverty and enable more expenditure in health care and education for anyone who needs to be educated in the household, so no one will have to work as a labor migrant in the
Get Access
Related
Get Access