Document Type

Post-Print

Publication Date

2009

Subjects

Women -- South Asia, Women foreign workers -- Asia, Women migrant labor -- Asia

Abstract

Nearly a million Sri Lankan women labor as migrant workers, the vast majority in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in West Asia. They are poorly paid and vulnerable to a wide variety of exploitative labor practices at home and abroad. Despite the importance of worker remittances to the national economy, and in spite of Sri Lanka’s history of organized labor and active political participation, migrants have received only anemic support from the state, labor unions, feminist organizations, and migrant-oriented nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The article contextualizes Sri Lankan migration within larger-scale economic dynamics (such as global capitalist policies and processes) and local-level ideological formations (such as local political histories and culturally shaped gender norms). The author argues that political freedoms in destination countries have a significant effect on organizing activities in both host and sending nations. Comparing the Sri Lankan and Philippine situations, the author contends that the vibrant activism in the Philippines correlates with the liberal organizing climates in the EU and in East and Southeast Asia, while the paucity of organizing in Sri Lanka correlate with the strict repression of guest workers in the GCC. Compared to other destinations, the GCC countries give workers (particularly women) less chance for autonomous activities, are less open to labor organizing, and are less responsive to political protest.

Description

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Critical Asian Studies 41(1):61-88. Copyright Taylor & Francis 2009, available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14672710802631152

DOI

10.1080/14672710802631152

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/12423

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