Culture, Health and Sexuality
Volume 21, Issue 6, 2019, Pages 684-700

The (re)productive work of labour migration: the reproductive lives of women with an absent spouse in the central hill region of Nepal (Article)

Hendrickson Z.M.* , Owczarzak J. , Lohani S. , Thapaliya Shrestha B. , Underwood C.R.
  • a Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • b Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • c Independent Research Consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • d Independent Research Consultant, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • e Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States

Abstract

Limited attention has been given to the effects of labour migration on the reproductive lives of women ‘left behind’ as their partners travel for work. Drawing on two rounds of qualitative interviews with 20 women in the central hill region of Nepal, this paper examines how global economic processes that lead Nepali men to travel for work also affect women’s reproductive work, including childrearing and reproductive decision-making. Women understood their husband’s migration to engage in the wage economy as a response to both immediate and long-term goals for their children and family. As a result, such productive work was intrinsically linked to reproductive work. Men’s migration patterns played a pivotal role in reinforcing women’s immediate childrearing roles and affecting whether and when women used a contraceptive method and what methods they considered. During periods of spousal migration, women’s reproductive lives became targets of gossip and rumours as their intimate and reproductive practices and use of remittances were socially monitored. This complex understanding of women’s lived experiences at the nexus of (re)productive work and labour migration can be practically applied to address the reproductive health needs of women with migrant spouses in Nepal. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Author Keywords

Family planning Nepal labour migration reproductive work women ‘left behind’

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85054918740&doi=10.1080%2f13691058.2018.1510546&partnerID=40&md5=d49e29aea4767686a9e83d9125d38bc4
DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2018.1510546
ISSN: 13691058
Original Language: English