Transnational labour migration, gendered power shifts, and marital breakdown in Indonesia

International labour migration has become an important livelihood strategy for rural women in Indonesia, yet its implications for household well-being and rural development remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on exchange theory, this qualitative case study examines how migration experiences across successive phases reshape gendered power relations and marital stability among Indonesian woman migrant workers. Based on in-depth interviews with fifteen divorced migrant women from Indramayu Regency, the analysis identifies three interconnected mechanisms: changing family roles, shifting breadwinning responsibilities, and the renegotiation of household authority. Rather than resulting directly from geographical separation, marital dissolution emerged through the cumulative renegotiation of reciprocal expectations, household governance, and perceived alternatives across the migration cycle. By offering a process-oriented explanation of family change, this study extends transnational family scholarship while highlighting the importance of integrating household well-being into migration governance and development interventions.