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Socio-Cultural Dispositions and Wellbeing of the Women Left Behind: A Case of Migrant Households in Nepal

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  • Hom Gartaula
  • Leontine Visser
  • Anke Niehof

Abstract

The concept of wellbeing is gaining popularity in the study of quality of life and cultural significance of living. The paper aims to contribute to our understanding of objective and subjective wellbeing by exploring the perceptions of women left behind by out-migrating husbands on their quality of life in a transnational social field. The paper uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Its primary focus is on the life stories of the four women left behind by their migrant husbands, complementing by quantitative data obtained from a survey among 277 households. Taking an example from Nepal’s eastern terai, the paper shows that additional income from remittances has increased the objective wellbeing of the women left behind, but it may not have increased their subjective wellbeing. Hence, it is concluded that improved objective wellbeing of a woman does not necessarily translate into her (improved) subjective wellbeing. The subjective experiences are rather complex, multi-faceted and context specific depending on the family situation, socio-cultural disposition and prior economic situation of the actors involved. Copyright The Author(s) 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Hom Gartaula & Leontine Visser & Anke Niehof, 2012. "Socio-Cultural Dispositions and Wellbeing of the Women Left Behind: A Case of Migrant Households in Nepal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 108(3), pages 401-420, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:108:y:2012:i:3:p:401-420
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-011-9883-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Carol Graham, 2019. "Emigration, remittances, and the subjective well-being of those staying behind," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 113-151, January.
    2. Rachana Devkota & Helen Hambly Odame & John Fitzsimons & Roshan Pudasaini & Manish N. Raizada, 2020. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Picture-Based Agricultural Extension Lessons Developed Using Participatory Testing and Editing with Smallholder Women Farmers in Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-27, November.
    3. Phanwin Yokying & Sumeet Saksena & Jefferson Fox, 2023. "Impacts of migration on time allocation of those who remain at home in rural Nepal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 2067-2106, October.
    4. Hom Gartaula & Kirit Patel & Derek Johnson & Rachana Devkota & Kamal Khadka & Pashupati Chaudhary, 2017. "From food security to food wellbeing: examining food security through the lens of food wellbeing in Nepal’s rapidly changing agrarian landscape," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 573-589, September.
    5. Cathy Rozel Farnworth & Aye Moe San & Nanda Dulal Kundu & Md Monjurul Islam & Rownok Jahan & Lutz Depenbusch & Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair & Theingi Myint & Pepijn Schreinemachers, 2020. "How Will Mechanizing Mung Bean Harvesting Affect Women Hired Laborers in Myanmar and Bangladesh?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-22, September.
    6. Bhawana, KC & Race, Digby, 2020. "Women’s approach to farming in the context of feminization of agriculture: A case study from the middle hills of Nepal," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    7. Isabel Hombrados-Mendieta & Miguel García-Martín & Luis Gómez-Jacinto, 2013. "The Relationship Between Social Support, Loneliness, and Subjective Well-Being in a Spanish Sample from a Multidimensional Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 1013-1034, December.
    8. Paudel, Gokul P. & Gartaula, Hom & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Craufurd, Peter, 2020. "Gender differentiated small-scale farm mechanization in Nepal hills: An application of exogenous switching treatment regression," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Sima Ataollahi Eshkoor & Tengku Hamid & Siti Nudin & Chan Mun, 2014. "The Effects of Social Support, Substance Abuse and Health Care Supports on Life Satisfaction in Dementia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 535-544, April.
    10. Thomas Markussen & Maria Fibæk & Finn Tarp & Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, 2018. "The Happy Farmer: Self-Employment and Subjective Well-Being in Rural Vietnam," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(6), pages 1613-1636, August.
    11. Thomas Markussen & Maria Fibæk & Finn Tarp & Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, 2018. "The Happy Farmer: Self-Employment and Subjective Well-Being in Rural Vietnam," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(6), pages 1613-1636, August.
    12. Aryal, Jeetendra Prakash & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Gartaula, Hom Nath, 2022. "Gendered Analysis of Food Security Gaps in Rural Nepal," ADBI Working Papers 1279, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    13. Sandhya R. Mahapatro, 2018. "Impact of Labour Migration on Socioeconomic Position of Left-Behind Women in Bihar," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(4), pages 701-718, December.
    14. Paudel, Gokul P. & KC, Dilli Bahadur & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Khanal, Narayan P. & Justice, Scott E. & McDonald, Andrew J., 2019. "Smallholder farmers' willingness to pay for scale-appropriate farm mechanization: Evidence from the mid-hills of Nepal," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    15. Stéphanie Jaquet & Thomas Kohler & Gudrun Schwilch, 2019. "Labour Migration in the Middle Hills of Nepal: Consequences on Land Management Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, March.
    16. Rachana Devkota & Laxmi Prasad Pant & Hom Nath Gartaula & Kirit Patel & Devendra Gauchan & Helen Hambly-Odame & Balaram Thapa & Manish N. Raizada, 2020. "Responsible Agricultural Mechanization Innovation for the Sustainable Development of Nepal’s Hillside Farming System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, January.
    17. Holmelin, Nina B., 2019. "Competing gender norms and social practice in Himalayan farm management," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 85-95.
    18. David Ferrandiz-Mont & Chi Chiao, 2020. "Is left-behind status related to differences in sexual health of Armenian mothers? Evidence from the Demographic and Health Survey in 2010 and 2015," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.
    19. Nirmal Aryal & Pramod R. Regmi & Edwin van Teijlingen & Steven Trenoweth & Pratik Adhikary & Padam Simkhada, 2020. "The Impact of Spousal Migration on the Mental Health of Nepali Women: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-10, February.
    20. Shanta Paudel Khatiwada & Wei Deng & Bikash Paudel & Janak Raj Khatiwada & Jifei Zhang & Jiangjun Wan, 2018. "A Gender Analysis of Changing Livelihood Activities in the Rural Areas of Central Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.

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