The efffects of migration and work on marriage of female garment workers in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of migration and entry into garment work on marriage for young women in Bangladesh. The data comes from a study of female garment workers and their non-working peers conducted in 1996±97 in Bangladesh. In a country where women traditionally do not work in formal employment, and enter arranged marriages soon after puberty, the rapidly expanding garment industry offers scope for social change. The industry employs mainly young women migrating from rural areas. Previous research in Bangladesh and other countries suggests that female migrants maintain ®nancial ties with their families in rural areas for reasons of economic and emotional security. This paper shows that many workers contribute ®nancially to their natal families in order to maintain social networks and maximise security in marriage. Concerns regarding security lead workers to express traditional aspirations for marriage. However, weak social networks and changes in living arrangements and household structure associated with migration often dictate that migrants adopt non-traditional and less secure marriage arrangements.

Staying put and staying poor?

“…For those who live in non-migrating households in sending areas their vulnerability may increase as they become further marginalized and dislocated from their immediate environment which is changing economically and socially as others migrate (see Naved et al, 2001). For example, there may be an increase in wealth and resource differentials as some households benefit through receiving and investing remittances.…”

Delaying child marriage through community-based skills-development programs for girls: Results from a randomized controlled study in rural Bangladesh

“…When women expect to work after marriage, they may argue that the value of their future income stream should be taken into account when bargaining about dowry negotiations with future grooms. Migration to access new work opportunities is an adaptation strategy that has important consequences regarding decisions about the timing of marriage (Naved, Newby, and Amin 2001).…”

Bangladeshi Association for Life skills, Income and Knowledge for Adolescents

“…Labor-force participation rates are considerably lower than rates reported nationally. and Amin 2001) suggest that young women enter the workforce at relatively young ages and migrate for work to urban areas.…”