Despite the increasing participation of women in the migration process, migration research remains gender blind. According to the census of India, 2001, about 42.4 million migrants out of total 65.4 million female migrants cited marriage as the reason for migration. Thus while marriage remains an important factor, it is important to consider the cases of 23 million women who migrated. However, migration policies and program in India where they exist are rarely gender sensitive.

To begin with, It is also important to acknowledge the diverse patterns of women’s migration going beyond the Indian stereotypes of the male member going off to the cities to work while women and children staying back. While there are numerous studies on the condition of men who migrate, corresponding knowledge about women who stay back is limited to occasional documentation of exclusion from property rights. What is often missed out is that as men circulated between town and country, wives and children undertook the labor of cultivation. Despite their long absence men retained their proprietary interests in the village and their status as heads of the family.

The recently released report of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2009 states that while migration and the ability to remit can be empowering for women, many women migrants face long working hours and increased financial obligations. The increase in professional smuggling means that some women who believe that they are migrating to legitimate occupations find themselves trapped into forced prostitution, domestic service under conditions that resemble bonded labour.

In this context, the importance of investment in education assumes importance in order to address the human capital and capability deficits of the current generation of working women. Poor women who missed out on the expansion of educational opportunities may find themselves trapped in jobs with few promotion opportunities because of their lack of education and skills. Increased education and training for women can also increase their opportunities for migration under skilled-migration schemes. A variety of approaches, including non-formal education, technical and vocational training, agricultural extension services, workplace training, lifelong learning and training in new technologies, are needed to assist such women in searching for better jobs.

In some countries, including India, efforts have been made to limit female migration in an attempt to protect women from the abuse they may encounter in the labour market, particularly. The laws are intended to protect the workers, but also risk limiting women’s mobility and access to employment.

The process of globalization of the Indian economy has a strong implication on mobility patterns, including those of women. It is important therefore to rethink and re-conceptualize the migration process of women as their roles in the decision-making processes; building and maintaining of migration networks redefine their familial roles and social and economic status.

What are the possible implications of rising numbers of women migrating for reasons other than marriage?