Marriage migration, migrant precarity, and social reproduction in Asia: an overview

Abstract

This paper takes as its starting point the multidirectionality and multi-sitedness of change triggered by migration, especially in relation to gender and migrant precarity. More specifically, it interrogates four strands of the gendered migration debate related to marriage migration: various forms of precarity faced by migrant women and their implications in socio-economic and legal terms; changes to family patterns and social reproduction connected to marriage migration; social policies in origin and destination countries and their relevance to women’s unpaid care work duties; and the productive and reproductive functions involved in the creation of a precarity that leads to, and results, from marriage migration. It points to remaining gaps in knowledge and offers ideas for future lines of inquiry into marriage migration in general and in the context of Asia specifically.