Bridging gender, migration and governance: Theoretical possibilities in the Asian context

This paper examines international labor migration within the broader framework of social justice and 'politics of migration' from a 'bottom up perspective.' In view of governments' inability or lack of political will to deal with labor migration issues from the perspective of migrant workers' well-being, it is very much up to non-state actors, such as NGOs, to take up the role as advocates to assert pressure on policymakers. Conceptually, this links up with the extensive literature on the revival of civil society and social movements, in a national as well as transnational setting. These linkages (between governmental or elite politics and civil society activism) in the context of international migration have not been explored sufficiently by existing scholarship and need to be integrated into a new normative framework to migration studies. Also, the issue of states' failure in addressing social issues raised by much of the literature on globalization is of importance in this context. At each of these levels, there are gender implications. The international women's movement and feminist contributions in development studies can serve as a model for migration scholars and activists.