Multiple masculinities of labour migrants: how Bangladeshi migrant men rationalize gender norms in their home country

ABSTRACT

Although there is growing scholarship on marginalized migrants and racialized masculinities, studies on how migrant masculinities influence gender norms in the origin countries remain limited. This article explores the formation of multiple masculinities among low-paid Bangladeshi labour migrants to the Middle-East and South-East Asia. I pay particular attention to how migration influences men’s attitudes towards gender norms in their home country. This ethnography reveals that Bangladeshi migrant men advocate for female ‘modesty’ and religious schooling for women in their native communities. Struggling to achieve hegemonic masculine power abroad, men uphold rigid masculinities back home often by relying on a patriarchal interpretation of Islam. Regardless of the diverse ways in which Islam is practiced in the host countries, migrant men returning from both the Middle East and South-East Asia exhibit similarly conservative views on gender norms. This article highlights the need for further research that examines how formation of multiple masculinities among migrant men may impact gender relations in their native communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Labour migration
• Bangladesh
• migrant masculinities
• female ‘modesty’
• patriarchal Islam
• hegemonic masculinity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All names of the research participants are pseudonyms.

2 Purdah is the practice in certain Muslim and Hindu communities of screening women from men and strangers especially by means of a curtain. In the context of this paper, women who practice purdah are women who wear burkha and do not talk to men outside of family or community.

3 Allah is the Arabic word for God in Islam.

4 Dowry is property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage.

5 In many Bangladeshi communities a girl’s settled status refers to her successful marriage.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Bangor University.

Notes on contributors

Marzana Kamal

Dr Marzana Kamal is a lecturer in sociological studies at Liverpool Hope University. She is a sociologist with research interests in labour issues, gender and social inequalities in South Asia and beyond. She is currently researching everyday experience of low paid migrant men and women in Liverpool, UK.