doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00763.

Gendering Migrant Remittances: Evidence from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates
Md Mizanur Rahman*

ABSTRACT
In this study, I explore gender dimensions of remittances under conditions of temporary migration in Asia. This research argues that migrant remittances are inuenced by not only gender but also the context of the remittances, and that both should be integrated and elaborated to capture the complexity of remittances and their development dynamics. On the basis of surveys of 150 migrants in the United Arab Emirates and 100 migrant households in Bangladesh, in this study I examine gender dimensions of remittances by linking both sending and receiving points and elaborating on four sites of remittances, where gender matters signicantly: (i) the sending process, (ii) the receipt process, (iii) the use and control of remittances and, nally, (iv) the implications for the migrant households. The study reveals several gender-differentiated patterns in remittance behaviour. Female migrants remit a greater share of their earnings than their male counterparts; they prefer sisters to brothers and other family members to husbands, while men prefer brothers to sisters and fathers to wives and, interestingly, it was males, rather than females, who remitted more to females. Women have more control over remittances than men: in the migrantspouse remittance route, more regular contact, and consultation and negotiation about management of remittances, are reported. Women show more interest in savings than men: womens remittances tend to be invested in human capital and those of male recipients in physical capital; more females play the role of principal economic providers for the families than their male counterparts.

INTRODUCTION
There has been a growing recognition that gender is an important factor in the migration process, as almost 50 per cent of the worlds migrants are female (Donato et al., 2006; Piper, 2006, 2008; Willis and Yeoh, 2000). Particularly in Asia, the feminization of labour migration has become a pervasive phenomenon (Esim and Smith, 2004; Gamburd, 2002; IOM, 2004; Shah, 2004): during the period from 1990 to 2005, for instance, the number of migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states increased from 9 million to an estimated 13 million, 29 per cent of which were females (Dito, 2008: 7). Of the many other signicant

* Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore 2012 The Author International Migration 2012 IOM International Migration ISSN 0020-7985

Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

Rahman

issues associated with international migration, remittances are of particular importance (Hugo, 2004: 90). In 2011, ofcially recorded remittance ows to developing countries exceeded $350 billion and the growth of remittance ows to developing countries is expected to reach $441 billion by 2014 (Mohapatra et al., 2011: 1). This unparalleled growth in international remittances has drawn the attention of states, international organizations and nancial institutions. In recent years, research on remittances has also gained momentum, resulting in a mushrooming of scientic literature in this area (for a review, see Adams et al., 2009). Existing studies on remittances tend to address remittances and development in developing countries. The questions that frequently appear in the current literature are: (i) how to facilitate remittance transfers; and (ii) how to leverage the development potential of remittances in the developing world. To answer these questions, the current literature often focuses on either the sending side or the receiving side of remittances. Gender impacts upon the process of remittances, but a stark lacuna in the current wave of remittance research is the lack of reference to gender. In addition to gender, the nature of migration also inuences the trends and impacts of remittances at the household level. In fact, migrant remittances and their implications for development vary greatly from temporary to permanent migration, unskilled to skilled migration, and SouthSouth migration to SouthNorth migration (Portes, 2009). Broadly, this is what Portes and Borocz called the context of exit and the context of reception (Portes and Borocz, 1989). For example, a general analysis of remittances without reference to contexts and gender processes may mislead us, as motivations and implications of remittances from labour-hiring countries, such as the GCC countries, are supposedly different from those from Western countries, where the predominant form of migration is permanent settlement. The GCC countries are considered within the context of SouthSouth labour migration, in which one of the basic motives for migrating is to send remittances to the family in the home country (Piper, 2005: 12). Therefore, any research on remittances should consider gender and the temporary nature of migration, especially in the Asian migration context. In particular, in this study I examine the gender dimensions of remittances in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Bangladesh remittance corridor by linking both the sending and the receiving ends and elaborating on four sites of remittances where gender matters signicantly: (i) the sending process, (ii) the receipt process, (iii) the use and control of remittances and, nally, (iv) the implications for development dynamics in the migrant households. In the context of remittance sending, the study scrutinizes gender and incomes, savings and remittances. In the context of remittance receiving, the research investigates the gender of recipients of remittances, remittance control, remittance use and their implications for development dynamics. It is in this broader context of gender dimensions of remittances that this research is advanced. This is indeed a relatively new methodological perspective in the study of gender and remittances, as we will see in the next section. Despite the status of the GCC countries as one of the largest receiving regions in the world for temporary labour, migrant labour in the region is seriously under-studied. There have been hardly any attempts to link Asian labour-sending countries and the GCC countries, let alone a gendered study of remittance behaviour. Therefore, this study is one of the rst to research gender and remittances in a GCC country. To set the scene, this paper is located conceptually within the ongoing debate on gendered remittances. The imperative nature of this study also lies in the fact that although we are sufciently informed about the macro-ows of remittances to sending countries, especially the size of formal remittances, we know little about the micro-patterns of remittances and their implications across gender lines, insights into which this study promises to offer. Placing the remittance process within the household context enables a deeper understanding of the effects of remittances, since what may prove to be advantageous at the national level may prove to

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

be detrimental at the household level, or vice versa. Although macro-level approaches to migration outcomes provide us with a great deal of information about national patterns and outcomes, they are unable to shed light on what remittances mean for migrant families. Since migrant remittances or family remittances that is, transfer of money from individual migrants to their families back home in the sending countries (Goldring, 2004: 833) are private money, a household family perspective on remittances is more desirable. Moreover, a sound understanding of the micro-level processes is particularly important, because they make up the macro-level ows of remittances and the resultant developmental outcomes. In the rst section I elaborate on conceptual issues related to gender and remittance process, and this is followed by the second section on data sources and background information about respondents, and a discussion of Bangladesh labour migration to the UAE. The main emphases of the subsequent sections are the contexts of remittance sending and remittance receiving from the perspective of gender. In the nal section, I summarize the ndings with a focus on gender-differentiated patterns of sending, receipt, use and control of remittances, and their implications for the development dynamics of the migrant households.

CONCEPTUALIZING GENDER AND REMITTANCES UNDER CONDITIONS OF TEMPORARY MIGRATION

Gender is a crucial factor in our understanding of the causes and consequences of international migration (Piper, 2008: 1). However, despite the growing interest in gender and migration in the past decade, a transnational space, where gender matters but which has not been so thoroughly explored to date is remittances (Mahler and Pessar, 2006: 44). There have been very few studies that disaggregate remittances by the sex of remitters and recipients; therefore, little empirical evidence exists on whether or not gender matters in the remittance process, especially in the ability to remit, control over the remitted cash, and the use and development outcomes of remittances at the family level. Gender impacts upon the amount of money remitted, the recipients of remittances and the uses of remittances in the development of the country of origin (see Nyberg-Srensen, 2005). Currently, there are two strands of literature that explore differences in the remittance behaviour of women and men and the likely impact of these differences (Amuedo-Dorantes and Pozo, 2006; King et al., 2006; Osaki, 1999; Rahman and Lian, 2009). One of these strands investigates the prevalence of gender inuences in the share of income remitted to the family of origin by examining the behaviour of migrants in the sending areas. The other focuses on the impact of gender on remittances by studying data from remittance-receiving households. Some relevant issues that demand investigation in the context of sending are those that are impacted by gender, such as earnings, savings, local expenses and the transfer of remittances. Similar issues in the context of remittance receiving are the gender of the recipients of remittances, remittance control, areas of near-past use of remittances, areas of near-future (potential) use of remittances and the implications for development dynamics in the households. These issues are not only interrelated but also cut across gender lines. An important area of investigation in the context of the development potential of remittances is investment behaviour. Much of the literature on remittances and development has focused on whether remittances were used on productive investment or consumption (for a review, see Papademetriou and Martin, 1991). The dominant assumption on migrant remittances is that they are mostly used for recurrent family expenses as income and for consumption (de Haas, 2005). However, there is a growing dissatisfaction with the economic concepts of productive and non-productive use of remittances (Piper, 2009) and the use

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Rahman

of the two terms in the current literature. Thus, some scholars use the terms physical capital and human capital instead (Salomone, 2006). Piper argues that both physical and human capital investment contribute to social development; for example, in the areas of health, education, gender equality and democratization, and so on (Piper, 2009). It is in this social development context that this research is advanced. The social development potential of remittances is particularly relevant in the Asian temporary labour migration context, where families are left behind. Specic labour migration programmes and policies in Asian countries are designed to ensure that the unskilled migrant worker returns to his or her country of origin, through such means as not allowing family members to accompany or visit the worker, tying migrants to a single employer, disallowing them from marrying citizens and enforcing other restrictions on their rights and movements (Hugo, 2004; Lian and Rahman, 2006; Shah, 2004). However, with the maturation of this form of labour migration in Asia, some labour-receiving countries, such as the GCC countries, have already undertaken a life-cycle approach to migrant workers, which involves an extended period of employment with leave for family reunion, and skills tests and recognition of working experiences to provide a basis for wage increments. Given this migration policy outcome, any study on remittances should also consider these new developments in Asia. In recent years, there have no doubt been some attempts to address gender and remittances. In East and South-East Asia, a few studies have attempted to analyse some aspects of the gender dimensions of remittances (Curran, 1995; Osaki, 2003; Semyonov and Gorodzeisky, 2005). However, many of these studies examine internal remittances, while those that study international remittances mostly focus on either the sending or the receiving points. Available studies such as these provide fascinating insights into different aspects of gendered remittances. On the sending side, a frequent nding is that women are the more consistent remitters; they send larger amounts, and they do so more regularly than men (Semyonov and Gorodzeisky, 2005). On the receiving side, those who receive and spend remittances are usually the mothers or other female relatives of remitting female migrants (Momsen, 1999; Rahman and Lian, 2009). What is more interesting with regard to the control of remittances is that while management of this income lies in the hands of the mothers, its disposal is often at the discretion of the daughters (Elmhirst, 2002; Rahman and Lian, 2009). With regard to the gendered use of remittances, women have been reported to channel remittances into better health, education and nutrition for the family, thereby supporting the development of stronger and more productive communities (Nyberg-Srensen, 2005; Piper, 2005). This research sheds light on some of these ndings in the context of the UAEBangladesh remittance corridor.

DATA SOURCES
This paper stems from research commissioned by IOM Dhaka on gender and remittances among Bangladeshi migrants in the UAE. Although migrants live and work in different and distant geographical locations, they continue to participate in family decision-making and the familial pooling of resources with far-away relatives. Therefore, this study relies on two-way surveys. The importance of two-way remittance surveys lies in their potential to offer details about all sites of remittances sending, receipt, use and control, and development potential. The eldwork was conducted in Bangladesh as well as the UAE, a destination country of signicance in terms of the numbers of Bangladeshi migrants and the resultant remittance inows to Bangladesh. Fifty female migrant workers and 100 male migrant workers in the UAE were interviewed face-to-face between June and August 2009. Migrants who had stayed

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

in the UAE for 1 year and remitted regularly to their households were selected for interviews to get a clear view of the trends in the gender dimension of remittances. The two-way surveys were complemented by participant observations and focus group discussions. Access to Bangladeshi female migrants was made possible by several gatekeepers: a number of refusals from female migrants were encountered, and agreement was usually only reached when absolute condentiality was repeatedly assured. In general, surveys on remittances include questions on the amounts and uses of remittances. Researchers who collect such data are often confronted with discrepancies between the actual amount of remittances used and the amount reported to the interviewers. Naturally, migrant workers and households may be uncomfortable reporting the amounts and uses of remittances to outsiders. The reporting of inated or inaccurate amounts is common, as most migrants and households do not maintain daily records of use. Given the sensitivity of the questions and the potential for biased responses, I have employed an alternative way of collecting information on remittance use. Since I am primarily interested in pinpointing preferential expenditures so that trends can be captured and used as a baseline, I have identied areas of remittance use, especially where expenditures are recurrent even when the amount is negligible, such as in expenditure on everyday necessities. I asked respondents to list up to ve major areas of remittance use in the near past and the near future. The documenting of priorities and timelines in remittance use can capture the dynamics of remittance use under conditions of temporary migration. This alternative method of collecting information on the use of remittances is expected to generate more accurate data. Around 50 per cent of the male and female migrants were between the ages of 25 and 30 (Table 1). All of the female migrants were less than 40 years old, while a smaller percentage of the male migrants were above this age. In general, more married females had a tendency to migrate relative to their male counterparts, as 68 per cent of the females were married, compared to only 51 per cent of the males. Given the cultural behaviour patterns in Bangladeshi society, this nding is not surprising, as female members of the family usually enjoy freedom of physical mobility after marriage. On average, the size of the female migrant households was 4.97 and that of the male migrant households was 4.95, while the average household size at the national level is 4.8. 1 Most migrants went to school for a good number of years, but the male migrants tended to possess higher qualications than the female migrants. Only 8 per cent of the female migrants had passed the secondary school certicate, compared to 48 per cent of the male migrants. The male migrants had also worked in the UAE for a longer period relative to their female counterparts. Among the surveyed migrants, 59 per cent of the male migrants and 10 per cent of the female migrants had been working in the UAE for 4 years or more. In terms of type of occupation, 90 per cent of the female migrants were cleaners, 8 per cent were domestic workers and 2 per cent were private car drivers. Male migrants worked as construction workers, cleaners, agricultural workers, salesmen, tailors, drivers and in a wide variety of other occupations (ofce caretakers, electricians, rent-a-car washmen, painters, carpenters and so on). About half of the male migrants interviewed were working as construction workers and salesmen. However, 78 per cent of the female migrants and 52 per cent of the male migrants had not been involved in any income-generating activity in Bangladesh prior to migration to the UAE. The second phase of the research in Bangladesh went much more smoothly in terms of access to interviewees. A questionnaire survey was carried out among selected 50 UAE female and male migrant households in Bangladesh, which were selected on the basis of the following criteria: (i) they had to have female or male migrants presently working in the UAE; (ii) their migrant members in the UAE must have been working for a period of 1 year or more; and (iii) their migrant members must have remitted to their families during this

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Rahman

TABLE 1 SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE UAE, 2009 Female migrants, n = 50 (%) Male migrants, n = 100 (%) Female migrants, n = 50 (%) Male migrants, n = 100 (%)

Major categories Age of migrants 2025 2530 3035 3540 40 and above Missing data Marital status Married Unmarried Missing data Religion Muslim Hindu Christian Missing data Level of education 15 years 610 years SSC HSC Graduate No schooling Missing data Principal economic providers for families Migrants Others in the family Missing data

Major categories Occupation prior to migration Unemployed Student Garments industry Agriculture Business Other economic activities Occupation in UAE Cleaner Driver Domestic worker Construction worker Agricultural worker Salesman Tailor Other Number of family members Less than 3 45 68 910 11 and above Missing data Duration of stay in UAE 12 years

14 50 32 4 3 68 32 96 2 2 58 24 4 4 6 4

10 51 16 9 3 11 51 48 1 96 3 1 19 32 30 12 6 1

68 10 6 16 90 2 8 26 46 16 12 42

17 35 16 13 19 25 5 7 5 24 10 24 28 38 23 3 8 3

62 34 4

43 57

24 years 46 years 6 years and above

48 6 4

38 17 42

period. An interview schedule comprising both structured and unstructured questions was surveyed among the recipients of the remittances in the selected migrant households, so that the ndings would reect the actual uses of remittances across gender lines. In the household survey, most members interviewed were above 40 years of age. In the surveyed households, 52 per cent of the female migrants in the female migrant households had been working in the UAE for 3 years or more, and 70 per cent of the male migrants in the male migrant households had been working in the UAE for between 1 and 3 years. According to the household survey, only 42 per cent of the female migrants were married, compared to 58 per cent of the male migrants. What is interesting is that 40 per cent of the female migrants were divorced or widowed, while there were no divorcees or widowers in the male migrant sample. Fifty-two per cent of the female migrants and 56 per cent of the male migrants had children left behind. I acknowledge that the duration of the eldwork was limited by nancial and time constraints, and that this precluded more in-depth eldwork in certain areas.

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

BANGLADESHI LABOUR MIGRATION TO THE UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven emirates, became an independent nation in 1971 and within a short period of time, oil has made the federation one of the richest countries in the world. Under the leadership of its founding leader, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the UAE enjoyed political stability and a pragmatic public policy framework. The UAE has taken the lead in developing a life-cycle approach to migrant workers, which involves government-to-government cooperation to deal with recruitment, work abroad, preparation for return and the reintegration of guest workers. In its move towards active bilateral cooperation with labour-sending countries, the UAE has signed at least ve Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to date, with Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (Khonder, 2008). An MOU signed with Bangladesh in May 2007 aims at protecting Bangladeshi migrants from being overcharged by agents in both countries. Bangladesh is a major labour emigrant country (Moses, 2009): the number of migrants leaving Bangladesh averaged 250,000 a year between 2001 and 2005, rose to almost 400,000 in 2006 and doubled to 832,600 in 2007. The numbers for Bangladeshi labour migration to the UAE have been on the rise since 2006 (Figure 1). There is no accurate data on the total number of Bangladeshi migrants in the UAE, as the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the government body in charge of monitoring emigration from Bangladesh, does not maintain records of returnees. According to one source, about 700,000 Bangladeshi migrants were working in the UAE in 2007 (Migration News, 2007). A signicant number of Bangladeshi women have emigrated to the GCC states for work. However, until recently, many women from Bangladesh were not even legally permitted to migrate abroad for work. In 1997, the government banned the expatriation of all unskilled and semi-skilled female labour, following increasing reports of exploitation and abuse of Bangladeshi nationals overseas. The government relaxed the ban later, in response to feedback from many organizations that the ban increased the risk of trafcking of women, and nally revoked it in 2003. The government now stipulates a number of mandatory forms of protection for female labour, including training courses to educate women about cultural and
FIGURE 1 BANGLADESHI LABOUR MIGRATION TO THE UAE, 19762009
450,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0
88 94 96 98 78 84 90 00 02 06 20 76 80 82 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 19 19 19 20 08 86 92 04

Source: Prepared from data found on the government website http://probashi.gov.bd (accessed March 2010).

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Rahman

working conditions abroad, and requires recruiting agencies to compensate female workers in the event of exploitation or lost wages. The data on female migration from Bangladesh is scarce and the ofcial estimates often belie the reality, mainly due to the undocumented nature of migration. Although Bangladeshi female migrants are spread over 21 countries worldwide, their representation is negligible compared with other countries in Asia. Ofcially, only 17,784 women migrated between 1991 and 2003, less than 1 per cent of the total labour migration during that period (Ullah, 2007). According to recent BMET2 statistics, 124,273 female migrants went abroad for work between 1991 and 2009 and for the UAE alone, the gure for the same period was 35,630. In 2009, 6,095 females went to the UAE for work. They work primarily in the cleaning sector, in domestic work and in the manufacturing sector. The amounts of annual remittances from the UAE have concomitantly increased steadily since 1991, due to the growth of the Bangladeshi migrant population over the period. According to the central bank of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Bank, Bangladeshi migrants remitted US$6,382.44 million from the UAE between 1991 and 2008 (Figure 2).

GENDER DIMENSIONS OF REMITTANCE SENDING

Incomes, savings and remittances Table 2 presents migrants incomes, savings, local expenses and remittances across gender lines. Ninety-four per cent of females earned wages of between AED 500 and AED 700 (US$137190),3 while 84 per cent of males earned above AED 700 (US$190). The average earnings were AED 786 (US$214) for females and AED 1,383 (US$376) for males, indicating that a male migrants wage was 1.75 times higher than that of a female migrant. However, given the small sample size and differential occupations for male and female migrants, it is not possible to directly establish any gender inequality of wages. However, some female and
FIGURE 2 INFLOWS OF REMITTANCES FROM THE UAE TO BANGLADESH, 19912009 SOURCE: COMPILED FROM DATA FOUND IN VARIOUS BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT

2,000 1,800 1,600

US$ Millions

1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200

20081991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Sources: http://www.bmet.org.bd/report.html (accessed 3 May 2012) and http://www.bangladesh-bank.org/ econdata/wagermidtl.php (accessed 3 May 2012).

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

TABLE 2 MONTHLY EARNINGS AND SAVINGS, AND REMITTANCES PER TRANSFER BY GENDER IN THE UAE, 2009 Female migrant workers, n = 50 Amounts (AED) 300500 500700 700900 9001,100 1,1001,300 1,3001,500 Above 1,500 Missing data Mean Monthly earnings (%) 2 94 4 AED 786 (US$214 monthly earnings) Monthly savings (%) 96 4 AED 498 (US$136 and 51.95% of earnings) Remittances per transfer (%) 14 10 0 32 2 10 32 AED 1,691 (US$460 and 2.15 times earnings) Male migrant workers, n = 100 Monthly earnings (%) 1 15 19 13 13 10 28 AED 1,383 (US$376 monthly earnings) Monthly savings (%) 23 18 20 9 9 11 8 1 AED 944 (US$257 and 68.23% of earnings) Remittances per transfer (%) 3 24 6 14 9 1 43 AED 2,018 (US$550 and 1.46 times earnings)

male migrants reported differential wages for the same occupation, especially in the cleaning sector. With regard to monthly savings, 96 per cent of the females saved only between AED 300 and 500 (US$82 and US$137), while 77 per cent of males saved more than AED 700 (US$191) in a month. Average monthly savings for females and males were AED 498 (US$136) and AED 944 (US$257), respectively. Thus, a female migrant saved almost 52 per cent of her earnings, while a male migrant saved 68 per cent of his earnings in a month. In other words, the ratio of savings of females to those of males was 1:1.89. However, the differential saving rates are due to the fact that male migrants had the capability to save more since they earned more. The average monthly expenses for men and women were also investigated in order to identify the existence of any gender-differentiated patterns in local expenses. The average monthly expenses were AED 291 (US$80) for females and AED 414 (US$112) for males, indicating that female migrants spent less per month than their male counterparts, so that they could save more from their comparatively low wages. In other words, women were in fact more frugal than men with regard to local expenses. As it is not a common practice among migrant workers throughout Asia to remit every month because of high remittance fees, it is not possible to offer a monthly remittance gure. Considering the general pattern of remittances, this study investigates remittance behaviour in the 3 months before the period of interview. On average, a female migrant remitted AED 1,691 (US$460) during her last remittance, while a male migrant remitted AED 2,018 (US$550). Thus, it is clear that female migrants remitted less than male migrants in terms of the total amount of remittances. However, when the proportions of wages and remittances are considered, an interesting trend surfaces in that, despite their lower wages, females tended to remit more than males in terms of the share of wages remitted. On average, a female migrant remitted an amount 2.15 times her monthly wages, while a male migrant remitted 1.46 times his monthly wages. This eld evidence on the sending of remittances fully supports ndings from other remittance surveys reported earlier in this paper. Overall, migrants tended to remit almost regularly irrespective of gender. Seventy-eight per cent of females remitted once or twice in 3 months, compared to 65 per cent of males, with a

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

10

Rahman

small percentage even remitting once every month. Thus, women tended to maintain more frequent economic contact with their left-behind families than men did. However, this could also be due to the fact that female migrants remitted relatively smaller amounts than their male counterparts, and thus had to remit more frequently to provide economic support for their families back home; while males, on the other hand, probably did not need to do so. Channels of remittances Remittance channels constitute an important part of remittances. Broadly, we can identify two types of funds transfer channels used by migrants globally: formal and informal channels. Within formal channels, the institutions involved in money transfers are supervised by government agencies and laws that determine their creation, characteristics, operations and closure (APEC, 2003: 3). In general, formal systems include banks, postal services, money transfer operators (MTOs) and other wire transfer services and card-based money transfers (credit and debit cards). By contrast, an informal funds transfer channel exists and operates outside of (or parallel to) conventional regulated banking and nancial channels (Buencamino and Gorbunov, 2002: 1). Among informal fund transfers, hundi is a popular informal funds transfer system among Bangladeshi migrant workers in the UAE. The hundi is informal but highly organized, and reliability, credibility and efciency are essential ingredients to hundi business. In hundi, there is almost no fee for remittances. Rahman and Yeoh argue that the hundiwalas (operators of hundi) often enjoy non-economic pay-offs in terms of increased social status and power in the migrants communities of origin, over and above economic prots resulting from the social bases of sustainability of the system (Rahman and Yeoh, 2008). The use of remittance channels also varies along gender lines. All of the female migrants remitted through formal channels, with an exception of 2 per cent who used both formal and informal channels. In the case of male migrants, 67 per cent used only formal channels, 15 per cent used only informal channels and 18 per cent used both formal and informal channels. There were no cases of females using solely informal channels. In other words, 33 per cent of the males used both informal and formal channels compared with 2 per cent of the females. Thus, females had a greater tendency than males to remit through formal channels. One of the principal reasons why female migrants use formal channels is to avoid the male contact that is necessary when patronizing the hundis services. Most female migrants are aware of the fact that migration signies a threat to womens virtue and thus the honour of the family (Dannecker, 2009). To most male migrants, female migration is still not a desired act and female migrants are perceived negatively, as women who lead a loose lifestyle. Caught in such a social stigma, females usually avoid Bangladeshi males and male gathering places such as the popular Sunday afternoon venues in the various parts of the cities. Nevertheless, this does not mean that female migrants live in complete isolation, as they have their own networks and parallel recreational spots, usually on the premises of shopping malls. On Sundays, Bangladeshi women can be seen in these shopping malls mingling with other women from Bangladesh.

GENDER DIMENSIONS OF REMITTANCE RECEIVING

Recipients of remittances As recipients are usually entrusted with the management of remittances, the gender of recipients is crucial for an in-depth understanding of remittances and family dynamics. Thus both

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

11

TABLE 3 RECIPIENTS OF REMITTANCES BY GENDER: MIGRANT HOUSEHOLD AND MIGRANT WORKER SURVEYS, 2009 Migrant household survey in Bangladesh, n = 100 Identity of recipients of remittances Father Spouse Mother Sister Brother Others Sex of recipients Male Female Female migrant households, n = 50 (%) 42 22 14 14 4 4 78 22 Male migrant households, n = 50 (%) 46 24 20 2 6 2 56 44 Migrant worker survey in UAE, n = 150 Female migrant, n = 50 (%) 38 28 16 6 8 4 78 22 Male migrant, n = 100 (%) 40 26 12 4 15 3 57 43

surveys noted the gender of the remittance recipients (Table 3). In the household survey in Bangladesh, the largest group of remittance recipients was the fathers of both the female and the male migrant workers. Married female and male migrants also preferred remitting to fathers rather than to spouses. While 42 per cent of the female migrants and 58 per cent of the male migrants were married, only 22 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, of their spouses were recipients. Female migrants tended to remit to their sisters while male migrants did so to their brothers. Interestingly, more male migrants than females chose to remit to their mothers. In short, 78 per cent and 22 per cent of female migrants remitted to male and female members, respectively, while 56 per cent and 44 per cent of male migrants remitted to male and female members of the family, respectively. The migrant worker survey in the UAE also revealed similar trends. The largest group receiving remittances was fathers. Although 68 per cent of the female migrants were married, only 28 per cent of the remittance recipients were their husbands. Similarly, 51 per cent of the male migrants were married but only 26 per cent of the recipients were their wives. As in the household survey, the migrant worker survey also revealed that more female migrants than male migrants tended to remit to their male family members; 78 per cent and 22 per cent of the females remitted to male and female members respectively, while 57 per cent and 43 per cent of the males chose to remit to male and female family members respectively. Some trends in remittance receiving are as follows. First, females preferred remitting to fathers than to mothers, and brothers to sisters (the differences are minimal), while male migrants preferred fathers to mothers, and brothers to sisters. Second, it was the males, rather than the females, who remitted to female family members. Third, migrants fathers were the largest recipients of remittances. Fourth, a good portion of the married female and male migrants preferred their parents to spouses. Fifth, more female migrants than male migrants tended to remit to male family members. Sixth and nally, more males than females chose to remit to their mothers. These ndings are different from those of other countries, in which the status of women is relatively higher. For example, Rahman and Kwen Fee (2009) found different trends in their study in Central Java, Indonesia. They reported more female recipients than male recipients in their ndings, conrming the general assumption that the

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

12

Rahman

mother, or another female relative of a remitting female migrant, usually receives the remittances (Momsen, 1999). However, the status of Javanese women needs clarication here. In comparison with women in other countries in the region, such as Bangladesh, women in Java are thought to have high status because of their ability to control their own movements, outside the village and the market-place, to control earned income and to own property (Wolf, 1992). Studies on Javanese women often portray them as independent, economically autonomous and equal, if not superior, to their husbands (Jay, 1969; cited in Elmhirst, 2002). Remittance receiving is skewed towards males and this should be understood in terms of the patriarchal family system in Bangladesh. The patriarchal system is a huge topic involving both regional variations as well as complex dynamics of change across classes, generations, social upbringing and the ruralurban continuum. This paper thus does not go into detail about the patriarchal family system and its system of gender relations. However, the status of Bangladeshi rural women needs clarication here. Women in rural Bangladesh are perceived as low in status because of their ability to move freely outside the village and in the market-place. In terms of the general status of Bangladeshi women, studies have portrayed them as dependent and economically unequal (Kabeer, 2000; Wood, 1994). On the other hand, it has been well documented in several studies over the years that senior male family members enjoy high status in the rural Bangladeshi household, exercising control over daily nances and having a decisive voice in any expenditure or borrowing of capital (Rahman, 2009; Rozario, 1992). These familial and cultural patterns, which have ramications on the receipt of remittances, are thus crucial to our understanding of the gendered receipt of remittances. Remittance control In the patriarchal family in the developing world, persons who earn may not hold the sole authority for spending the earnings, as different traditional actors come to intervene in family resource allocations (King et al., 2006). Therefore, in this study I examined who controlled remittances, whose wishes were prioritized and what role remittances played for the recipients of remittances in the decision-making process. In response to the question of whether migrant workers had control over management of remittances, 76 per cent of surveyed female migrants in the UAE reported having control over the use of remittances, compared to 56 per cent of male migrants. However, this does not mean that all migrants who reported having control over remittances back home do, in reality, have unlimited control over the use of remittances. Further investigations into the control of remittances revealed that some recipients turned down requests about the use of remittances of migrant workers, especially female migrants. In the migrant worker survey, 50 per cent of female migrants, compared to 20 per cent of male migrants, reported such experiences. Thus, despite being the income-earners, migrants priorities or opinions on the use of remittances were often disregarded by their recipients, and this happened to both female and male migrants. Since most recipients of remittances were senior male members of the families, migrants could not afford to incur their displeasure, as this would affect familial relations. Instead, they sometimes showed their discontentment by changing the recipients of remittances or remitting to multiple persons to extend their control over remittance use within the family. In the female migrant household survey, 52 per cent of the recipients reported adhering to the wishes of their female members overseas, while 48 per cent did so intermittently and conditionally. On the other hand, in the male migrant household survey, 34 per cent of the recipients followed all of the wishes of the male migrants, while 62 per cent did so infrequently

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

13

and conditionally. Thus, the female migrants had a higher level of control over remittance use than the male migrants did. Although the experiences of migrants with regard to family decision-making are mixed, the recipients of the remittances tended to have more inuence on family decision-making. About 24 per cent of recipients from female migrant households and 32 per cent of recipients from male migrant households, who were mostly females (wives, mothers and sisters), reported exercising more inuence on family decision-making than ever before. They also enjoyed a higher status through their new role as remittance manager. However, it was not only husbands overseas who had become dependent on wives left behind, but also husbands left behind who consulted if not relied on wives overseas to make wise decisions about the use of remittances among competing needs. Management of social relations, deployment of remittances and negotiations between competing parties dominate a large part of the regular telecommunications between remitters and recipients.

GENDER DIMENSIONS OF USES AND OUTCOMES

Use of remittances: migrant and household surveys The identication of areas of priority for remittance use in migrant families is an important step towards documenting the remittancedevelopment nexus. To understand the trends in remittance use, in both migrant worker and household surveys, remitters and recipients were asked to list up to ve areas in which they had used remittances so far and up to ve areas in which they would plausibly use remittances in the near future in the approximate order of priority4 (Table 4). From the male migrant workers viewpoint, areas of near-past use of remittances were family maintenance, land purchase, education and homebuilding, while from the female migrants viewpoint, the areas of expenses were family maintenance, land purchase, education and loan repayment. Two major gendered differences in this area are noteworthy: (i) female migrants did not use remittances for homebuilding, while a substantial percentage of male migrants did so; and (ii) male migrants did not spend remittances on loan repayment, while almost half of the female migrants used remittances for this purpose. According to the household survey, savings, education and medical treatment were the major areas of use of remittances for female migrants, while business and loan repayment were the major areas of use of remittances for male migrants. Both male and female migrant households were dependent on remittances for family maintenance. With regard to use of remittances in the near future, most migrants intended to shift from immediate consumption to long-time capital formation (Table 4). For example, most migrants showed an interest in business ventures. In the future use of remittances, two gender-differentiated patterns of remittances are prominent: (i) female migrants showed more interest in saving remittances than male migrants did; and (ii) with regard to the use of remittances, land purchase remained mainly a male domain. According to the household survey, an important nding in the household survey is the crucial role that remittances played in family maintenance of both female and male migrant households, as on average, 90 per cent of migrant households were dependent on remittances for family maintenance. The gender-differentiated patterns of savings may be explained from the viewpoint of household resource allocations and laws of inheritance. Unmarried female members are largely seen as temporary members of the family, who will join their in-laws family after marriage. The laws of inheritance leave females with little incentive to invest in their families of

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

14

TABLE 4

NEAR-PAST AND NEAR-FUTURE USE OF REMITTANCES BY GENDER: MIGRANT HOUSEHOLD AND MIGRANT WORKER SURVEYS, 2009 Female and male migrant worker survey in UAE, n = 150, 2009 Near-past use of remittances Female, n = 50 (%) 66 24 44 0 44 92 25 14 14 50 Male, n = 100 (%) Near-future use of remittances Female, n = 50 (%) 46 66 76 72 0 Male, n = 100 (%) 11 0 87 30 37 Rahman

Female and male migrant household survey in Bangladesh, n = 100, 2009 Near-future use of remittances Female, n = 50 (%) 92 74 24 46 36 86 46 18 70 18 Male, n = 50 (%)

Near-past use of remittances

Areas of use of remittances in order of priority 90 56 10 78 8

Female, n = 50 (%)

Male, n = 50 (%)

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Family maintenance Education Savings Loan refund Medical Business Housing Land-buying

92 72 22 48 24

Note: Percentages add to more than 100 per cent due to multiple answers provided by respondents.

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

15

origin. Gender-differentiated land purchase can be explained along the same lines. Loan repayments constituted one of the main domains of remittance use for females. This is because compared to male migrants (6%), a higher percentage of female migrants (48%) borrowed cash from money-lenders to meet their expenses for migration. I have explained elsewhere that the gendered differential treatment lies in the patriarchal family norms in Bangladesh: female members are not seen as a future investment for the family, while male members are considered to be permanent members of the family, and so investment in them by, for example, providing migration expenses is justied in terms of the potential future langer, 2012). returns (Rahman and Be Implications of remittances for migrant households From the ndings on the uses of remittances from both the migrant and the household viewpoint, it is evident that migrants pursued dual motivations investment in physical as well as in human capital. When remittances were used for homebuilding, land purchase and businesses, families were investing mainly in physical capital, and when used for education, medical treatment and family maintenance, they were being invested mainly in human capital. In addition, migrants spent a portion of remittances on uses that were not recognized as investment in the economic sense, such as housing, education and medical care. However, if the concept of investment is broadened to include expenses that have signicant relevance to human resource development, such as education and health care, the development outcome of remittances becomes tangible. From the social development viewpoint (Piper, 2009), all these ve uses of remittances contribute to improvement of the quality of life of the migrant families. However, there is a widely acknowledged need for better management of the remittance investment process. As shown in the previous section, a good portion of migrant remittances is often used for recurring family expenses. Migrant remittances were used for family maintenance because, regardless of gender, migrants were the principal economic providers for the families left behind. In fact, more female migrants played the role of principal economic providers for the family than male migrants. According to the migrant worker surveys, 62 per cent of female migrants reported being the principal economic providers for their families, while 43 per cent of male migrants did so. On the basis of the household survey, the principal economic provider for 88 per cent of female households was their female family member working abroad, while the principal economic provider for 64 per cent of male households was their male family member abroad, reecting the dominant nature of migration as a survival strategy for Bangladeshi families. A relevant question to ask is why a large percentage of migrant households depended on remittances for sustenance. A more detailed investigation revealed that most migrant households lacked the resources to meet their basic necessities (food and clothing). Since most migrants hailed from rural areas, where land is considered the main source of family income, enquiries were made into the amount of land they possessed, in order to understand the economic viability of the family. Approximately 70 per cent of the female migrant households and 60 per cent of the male migrant households reported that they did not possess sufcient land for subsistence. Given their economic situation, it is safe to conclude that female migrant households had less land for subsistence, so they had a higher number of female migrants as economic providers. Succinctly, reported use, management, and investment in physical and human capital of remittances initiate broader social development implications for migrants and their families.

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

16

Rahman

CONCLUSION
In this paper, I have attempted a gendered analysis of remittances under conditions of temporary labour migration. This paper focuses explicitly on gender dimensions of remittances that draw on the argument that both men and women shape the process of remittances into a gendered one. I have argued that remittances should be regarded as a social process that begins with the migrant worker remitting the money from the point of destination to the recipient at the point of origin. The Bangladeshi case documents that Bangladeshi males earned and saved more than their females in the UAE. The saving for women was lower than that for men because women migrants salary was also low and all migrants needed to spend a minimum amount of cash to sustain their daily lives in the UAE. However, when we consider the proportions of earnings for monthly expenses for males and females, the females appeared more frugal than the males. In short, female migrants earned, saved and remitted less than the males. However, the females were more frugal than their male counterparts and when the proportions of earnings are taken into consideration, the females actually remitted more than the males. Although females remitted smaller amounts of remittances than their male counterparts due to their lower earnings and resultant lower savings, females tended to remit more frequently than males. Thus, Bangladeshi females were more consistent as remitters; they sent more, and did so more regularly than Bangladeshi males did. Although womens nature as nurturer and their stronger sense of obligation and responsibility for family are often deemed to come into play in this phenomenon, I have not found any case in which a male migrant was selsh or unwilling to full his family obligations. I have attributed this phenomenon to the single and temporary nature of labour migration in Asia, where everyone migrates for the short term and desires economic prosperity in his or her community of origin. The remittance channels, both formal and informal (hundi), constitute an important part of remittances. More females than males tended to use formal channels of remittances (e.g. banks and Western Union). However, this gender-differentiated use of remittance channels is attributed to the cultural context of the informal channel called hundi in the UAE, which requires contact with male migration networks and hundi networks. Being aware of the negative social perceptions of their migratory journey at home and abroad, Bangladeshi women maintain minimal contact with their male counterparts, which leads them to remit only through formal channels. At the recipient site, both surveys reveal some interesting insights into remittance receiving. First, migrants fathers were the largest recipients of remittances. Second, both married women and men preferred remitting to other family members rather than to spouses: only about half of the married women and men remitted to their spouses. Third, women preferred sisters to brothers and fathers to mothers, but men preferred brothers to sisters and fathers to mothers. Fourth, it was male, rather than female, migrants who remitted more to females. Fifth and nally, more men than women were the recipients of remittances and, on average, 67 per cent of males were recipients of remittances compared to 33 per cent of females. This gender-differentiated pattern of remittances, which is skewed towards males, is ascribed to the patriarchal family system in Bangladesh. With regard to control over remittances, female migrants had more control over remittances than male migrants. However, a good number of migrants had no control over their earnings once it had been channelled to households. Senior male members enjoyed exclusive control over remittances. When recipients were male family members, there was less control over remittances; but when they were females, there was more control over remittances. Some noticeable changes in the status of recipients were seen when recipients who were spouses of

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

17

migrants overseas reported that they exercised more inuence on family decision-making than they did before becoming recipients, and that their new role as remittance manager accorded them a relatively higher status in the community. In the migrantspouse remittance route, more regular contact, and consultation and negotiation about management of remittances, was also noticed and this has far-ung effects in family relations what Piper (2005) has called democratization of gender relations. However, more in-depth research is needed on the power and authority structure in migrant households. To understand the trends in remittance use and development dynamics in households, in this study I have introduced near-past and near-future uses of remittances. Remitters and recipients were asked to list, in the approximate order of priority, up to ve areas in which they used and would use remittances. In the near-past use of remittances, several gendered-differentiated uses are noteworthy. First, female migrants did not use remittances for homebuilding, while a substantial percentage of male migrants did so. Second, male migrants did not spend remittances on loan repayment, while almost half of female migrants used remittances for this purpose. Third, and nally, female households spent more on education and medical expenses than male migrant households. In the near-future use of remittances, two gender-differentiated patterns are prominent: (i) female migrants showed more interest in saving of remittances than male migrants; and (ii) land purchase remained mainly a male domain. Interestingly, more females than males were principal economic providers for their families. Research on the gender dimensions of remittances under conditions of temporary migration is still in its infancy. Ideally, simultaneous research should be conducted on female and male migrant workers who share a common geographical and social origin. One of the other limitations of this study is that it has not been possible to draw out family and household dynamics to illustrate the full signicance of gender in the remittance process. In this attempt to contribute a methodological approach to remittance research, I draw on the argument that both men and women shape the gender dimensions of remittances. However, the traditional authority structure of patriarchy may provide one lens through which the relationship between men and women in the Bangladeshi context can be understood, and this remains a potential eld of further study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank to International Organization for Migration (IOM) Dhaka, Bangladesh, for nancing this study in the UAE and Bangladesh. I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of International Migration for their insightful comments on the draft version of this paper. A special word of thanks goes to Rabab Fatima, Regional Representative, IOM Dhaka. I have received enormous support from Samiha Huda, Noushin Sanaz and Disha Sonata Faruque of IOM Dhaka, and I gratefully acknowledge the pleasure of working with them.

NOTES
1. See http: www.bbs.gov.bd dataindex stat_bangladesh.pdf (accessed 13 May 2010). 2. See http://www.bmet.org.bd/BMET/viewStatReport.action?reportnumber=3 (accessed 17 March 2010). 3. AED is the ofcial designation for the UAEs dirham currency.

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

18

Rahman

4. Since migrant workers were usually issued work permits for 23 years and respondents were working in the UAE for more than 1 year but less than 3 years, I refer to the near past as the rst 1 or 2 years of a contract and the near future as the remainder of the contract, which may be 1 or 2 years depending on the timing of the interview and the length of the contract.

REFERENCES
Adams Jr, R.H., H. de Haas, and U.O. Osili 2009 Migrant remittances and development: research perspective, SSRC Web Anthology, http:// www.ssrc.org/programs/web-anthology/ (accessed 23 April 2012). Amuedo-Dorantes, C., and S. Pozo 2006 Migration, remittances and male and female employment patterns, American Economic Review, 96(2): 222226. APEC 2003 Informal Funds Transfer Systems in the APEC Region: Initial Findings and a Framework for Further Analysis, The World Bank, Washington, DC. Buencamino, L., and S. Gorbunov 2002 Informal money transfer systems: opportunities and challenges for development nance, ST ESA 2002 DP 26, DESA Discussion Paper No. 26, November, United Nations. New York, http://www.un.org/esa/esa02dp26.pdf (accessed 1 September 2005). Curran, S.R. 1995 Gender roles and migration: good sons vs. daughters in rural Thailand, Working Paper 95-11, Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Dannecker, P. 2009 Migrant visions of development: a gendered approach, Population, Space and Place, 15: 119132. de Haas, H. 2005 International migration, remittances and development: myths and fact, Third World Quarterly, 26(8): 12691284. Dito, M.E. 2008 GCC labour migration governance, UN Meeting on International Migration and Development in Asia and Pacic, Bangkok, 20-21 September. Donato, K.M., D. Gabaccia, J. Holdaway, et al. 2006 A glass half full? Gender in migration studies, International Migration Review, 40(1): 326. Elmhirst, R. 2002 Daughters and displacement: migration dynamics in an Indonesian transmigration area, Journal of Development Studies, 38(5): 143166. Esim, S., and M. Smith 2004 Gender and migration in Arab states: the case of domestic workers, ILO, Geneva. Gamburd, M.R. 2002 Transnationalism and Sri Lankas Migrant Households: The Kitchen Spoons Handle, Vistaar Publications, New Delhi. Goldring, L. 2004 Family and collective remittances to Mexico: a multi-dimensional typology, Development and Change, 35(4): 799840. Hugo, G. 2004 International migration in the Asia-Pacic region: emerging trends and issues, In D.S. Massey and J.E. Taylor (Eds), International Migration Prospects and Policies in a Global Market, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 77104. IOM (International Organization for Migration) 2004 Arab Migration in a Globalized World, IOM, Geneva. Jay, R.R. 1969 Javanese Villagers, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE

19

Kabeer, N. 2000 The Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Women and Labour Market Decisions in London and Dhaka, Verso, London. Khonder, H.H. 2008 Social change in the United Arab Emirates: challenges of migration and emiratization, Perspective 001, Middle East Institute, Singapore. King, R., M. Dalipaj, and N. Mai 2006 Gendering migration and remittances: evidence from London and northern Albania, Population, Space and Place, 12(6): 409434. Lian, K.F., M.M. Rahman, and with Lian Kwen Fee 2006 International labor recruitment: channeling Bangladeshi migrants to East and Southeast Asia, Asia-Pacic Population Journal, 21(1): 85107. Mahler, S.J., and P.R. Pessar 2006 Gender matters: ethnographers bring gender from the periphery toward the core of migration studies, International Migration Review, 40(1): 2763. Migration News 2007 Iraq, Iran, UAE, Sri Lanka, Migration News, 14(3), July, http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/ (accessed 3 May 2012). Mohapatra, S., D. Ratha, and A. Silwal 2011 Migration and Development Brief, Brief No. 17, World Bank, Washington, DC: 115. Momsen, J.H. (Ed.) 1999 Gender, Migration, and Domestic Service, Routledge, London. Moses, J.W. 2009 Leaving poverty behind: a radical proposal for developing Bangladesh through emigration, Development Policy Review, 27(4): 457479. Nyberg-Srensen, N. 2005 Migrant remittances, development and gender, Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/Briefs2005/nns_migrant_remittances.pdf (accessed 25 November 2009). Osaki, K. 1999 Economic interactions of migrants and their households of origin: are women more reliable supporters? Asian and Pacic Migration Journal, 8(4): 447471. 2003 Migrant remittances in Thailand: economic necessity or social norm? Journal of Population Research, 20(2): 203222. Papademetriou, D.G., and P.L. Martin (Eds) 1991 The Unsettled Relationship: Labor Migration and Economic Development, Greenwood Press, London. Piper, N. 2005 Gender and migration, Global Commission on International Migration, http://www.iom. int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/policy_and_research/gcim/tp/TP10. pdf (accessed 23 April 2012). 2006 Gendering the politics of migration, International Migration Review, 40(1): 133164. 2008 International migration and gendered axes of stratication: an introduction, In N. Piper (ed.), New Perspectives on Gender and Migration: Livelihood, Rights and Entitlements, Routledge, London. 2009 The complex interconnections of the migrationdevelopment nexus: a social perspective, Population, Space and Place, 15(2): 93101. Portes, A. 2009 Migration and development: reconciling opposite views, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(1): 522. Portes, A., and J. Borocz 1989 Contemporary immigration: theoretical perspectives on its determinants and modes of incorporation, International Migration Review, 13(3): 606630. Rahman, M.M. 2009 In Quest of Golden Deer: Bangladeshi Transient Migrants Overseas, VDM Verlag, Saarbru cken, Germany.

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM

20

Rahman

langer Rahman, M.M., and D. Be 2012 Gendered use of remittances, in I. Sirkeci, J. Cohen and D. Ratha (Eds), Migration and Remittances during the Global Financial Crisis and Beyond, World Bank, Washington DC: 89100. Rahman, M.M., and Lian Kwen Fee 2009 Gender and the remittance process: Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Asian Population Studies, 5(2): 103127. Rahman, M.M., and B.S.A. Yeoh 2008 The social organization of Hundi: the remittance transfer from East and Southeast Asia to Bangladesh, Asian Population Studies, 4(1): 529. Rozario, S. 1992 Purity and Communal Boundaries: Women and Social Change in a Bangladeshi Village, Zed Books, London. Salomone, S. 2006 Remittances: overview of the existing literature, Working Paper, European University Institute. Semyonov, M., and A. Gorodzeisky 2005 Labor migration, remittances and household income: a comparison between Filipino and Filipina overseas workers, International Migration Review, 39(1): 4569. Shah, N.M. 2004 Arab migration patterns in the Gulf, in Arab Migration in a Globalizing World, IOM, Geneva. Ullah, AKM Ahsan 2007 The state of female migration ow in international labour market: how is Bangladesh doing? Conference paper, http://www.hull.ac.uk/php/ecskrb/GDP2007/Ullah.pdf (accessed 12 December 2009). Willis, K., and B. Yeoh (Eds) 2000 Gender and Migration, Edward Elgar, Northampton, MA. Wolf, D.L. 1992 Factory Daughters: Gender, Household Dynamics and Rural Industrialization in Java, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Wood, G.D. 1994 Bangladesh: Whose Ideas, Whose Interests? University Press Limited, Dhaka.

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM