In Nepal, it is tradition for men to work abroad and support their families back home while the women pray for those abroad. In recent years, the trend has changed and instead, the Nepali women are leaving their families to work in different countries. According to an informational video by U.N. Women (formerly UNIFEM), approximately 420,000 women make large monetary contributions to their families via remittances. As a result of these remittances, some of the Nepali women have seen social change in their private sphere. Much like Vijaya in the video above, women who provide for their families are no longer expected to be confined to the kitchen, instead they are received as honored guests.
With the rise of poverty in Nepal, these women feel the pressure more than ever to provide family survival by finding jobs overseas. Although Nepal women find jobs to support their poverty stricken families, these women are vulnerable to different types of exploitation in their workplace. According to UN Women, sixteen percent of Nepali women return home empty handed after facing exploitation such as forced labor and sexual abuse. Nepali women who are most vulnerable to such harsh exploitation are the ones who are too poor to receive education and job training.
The Nepali women went looking for jobs as cleaners. The women have to seek the lowest level of work, because they lack certain skills and are desperate for any source of income to help support their family. When they would return back home, they were treated with higher respect due to there hard work and higher income. One of the downsides of working as a foreign worker, jobs are not stable and the workers are viewed as disposable. There is no compensation for people who are unemployed. It is a toll on the women migrants, because they have to leave maintain their duties at home and at their foreign job.
Globalization effects everyone on the planet, and the women workers of Nepal are no exception. The following video shows exactly what is happening to these different women, and you might be surprised to learn that it is neither all good or all bad. One of the women talked about in this video has been greatly benefiting from globalization by working abroad for a company and is now her family's main bread winner. This women was fortunate enough to be educated and literate, which very much helped her to be able to take advantage of globalization. However, not all women have been profiting from this new system as the first one has. The next women also tried to work abroad, having to take out a huge loan to move to another country. However, the new job she was given as a cleaner barely paid her living expenses and she was unable to send any money back home to get rid of her large debt. She eventually came back to Nepal with only a massive debt to show for her efforts. This woman was uneducated and illiterate, which probably lead to why she was tricked into a job that was not going to be able to pay her bills. The situation in Nepal is very tricky because some of the women love the new system and are benefiting from it greatly. The Nepal government is trying to come up with a way to compensate the women who lose money working abroad, but this will be extremely hard to finalize and enforce. If you are reading this, think about what is going on around the world and what could possibly be done to help the problems. Just one person with one good idea could possibly better the lives for millions of women across the world.
In order for the women in Nepal to benefit from traveling abroad for work they need to be educated, so they will have a better idea of what they are getting themselves into. If they are not literate, it would be helpful for them to have someone who is literate explain what each contract is saying, so they know what they are agreeing to. That would help keep the women safe. They need to know what jobs they are signing up for and what conditions they will be living in, and how long they are required to work. The country needs to have some program that is helping these women when they travel to other countries.
The Nepali women went looking for jobs as cleaners. The women have to seek the lowest level of work, because they lack certain skills and are desperate for any source of income to help support their family. When they would return back home, they were treated with higher respect due to there hard work and higher income. One of the downsides of working as a foreign worker, jobs are not stable and the workers are viewed as disposable. There is no compensation for people who are unemployed. It is a toll on the women migrants, because they have to leave maintain their duties at home and at their foreign job.
Globalization effects everyone on the planet, and the women workers of Nepal are no exception. The following video shows exactly what is happening to these different women, and you might be surprised to learn that it is neither all good or all bad. One of the women talked about in this video has been greatly benefiting from globalization by working abroad for a company and is now her family's main bread winner. This women was fortunate enough to be educated and literate, which very much helped her to be able to take advantage of globalization. However, not all women have been profiting from this new system as the first one has. The next women also tried to work abroad, having to take out a huge loan to move to another country. However, the new job she was given as a cleaner barely paid her living expenses and she was unable to send any money back home to get rid of her large debt. She eventually came back to Nepal with only a massive debt to show for her efforts. This woman was uneducated and illiterate, which probably lead to why she was tricked into a job that was not going to be able to pay her bills. The situation in Nepal is very tricky because some of the women love the new system and are benefiting from it greatly. The Nepal government is trying to come up with a way to compensate the women who lose money working abroad, but this will be extremely hard to finalize and enforce. If you are reading this, think about what is going on around the world and what could possibly be done to help the problems. Just one person with one good idea could possibly better the lives for millions of women across the world.
In order for the women in Nepal to benefit from traveling abroad for work they need to be educated, so they will have a better idea of what they are getting themselves into. If they are not literate, it would be helpful for them to have someone who is literate explain what each contract is saying, so they know what they are agreeing to. That would help keep the women safe. They need to know what jobs they are signing up for and what conditions they will be living in, and how long they are required to work. The country needs to have some program that is helping these women when they travel to other countries.
I agree that these women should have no exception to globalization. The way that they are trying to survive should be looked at in a positive way, they are trying their best and they shouldn't get punished for it. I think that education would help these women tremendously. If they knew the english language they could succeed much more because they know what the jobs would be and its benefits. And i agree that a program for these women would hlep them travel to other countries and get the opportunity to broaden their lives.
ReplyDeleteNecessity drives these women to make these bold decisions. To call it life-changing is the most apt way to put the work and migration involved. However, as is well put in the blog post, it's a double edge sword. Because while several women can succeed, whether by opportunity or education, some come back without the answers or money they sought. It's an ever-changing world out there, and education is incredibly important. I find myself conflicted slightly over this issue. Clearly Nepal is not one of the many countries who have experienced an increase in foreign-acquired labor, such as India. In a way, these Nepalese women are coming to take jobs. In theory, they're possibly taking the job from a native of that nation who is just as desperate for work. On the opposite end is the theory that said women and/or men don't want those jobs, that they aren't worth it or are too degrading. But as there are many facets and sides to society, I find it hard to believe that any nation is lacking in people needing a job, however low-paying. a double-edged sword indeed. In the end, these women are moving outside of their former perceived roles and taking their lives and society in their own hands. That's to be admired.
ReplyDeleteMuch like the great Chinese migration to California, particularly the Bay area, women and men were forced into taking two totally seperate types of jobs. The Chinese women much like the women of Nepal were forced to work sex trade and housekeeping jobs while the men were forced laborers. There seems to be a constant trend with migrant workers regardless of era or time. I do feel that the change in the Nepal culture is a step in the right direction. Women empowering themselves and taking jobs abroad instead of just staying home and praying helps other women in poverty stricken countries see change in attainable.
ReplyDeleteI thought this video was very insightful. As sociology major I think the cultural shift that is taking/has taken place in Nepal regarding women and men in relationship to work is very interesting. In the beginning, it was the men who were leaving and working abroad to care for their family. Now, women have taken it upon themselves to also become contributors to the household income by going out and searching for jobs. As soon as the community and their families begin to realize this, they gained respect. I think that this is a trend not just for women from Nepal, but overall for most women migrants. In the "Why Migration Matters" reading, Khalid Koser describes the "feminization of migration". This refers to the increasing numbers of women migrating abroad in search of jobs, or perhaps marriage. Like the video mentioned about 420,000 women send remittances back home which definitely has a huge impact on their society. I do think globalization has had a positive impact and allowed women to make contributions to their families, but I also think that it comes with a risk. Most of these migrant women from Nepal are illiterate, uneducated, and poor making them easy prey for exploitation. Some of these women don’t realize the dangers until it is too late. Another negative impact globalization may have perhaps on a more individual scale is in regards to the women’s family back home. A woman working in another country may contribute positively in the form of sending remittances every month, but they are missing out on spending quality time with their family. An example of this is from the reading called Global Women: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy. Josephine Perrera is a nanny from Sri Lanka that works in Athens, Greece. The reading goes on to explain that while she has a close relationship with the little girl she takes care of in Athens, the relationship between her and her own three children back in Sri Lanka is distant. I do agree with Daniel that globalization is like a double edged sword sometimes.
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