Gender and the right to mobility in South Asia

Abstract

"South Asia including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka encompasses source, transit and destination areas for women who migrate for employment. In context of current migration patterns, this study identifies and analyzes sociopolitical restrictions on women s mobility; and highlights local, national and regional feminist perspectives, strategies and approaches to promote mobility, work and freedom from violence at all stages of migration. The strategies and tactics discussed in this report expand current discourses on migrant rights and provide insight that can inform local, national and regional policies and programmes to promote migrant rights. Part I provides a brief overview of migration patterns, delineates the many restrictions on women s mobility and underlines the spectrums of violence faced by migrant women. Violence in this context includes economic, physical and sexual violence. Part II documents the range of strategies used by South Asia Women s Fund (SAWF) partners. These social movement actors are committed to addressing all forms of migration related violence through an explicitly feminist, rights-based and regional approach. Key thematic areas of engagement include confronting defacto and dejure restrictions on women s right to mobility, right to work and right to information; and challenging social and policy practices that undermine and stigmatize women s work. Finally, the study concludes with thematic recommendations grounded in grassroots experience to inform partner strategies, SAWF funding priorities and future directions of rights-based anti-trafficking initiatives. These insights are relevant to recent global initiatives to address the impact of uneven economic growth within and among countries, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, Habitat III Urban Agenda and International Labour Organization deliberations on Decent work in global supply chains and Violence against women and men in the world of work.