Fieldwork with return female migrants in Bangladesh with Jinat
12 IN THE PICTURE
A day in the life of three
Three students working on different research topics, using different approaches and methodologies but with the same struggle: deliver their master thesis on time and make it a good one... Let’ s get to know how Jinat Hossain, João Dos Santos Lima and Carlotta Nanni experience their last and perhaps most demanding module of IOB master studies.
Fieldwork with return female migrants in Bangladesh with Jinat
Research topic Gender, Migration and Well-being: Unpacking the Dynamics of Bangladeshi Women Labour Migrants to the Middle East.
Motivation In order to benefit from positive impacts of female migration and to meet its obligation as a state party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women( CEDAW), the Government of Bangladesh has been gradually relaxing policies on women migration from ban to“ protect women’ s safety, honor and dignity” to more flexible arrangements. As there is an ongoing debate in the country for complete withdrawal of restrictions on the migration of women, this study aims to provide a thorough understanding of the impact of such a policy change on gender, migration and development dynamics in Bangladesh.
Methodology The study combines a literature review and data analysis from qualitative fieldwork undertaken in Bangladesh with returned female migrants, different mediators, manpower agency officials and other key informants.
Outline of first day in the field I arrived in Dhaka on 8 June 2017 during the holy month of Ramadan( fasting period for Muslims). After selecting my respondents with the support of OKUP( a local NGO working with migrant workers), I effectively started the interviews on 12 June with a huge rain typical of the monsoon time( too bad: I will have to deal with muddy roads in villages on top of traffic jams in Dhaka …).
A typical Ramadan day starts with the suhur( meal taken early in the morning to start the fasting) at 4 am. Then, together with my sister Prithwi and Jubair, a former student who kindly offered his assistance, I took the road for Rupganj at 6 am. We arrived in Rupganj and after using some Sherlock Holmes’
Exchange to change September 2017