Gendered Migration Patterns and Social Change in Rural Kyrgyzstan

This study analyses the relationships between labour migration and community perceptions of gender relations and roles in Kyrgyzstan, the second-most remittance-dependent economy in the world. Based on 591 surveys and 34 qualitative interviews with adult household members in the At-Bashy rayon , we analysed migration decision-making processes as well as community perceptions of women’s migration, women’s labour patterns, and associations between migration and divorce. We found that migrant women are praised for their economic contributions to their households via remittances, yet also shamed by their communities for withdrawing from traditional gendered practices around child-rearing and marriage. Thus, our evidence suggests that migration contributes to some limited changes in social expectations regarding women’s traditional roles in rural Kyrgyzstan. This article demonstrates the importance of studying relationships between out-migration and gender across migrant and non-migrant households in origin communities.