Paper short abstract:

The paper presents how migration of men in Nepal has led to increase in domestic and sexual violence on their spouses thus exacerbating gender inequalities in communities where social norms are already stringent for women.

Paper long abstract:

Remittance from Nepali labour migrants contributes substantially to increasing economic condition of the country and households in Nepal: it makes over 25% of national GDP and over 53% of Nepali households receive remittances from Nepalis working in Middle East and Malaysia. Many studies in Nepal show that remittance has contributed positively to household's access to health and children's education, better living conditions and food security. However, only few studies in Nepal have looked at how migration of men contributes to gendered norms. In this paper, I approach the question of migration and inequality by showing examples of how migration contributes to discriminatory gender norms. As a part of understanding the social implication of migration on families left behind, the study used mixed methods. Survey with wife of migrants (1000 individuals) and participatory qualitative methods (which body mapping exercise, in-depth interviews, case studies, path of aspiration mapping, mapping of source and expenses and vignettes) were used. In qualitative interviews we interviewed wife of migrants, caretakers of children and key informants. The paper argues that in communities where gender discriminatory norms are prevalent, migration further aggravates gender inequalities and results not only in proliferation of restriction on women but also leads to increased domestic and sexual violence against women and girls.