Women's coping strategies in the context of male out-migration : a case study of Kaski District, Nepal | |
| Author | Lamichhane, Anupa Rimal |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.GD-08-04 |
| Subject(s) | Women in agriculture--Nepal Rural women--Social conditions--Nepal Rural women--Economic conditions--Nepal Rural men--Nepal |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Gender and Development Studies, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. GD-08-04 |
| Abstract | Nepal has a history of out-migration. There has been enough evidence that especially rural men have out-migrated for various reasons (economic, social, environmental or political) to the urban cities or other countries. The main obvious reason found has been the deteriorating condition of agriculture with low production leading to food insecurity has pushed men to migrate from the three studied villages (Bhurtel Gaon, Lamichhane Gaon and Thapa Goan) of Majthana VDC in Western Nepal. They leave behind their family members at home and send them remittances as another option to agriculture to sustain their livelihood. The left behind women carry the responsibility to manage their household, farm land and the social events in the absence of their husbands. In many cases, they have to move out of their traditional roles and engage themselves in reproductive as well as productive roles to sustain their livelihood. In Nepal women work more hours then men in rural areas and in absence of their husbands their work load increases manifold. This study examines the effects that male out-migration can have on left behind women in a rural setting where agriculture is only seen as a form of livelihood. To get a more holistic picture the study encompasses internal or existing factors like household, farmland or community and external factors like development or community organizations where women are seen to be involved in absence of their husbands. The reason behind taking existing factors and external factors is to provide a more in-depth knowledge on where women are involved and how do they use their networks within to deal with the effect of male out-migration. In the process of sustaining their livelihood these women determine their coping strategies to overcome the issues of low agriculture production, household responsibilities, financial crisis and food shortages among their networks mostly using their entitlements (social capital). Along with that the study also examines the changing gender division of labor by focusing on the new gender roles against the traditional (expected) roles. The study also examines if any external factor actually assist left behind women to form their coping strategies. If not, then the study finds out what benefits do the women get from these types of organizations to overcome the issues that they face as a consequence of male out-migration. This research is based on a mixed method approach where primary and secondary data were collected mostly from the field in Majthana VDC and some supplementary information were gathered from the Kathmandu and Pokhara city. The approach to this research was done at three levels, first was participation observation and studying secondary materials of the area; second was the focused groups discussions and in-depth interviews with the main and key informants and third was the survey to generate generalizations from the migrated households. |
| Year | 2008 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. GD-08-04 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Gender and Development Studies (GD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Resurreccion, Bernadette P.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Schmidt-Vogt, Dietrich;Doneys, Philippe; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | International Development Research Centre (IDRC); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2008 |