Why So Many Indian Women Head to Gulf?

The report says that a majority of female migrants are engaged as domestic workers and low-end service providers (housemaids, babysitters, caregivers, cleaners, etc.). The worst face of migration is that domestic workers in particular are always at risk of physical, sexual and emotional abuses, including confinement, underpayment or non-payment of wages, as well as a range of other abuses. The living and working conditions of these domestic labors are very much dependent on the personal relationship between the worker and the employer. Besides this, workers are tied to their employers by the kafala (sponsorship) system prevalent in the Gulf countries, which allows very little scope to end abusive working conditions.

The increasing migration even after these worse conditions in the Gulf countries points to the existing poverty and lack of opportunities in the South Asian countries for women. The migrating women are mostly attracted by the better work opportunities and monetary benefits in the Gulf countries. The report states that most women who migrated were single, with only a minority travelling with their families, and this had very important consequences for the character of household and community formation in the destination economies.

The migration does have positive aspects too. India was one of the largest recipients of remittances in the world accounting for $55 billion in 2010 according to a 2011 report by World Bank.