Moving towards empowerment: Migrant domestic workers in India

Abstract

ABSTRACT The massive spurt in rural labor migration has led to urbanization in contemporary India. While research on gendered migration of informal labor focuses on male-outmigration and views women as “passive followers,” this study draws on the narratives of women domestic workers in Delhi to explore how they emerge as breadwinners within their households and how this sudden transformation of employment status impacts their position in their households. Further, it reimagines empowerment as an intimate engagement process for the women involving constant renegotiations of unequal power relations, gendered roles, responsibilities, beliefs, and values. Thereby, I examine how female domestic workers construct their identities in a socio-cultural environment where choices are limited for them.