Women Migrant Domestic Workers Building ‘Modern’ Homes and Challenging Gender and Social Hierarchies

Описание: Critical Agrarian Studies - Seminar Series 2025:01

This presentation contributes to discussions on migration, gender, and the socio-economic transformations driven by female labour and remittances by examining the experiences of Sri Lankan women from Nelibewa who migrate as domestic workers to the Middle East to finance modern homes in their village. Based on interviews with over 30 women and the author’s lived experience, the research highlights how these women challenge traditional gender and social hierarchies by becoming primary earners and reshaping the village’s housing landscape. Rather than passive victims of economic necessity, these women assert agency, negotiating their roles within their families and communities while navigating hardships abroad.

Kaushalya Herath, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Dundee in Scotland and an ethnographer with over 12 years of experience at the intersection of gender, housing, and spatial justice. Trained as an urban planner in Sri Lanka and the USA, her work bridges urban and rural contexts, centring community development, sustainability, and inclusive planning. Formerly a lecturer at the University of Moratuwa, she combines academic insight with hands-on policy expertise across government, NGO, and international sectors.