Gendering Emigration Policy: Promoting and Constraining Women’s Migration to the Gulf

Temporary labour migration to the Persian Gulf has been a longstanding livelihood strategy for economically marginalised households in South and Southeast Asia. For certain countries of origin, foreign employment has been distinctly feminised: women domestic workers have historically predominated in migration flows from the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Yet, while domestic workers are often celebrated as ‘migrant heroes’ and agents of development for the remittances they transfer home, many are periodically subjected to discriminatory migration bans. This chapter examines the gendered nature of emigration policies to reveal how countries of origin have alternately promoted and constrained women’s migration to the Gulf to manage counterposed economic and political objectives. Analysing the Philippines and Sri Lanka in a comparative perspective, it is argued that underlying gender norms are pivotal in shaping the scope and objectives of emigration policymaking and, ultimately, their efficacy in mitigating tensions associated with domestic worker migration.