gendering migrant remittances in the united arab emirates

7/28/2019 Gendering Migrant Remittances in the United Arab Emirates

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Gendering Migrant Remittances: Evidencefrom Bangladesh and the United Arab

Emirates

Md Mizanur Rahman*

ABSTRACT

In this study, I explore gender dimensions of remittances under conditions of temporarymigration in Asia. This research argues that migrant remittances are influenced by not

only gender but also the context of the remittances, and that both should be integratedand elaborated to capture the complexity of remittances and their development dynam-

ics. On the basis of surveys of 150 migrants in the United Arab Emirates and 100migrant households in Bangladesh, in this study I examine gender dimensions of remit-tances by linking both sending and receiving points and elaborating on four sites ofremittances, where gender matters significantly: (i) the sending process, (ii) the receipt

process, (iii) the use and control of remittances and, finally, (iv) the implications for themigrant households. The study reveals several gender-differentiated patterns in remit-

tance behaviour. Female migrants remit a greater share of their earnings than their malecounterparts; they prefer sisters to brothers and other family members to husbands,while men prefer brothers to sisters and fathers to wives and, interestingly, it wasmales, rather than females, who remitted more to females. Women have more control

over remittances than men: in the migrantspouse remittance route, more regular con-tact, and consultation and negotiation about management of remittances, are reported.

Women show more interest in savings than men: womens remittances tend to beinvested in human capital and those of male recipients in physical capital; more femalesplay the role of principal economic providers for the families than their malecounterparts.

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 work-

ers 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 significant

* Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore

2012 The Author

Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., International Migration 2012 IOM

9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, International Migration

and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. ISSN 0020-7985

doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00763.x


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issues associated with international migration, remittances are of particular importance

(Hugo, 2004: 90). In 2011, officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries

exceeded $350 billion and the growth of remittance flows 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 financial institutions. In recent years, research on remittances

has also gained momentum, resulting in a mushrooming of scientific literature in this area

(for a review, see Adams et al., 2009). Existing studies on remittances tend to address remit-

tances 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 influences the trends and impacts ofremittances at the household level. In fact, migrant remittances and their implications for

development vary greatly from temporary to permanent migration, unskilled to skilled migra-

tion, 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 con-

texts 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 andthe 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 significantly:

(i) the sending process, (ii) the receipt process, (iii) the use and control of remittances and,

finally, (iv) the implications for development dynamics in the migrant households. In the con-

text 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 researchis 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 first 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 suf-

ficiently informed about the macro-flows of remittances to sending countries, especially the

size of formal remittances, we know little about the micro-patterns of remittances and theirimplications 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

2 Rahman

2012 The Author. International Migration 2012 IOM


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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 householdfamily 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 flows of remittances and the resultant developmental outcomes.

In the first section I elaborate on conceptual issues related to gender and remittance pro-

cess, 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 final section, I summarize the findings 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 interna-

tional migration (Piper, 2008: 1). However, despite the growing interest in gender and migra-

tion 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 behav-

iour 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 influences 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 remit-

tances, remittance control, areas of near-past use of remittances, areas of near-future (poten-

tial) 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 remit-

tances 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 remit-

tances is that they are mostly used for recurrent family expenses as income and for con-

sumption (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

Gendering migrant remittances: Bangladesh and the UAE 3



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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 tempo-

rary labour migration context, where families are left behind. Specific labour migration pro-

grammes 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 coun-

tries, 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 recognitionof 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 remit-

tances. 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 finding 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 man-

agement 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, educa-

tion 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 findings 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 fieldwork was conducted in Bangladesh as well as the UAE, a destination country of sig-

nificance in terms of the numbers of Bangladeshi migrants and the resultant remittance

inflows 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

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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 confidentiality was repeatedly assured.

In general, surveys on remittances include questions on the amounts and uses of remit-

tances. Researchers who collect such data are often confronted with discrepancies between

the actual amount of remittances used and the amount reported to the interviewers. Natu-

rally, migrant workers and households may be uncomfortable reporting the amounts and

uses of remittances to outsiders. The reporting of inflated 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 identi-fied 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 five 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 remit-

tance 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 inBangladeshi society, this finding 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 qualifications than the female

migrants. Only 8 per cent of the female migrants had passed the secondary school certificate,

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 oftype of occupation, 90 per cent of the female migrants were cleaners, 8 per cent were domes-

tic 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 (office caretakers, electricians, rent-a-car washmen, painters, carpenters

and so on). About half of the male migrants interviewed were working as construction work-

ers 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 thefollowing 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




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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 findings would reflect 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 malemigrants had children left behind. I acknowledge that the duration of the fieldwork was

limited by financial and time constraints, and that this precluded more in-depth fieldwork in

certain areas.

TABLE 1

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE UAE, 2009

Majorcategories

Femalemigrants,n = 50 (%)

Malemigrants,n = 100 (%) Major categories

Femalemigrants,n = 50 (%)

Malemigrants,n = 100 (%)

Age of migrants Occupation prior to migration2025 14 10 Unemployed 68 172530 50 51 Student 10 353035 32 16 Garments industry 6 3540 4 9 Agriculture 1640 and above 3 3 Business 13Missing data 11 Other economic activities 16 19Marital status Occupation in UAEMarried 68 51 Cleaner 90 25

Unmarried 32 48 Driver 2 5Missing data 1 Domestic worker 8 Religion Construction worker 7Muslim 96 96 Agricultural worker 5Hindu 2 3 Salesman 24Christian 2 Tailor 10Missing data 1 Other 24Level of

educationNumber of family members

15 years 58 19 Less than 3 26 28610 years 24 32 45 46 38SSC 4 30 68 16 23HSC 4 12 910 3Graduate 6 11 and above 8

No schooling 6 1 Missing data 12 Missing data 4 Duration of stay in UAEPrincipal

economicproviders forfamilies

12 years 42 3

Migrants 62 43 24 years 48 38Others in the

family34 57 46 years 6 17

Missing data 4 6 years and above 4 42

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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 rich-est 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 five 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 400,000in 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 significant 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 feed-

back from many organizations that the ban increased the risk of trafficking of women, and

finally 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

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

FIGURE 1

BANGLADESHI LABOUR MIGRATION TO THE UAE, 19762009

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

2010).




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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 official 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. Officially, 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 figure for the same period was 35,630.

In 2009, 6,095 females went to the UAE for work. They work primarily in the cleaning sec-

tor, 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 Bangla-

desh, 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, indicatingthat 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

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

2008-

US$Millions

FIGURE 2

INFLOWS OF REMITTANCES FROM THE UAE TO BANGLADESH, 19912009 SOURCE: COMPILED

FROM DATA FOUND IN VARIOUS BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT

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).

8 Rahman



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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 dif-

ferential 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 investi-

gated 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 figure.

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 field evidence on the sending of remittances fully supportsfindings 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

TABLE 2

MONTHLY EARNINGS AND SAVINGS, AND REMITTANCES PER TRANSFER BY GENDER IN THE

UAE, 2009

Amounts(AED)

Female migrant workers, n = 50 Male migrant workers, n = 100

Monthlyearnings

(%)

Monthlysavings

(%)

Remittancesper transfer

(%)

Monthlyearnings

(%)

Monthlysavings

(%)

Remittancesper

transfer (%)

300500 2 96 14 1 23 3500700 94 4 10 15 18 24700900 4 0 19 20 69001,100 32 13 9 141,1001,300 2 13 9 91,3001,500 10 10 11 1

Above 1,500 32 28 8 43Missing data 1 Mean AED 786

(US$214monthlyearnings)

AED 498(US$136 and51.95% ofearnings)

AED 1,691(US$460 and2.15 timesearnings)

AED 1,383(US$376monthlyearnings)

AED 944(US$257and 68.23%of earnings)

AED 2,018(US$550and 1.46timesearnings)




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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 chan-

nels. 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 operatesoutside of (or parallel to) conventional regulated banking and financial channels (Buencami-

no 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 efficiency 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 profits

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 chan-

nels. 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 signifies 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 gatheringplaces such as the popular Sunday afternoon venues in the various parts of the cities. Never-

theless, 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 recipi-

ents is crucial for an in-depth understanding of remittances and family dynamics. Thus both

10 Rahman



11/20

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 theirspouses 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 percent 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 finally, more males than females

chose to remit to their mothers. These findings are different from those of other countries, inwhich 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 findings, confirming the general assumption that the

TABLE 3

RECIPIENTS OF REMITTANCES BY GENDER: MIGRANT HOUSEHOLD AND MIGRANT WORKER

SURVEYS, 2009

Identity ofrecipients ofremittances

Migrant household survey inBangladesh, n = 100

Migrant worker survey inUAE, n = 150

Female migranthouseholds,n = 50 (%)

Male migranthouseholds,n = 50 (%)

Femalemigrant,

n = 50 (%)

Malemigrant,

n = 100 (%)

Father 42 46 38 40Spouse 22 24 28 26Mother 14 20 16 12Sister 14 2 6 4Brother 4 6 8 15

Others 4 2 4 3

Sex of recipientsMale 78 56 78 57Female 22 44 22 43




12/20

mother, or another female relative of a remitting female migrant, usually receives the remit-

tances (Momsen, 1999). However, the status of Javanese women needs clarification 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, out-

side 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 clarification here. Women in rural Bangladesh are per-

ceived 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 portrayedthem 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

finances and having a decisive voice in any expenditure or borrowing of capital (Rahman,

2009; Rozario, 1992). These familial and cultural patterns, which have ramifications 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 hav-

ing 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 turneddown 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 displea-

sure, as this would affect familial relations. Instead, they sometimes showed their discontent-

ment 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 con-

ditionally. On the other hand, in the male migrant household survey, 34 per cent of the recip-

ients followed all of the wishes of the male migrants, while 62 per cent did so infrequently

12 Rahman



13/20

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 influence 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 influence 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 hus-

bands 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 identification 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 five areas in which they had used remittances so far and up to five areas

in which they would plausibly use remittances in the near future in the approximate order of

priority

4

(Table 4).From the male migrant workers viewpoint, areas of near-past use of remittances were fam-

ily 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 house-

hold survey, savings, education and medical treatment were the major areas of use of remit-

tances 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 gen-

der-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 remit-

tances, land purchase remained mainly a male domain. According to the household survey,

an important finding 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 lar-

gely seen as temporary members of the family, who will join their in-laws family after mar-

riage. The laws of inheritance leave females with little incentive to invest in their families of




14/20

TAB

LE4

NEA

R-PASTANDNEAR-FUTUREUS

EOFREMITTANCESBYGENDE

R:MIGRANTHOUSEHOLDAND

MIGRANTWORKERSURVEYS,2009

Areasofuseof

remittancesinorder

ofpriority

Femaleandmale

migranthouseholdsurveyinBan

gladesh,

n

=100,2009

FemaleandmalemigrantworkersurveyinUAE,n

=150,

2009

Near-pastuseofremittances

Near-futureuseof

remittance

s

Near-pastuseofremittances

Near-futureuseof

remittances

Female,

n

=50(%)

Male,

n

=50(%)

Female,

n

=50(%)

Male,

n

=50(%)

Female,

n

=50(%)

Male,

n

=100(%)

Female,

n

=50(%)

Male,

n

=100(%)

Familyma

intenance

92

90

92

86

66

92

Education

72

56

74

46

24

25

46

11

Savings

22

10

24

18

14

66

0

Loanrefun

d

48

78

46

70

44

Medical

24

36

18

Business

8

76

87

Housing

0

14

72

30

Land-buyin

g

44

50

0

37

Note:Perc

entagesaddtomorethan100percentduetomultipleanswerspro

videdbyrespondents.

14 Rahman



15/20

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%) bor-

rowed cash from money-lenders to meet their expenses for migration. I have explained else-

where 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 justified in terms of the potential future

returns (Rahman and Be langer, 2012).

Implications of remittances for migrant households

From the findings on the uses of remittances from both the migrant and the household view-

point, 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 busi-nesses, families were investing mainly in physical capital, and when used for education, medi-

cal 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 significant relevance

to human resource development, such as education and health care, the development out-

come of remittances becomes tangible. From the social development viewpoint (Piper,

2009), all these five 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 pro-

vider 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 fam-

ily member abroad, reflecting 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 house-

holds 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 eco-

nomic 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 sufficient

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.




16/20

CONCLUSION

In this paper, I have attempted a gendered analysis of remittances under conditions of tem-

porary labour migration. This paper focuses explicitly on gender dimensions of remittancesthat 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 earn-

ings 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 earn-ings 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 fre-

quently 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 selfish or unwilling to fulfil 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 nega-

tive 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: onlyabout 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 finally, 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 remit-

tances 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

16 Rahman



17/20

migrants overseas reported that they exercised more influence 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 remit-

tances, was also noticed and this has far-flung 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 five areas in

which they used and would use remittances. In the near-past use of remittances, several gen-

dered-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 finally, female households spent more on educationand 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 migra-

tion 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 significance of gender in the remittance process. In this attempt

to contribute a methodological approach to remittance research, I draw on the argument thatboth 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 field of further study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank to International Organization for Migration (IOM) Dhaka,

Bangladesh, for financing this study in the UAE and Bangladesh. I would like to thank theanonymous 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 Representa-

tive, IOM Dhaka. I have received enormous support from Samiha Huda, Noushin Safinaz

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 official designation for the UAEs dirham currency.




18/20

4. Since migrant workers were usually issued work permits for 23 years and respondents were work-

ing in the UAE for more than 1 year but less than 3 years, I refer to the near past as the first 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.

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