The Pros And Cons Of Female Migration

Internal female migration is an essential and inevitable component of the economic and social life of the country, given regional imbalances and labour shortages, and safe migration should be promoted to maximize its benefits. Internal migration of females is an important factor influencing socio-economic development of the country as it has greater potential for reducing poverty, bringing about social change and also meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Several studies indicate that until recently, migration was dominated by single men (de Haan 2000). But more and more women are migrating for work now and not just as accompanying spouses. This so-called “autonomous female migration” has increased because of a greater demand for female

It recognizes that the relative control over resources exercised by men and women has a significant and often gender differentiated impact on family consumption and expenditure. But it has not adequately accounted for the fact that households, like workplaces, can be sites of inequitable decision-making in many cultures. Gender inequality can permeate the decision, process and impacts of migration, as well as the networks and support systems that play a key role at all stages of migration (UNGA, 2004). But migration can also help reconfigure gendered relations, particularly by offering more women the opportunity to enter the global labour market.

Migration can result from poverty, but it is not always the poorest who migrate, because of the costs and opportunities involved (World Bank, 2005). And poverty may result from migration, both for the migrants in destination locations and the families left behind, often mostly affecting women and children. At the same time, female migration can indirectly help alleviate poverty by raising the productivity, education and health of the females and their families, all key to reducing inequality and poverty in the