The migration and development literature increasingly interrogates the effects of emigration on sociocultural change in the countries of origin, especially in relation to gender relations. Various studies conducted in the context of patriarchal societies have posited that male emigration may result in an empowerment of the women staying behind, with very mixed conclusions. Analysing in‐depth interviews with 12 women living in a southwestern Moroccan town in a region of historic emigration to France, this contribution seeks to further this investigation by considering how migration and remittances impact women's bargaining and decision‐making power within the household left behind. It examines how migration affects what is generally regarded as an enabling factor of women's empowerment, that is, the process of household nuclearisation through which migrants' wives can emancipate themselves from the control of their in‐laws and gain more control over finances. It shows how women's power and status change over time, following the important stages of the domestic cycle and the migratory trajectory of their husbands. This paper distinguishes three “ages” for wives left behind, corresponding to different power configurations in the local and transnational households. In contrast with the empowerment hypothesis, the interviews suggest that migration may actually contribute to the resilience of the traditional extended household structure rather than its demise. Overall, this contribution argues that migration systems predicated on a patriarchal social and family order are unlikely to bring about sustainable women's empowerment in the origin household and community.
Based on a mixed-methods approach using the 2006-2007 Morocco Living Standards Measurement Survey and qualitative interviews, this article examines the distinct roles that international migration and remittances play in female labor force participation (FLFP) in origin-country households and discusses the implications in terms of women's empowerment. We find that having an emigrant among household members increases FLFP for a given household, while receiving remittances decreases it. However, these effects are significant only for unpaid family work, that is, a category of work unlikely to lead to any form of economic empowerment. Although previous studies sometimes hypothesized that emigration could drive gender-sensitive development at origin, the quantitative and fieldwork findings suggest that, while paid work remains a route to female empowerment, predominantly male emigration is unlikely to play a positive role in supporting women's access to income-generating activities in a society characterized by strong patriarchal gender norms and poor job opportunities.
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