Remittances and the Moral Economies of Bangladeshi New York Immigrants in Light of the Economic Crisis

Remittance flows to Bangladesh during the 2008 global financial crisis presented an exceptional case of resilience while most remittance recipient countries were experiencing a drastic decline, as was predicted by leading world economists (World Bank, Ratha 2009). The question I seek to resolve in this dissertation is: Why did remittance practices from Bangladeshi immigrants keep on flowing when the majority of remittance flows to many other developing countries declined following the 2008 economic recession? One reason is the strong presence of what I call a "moral economy of giving and sharing" that is guided by cultural or religious repertoires on family obligations, kinship, gender, hierarchy, and charity. Drawing on empirical narratives and biographies that combine open-ended interviews with 65 Bangladeshi male immigrants in New York (the majority being Muslim) as well as ethnographic interviews of 7 families in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I use the concept of moral economies to analyze the motivations behind remitting under variable conditions. My results suggest that Bangladeshi remitters invest in remittance practices because they allow the remitter to have control over his role as the main provider, while at the same time enhancing his self-worth. I model three mechanisms by which the Bangladeshi men I interviewed evaluate their self-worth: 1/ the practice of remitting enables Bangladeshi male migrants to maintain their role as the main provider, thereby guaranteeing hierarchical social roles; 2/ sending remittances serves as a strategy to maintain status and honor in both New York and Bangladesh; and 3/ not sending has social and affective consequences for both remitters and recipients. These results are consistent with transnational scholars who argue that remittances have a cultural dimension, allowing for the maintenance of family ties (Levitt 2001, Nyberg Sørensen 2005). They are novel in that they suggest that Bangladeshi immigrants' underlying motives are culturally specific moral concerns, which in the case at hand, are shaped by Islamic scripts on ideas of sharing, being the care provider and giving alms. Analyzing how Bangladeshi male immigrants articulate the remittance practice into their daily lives, this study demonstrates that elements of culture are a fundamental framework through which to understand how remittances persist or decline. My findings are generalizable to other Muslim male immigrant groups. These results allow researchers of migration and remittances to understand better international migration that comes from Islamic countries. Particularly, it adds to the conventional economic analyses that see remittances only in terms of profit maximization or risk minimization that is rooted in Western economic rationality. This study is important because of the dearth of research on the Bangladeshi population to the US which constitutes today one of the fastest growing immigrant groups, reaching 92,237 in 2000 (U.S. Census) and estimated at 200,000 in 2010 (2008 Census estimate while awaiting the 2010 Census to be published)

New Findings on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite increasing global attention and commitments by countries to end the harmful practice of child marriage, each year some 15 million girls marry before the age of 18. The preponderance of the evidence produced historically on child marriage comes from South Asia, where the vast majority of child brides live. Far less attention has been paid to child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa, where prevalence rates remain high. The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) recently conducted research in Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia to contribute to greater understanding of the drivers of child marriage in each of these contexts. Synthesizing findings from 4 diverse countries provides a useful opportunity to identify similarities and differences, as well as understandings that may be applicable to and helpful for preventing child marriage across these and other settings. Across the 4 countries, ICRW's research echoes the existing literature base in affirming that child marriage is rooted in inequitable gender norms that prioritize women's roles as wives, mothers, and household caretakers, resulting in inadequate investments by families in girls' education. These discriminatory norms interact closely with poverty and a lack of employment opportunities for girls and young women to perpetuate marriage as a seemingly viable alternative for girls. We found in the African study sites that sexual relations, unplanned pregnancy, and school dropout often precede child marriage, which differs from much of the existing evidence on child marriage from South Asia. Further, unlike in South Asia, where family members typically determine the spouse a girl will marry, most girls in the Africa study settings have greater autonomy in partner choice selection. In Senegal, increasing educational attainment and labor migration, particularly by young women, has contributed to reduced rates of child marriage for girls. Our findings suggest that improving gender equitable norms and providing more—and more equitable—opportunities for girls, particularly with regard to education and employment, are likely to improve child marriage outcomes. Providing comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly reproductive health services can reduce rates of early pregnancy that contribute to child marriage. Finally, identifying ways in which to improve communication between parents and adolescent daughters could go far in ensuring that girls feel valued and that parents feel heard as they make decisions together regarding the lives and opportunities of these adolescent girls

Engaging men for effective family planning through couple communication: An assessment of two MCSP couple communication approaches in Togo

On behalf of Breakthrough RESEARCH, the Institute for Reproductive Health of Georgetown University, in collaboration with the Population Council, assessed two of three couple\u27s communication approaches for family planning being implemented by Maternal and Child Survival Program in Togo’s Kloto district: in home couple\u27s counseling (either individual in home counseling or with the couple together) and group discussions. IRH’s overall goal was to assess the benefits and feasibility of these two approaches as well as to determine which elements of each are best suited for roll-out on a broader scale. The two models—home-based couple counseling and group discussions—were implemented in separate townships (cantons) in Kpalimé

Men and COVID-19: Adding a gender lens

In this commentary, the authors point out that there are important gender determinants to both men’s and women’s vulnerabilities to COVID-19, and call on the global health community to unpack and address these early in the COVID-19 pandemic response. They point to best practices and tools from two decades of engaging men in research and programming in the sexual and reproductive health field

Applying a power and gender lens to understanding health care provider experience and behavior: A multicountry qualitative study

A limited but growing body of literature shows that health care providers (HCPs) in reproductive, maternal, and newborn health face challenges that affect how they provide services. Our study investigates provider perspectives and behaviors using 4 interrelated power domains—beliefs and perceptions; practices and participation; access to assets; and structures—to explore how these constructs are differentially experienced based on one’s gender, position, and function within the health system. We conducted a framework-based secondary analysis of qualitative in-depth interview data gathered with different cadres of HCPs across Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, and Togo (n=123). We find across countries that power dynamics manifest in and are affected by all 4 domains, with some variation by HCP cadre and gender. At the service interface, HCPs’ power derives from the nature and quality of their relationships with clients and the community. Providers’ power within working relationships stems from unequal decision-making autonomy among HCP cadres. Limited and sometimes gendered access to remuneration, development opportunities, material resources, supervision quality, and emotional support affect HCPs’ power to care for clients effectively. Power manifests variably among community and facility-based providers because of differences in prevailing hierarchical norms in routine and acute settings, community linkages, and type of collaboration required in their work. Our findings suggest that applying power—and secondarily, gender lenses—can elucidate consistencies in how providers perceive, internalize, and react to a range of relational and environmental stressors. The findings also have implications on how to improve the design of social behavior change interventions aimed at better supporting HCPs