Th is study examines the processes, outcomes and problems associated with the migration of women workers from South Asia to the Gulf region. The Gulf region has had long-standing connections with South Asia in terms of both trading links and the movement of persons. The South Asian region has emerged as the most important source of migrant labour in general and female migrants in particular to the Gulf. The countries of this region share a common history of colonial domination and a long history of labour mobility both within and outside the region, but have different economic growth and development experiences. The current spurt in labour migration to the Gulf needs to be situated within the long-term trend of international migration in the age of globalisation, specifically in the last three decades. International migration has become both an outcome and a driver of increasing global integration (Martin et al., 2006; United Nations [UN], 2006; United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2009a). Labour migration from South Asia, which had played a dominant role defining the 19th century international migration trends, has once again emerged at the forefront of the new wave of global migration in the last decades of the 20th century (Mckeown, 2004). While 19th century labour migration was mainly intra imperial and primarily to the British colonies, the destinations of the current international migration flows from the region are mainly the Gulf and North America.
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