James Joseph Keezhangatte

Indian Household Workers in Hong Kong- Resilience and Transnational Family Relationships James Joseph Keezhangatte

Transnational relationships between Indian migrant women household workers in Hong Kong and their family members in India is the focus of the book. The impact of migration on these solo women migrants, the strengths that they draw from work, income and friendship ties developed with fellow migrants at destination, and the cumulative impact these have on transnational relationships with families that they left behind, were unknown. Firstly, it emerged that Indian migrant women household workers in Hong Kong drew strength from their membership of small groups by developing reciprocal 'lunch box rights'. Secondly, the concept of 'bangled husband' highlighted the reversal of gender roles between breadwinning migrant wives and their non-migrant husbands. Thirdly, the pain of separation was central to the transnational relationships between mothers and the children they left behind. Finally, it was only after migrant women household workers struck a balance in the disbursal of their income between the demands from family members as well as their own needs for education, recreation and accumulation that it worked in their favour to gain influence in their natal or marital family.