Paper short abstract:

This poster presents findings from ethnographic fieldwork about the life and work histories of Georgian migrant women who work in Istanbul, Turkey. Drawing from feminist political economy and through a critical trasnational lens, it looks at patriarchal gender relations that the migrant women are part of.

Paper long abstract:

Women from former Soviet Union countries have been migrating to Europe and Turkey in large numbers. Migration, especially the circular migration of women, has been factored into household livelihoods in the face of increased poverty and amplified inequalities following the fall of Soviet regime. My multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in 2016 tracked the life and work histories of Georgian migrant women from their home communities to carework sector in Istanbul, Turkey. Drawing from feminist political economy and using a critical transnational lens, this poster will report the experiences of Georgian migrant women moving, working and caring in and across two patriarchal societies. Patriarchy is conceptualized as operating in various structural areas ranging from household production to state, while articulating with capitalism and racism (Walby, 1990). This poster will specifically focus on the changing and traveling meanings of femininity and masculinity, and of the sexuality and bodies of Georgian women in the context of transnationally reconfigured livelihoods and gender relations.