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Abstract

The paper focuses on how gender-related cultural and social norms, as well as structural context(s), shape labor migration and possibilities of (re)migration of Uzbek women. The data comes from secondary sources and ongoing fieldwork on Uzbek women's labor migration, with a particular focus on their experiences, plans, and narratives about returning to Uzbekistan. The paper introduces theoretical approaches to gender in migration, as well as the key findings of a body of research that analyzes the gender aspects of labor migration from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries. It will also overview the methodology and primary findings of the ongoing interviews with Uzbek migrant women. The paper aims to identify how gender-related cultural and social norms influence how women in Uzbekistan plan, experience, and recount their migration and (possible) remigration to Uzbekistan. The data is collected and presentation is prepared in the framework of the of research and training project “MARS: Non-Western Migration Regimes in a Global Perspective” funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe MSCA Staff Exchange Program (project number 101130177).