Paper short abstract:

Focusing on both current and ex-garment workers at the place of origin and destination, this paper examines the ways in which the nexus between time and family support system at the place of origin mediate women's im/mobility and temporary labour participation in the garment industry in Bangladesh.

Paper long abstract:

The expansion of ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh, has attracted a significant number of rural- poor women from the countryside who had previously been occupied with unpaid household work and/or casual agricultural activities. On an average, women work for a relatively short period; around five years. Scholars relate this to the precarious working conditions in the garment industry. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper argues that the temporary labour participation in the garment sector is not a mere response to the exploitative nature of work. Focusing on both current and ex-garment workers at the place of origin and destination, this paper examines the ways in which the nexus between time and family support system at the place of origin mediate women's im/mobility and labour participation. Women value productive and reproductive responsibilities differently at different phases of their life time. While unmarried women's labour migration is highly stigmatized, migration as a couple is accepted and even encouraged. Women are able to negotiate tremendous freedom from their traditional role, since their mothers or mother-in-law's carry on their reproductive burden during their migratory period, even it implies surrendering a large share of their income through remittance. When the kin support system falls short due to the aging of care givers or birth of an additional child, women opt to return to the village, although it means resuming their traditional role. This findings question the separation of production and reproduction in understanding the nature of female migration and wage labour participation.