How does male out-migration impact the lives of left-behind women? Trade-off between feminization of agriculture and empowerment of farm women

Abstract

Male out-migration has become a key livelihood strategy to diversify farm income in the developing nations. This has a widespread effect in terms of a significant shift in gender roles and a change in the agricultural landscape.Current research frequently depicts the left-behinds as passive recipients of remittances, ignoring their experiences of separation and how they maintain the farm. In this context, present study aimed to evaluate the impact of male outmigration on the feminization of agriculture and empowerment of the left-behind women. Relevant literatures were collected by systematically searching the online databases. By following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) standards, 25 articles were finalized for the review process. The decision-making ability of the left-behind women on and off the farm was found improved, but it was influenced by the family composition. The feminization of agriculture has been found hampering farm productivity and increasing the drudgery of women. Due to male migration, the autonomy of women has increased to some extent in terms of decision-making, access to resources, and mobility in nuclear family. Understanding the gendered consequences of male out-migration will help to formulate policies and programmes that strengthen the position of left-behind farm women. The empowerment of women on the farm and within the household needs to be discussed beyond the role of gender in agriculture, and the intersectionality of different social factors is important to gain better insight into individual experience that will be pivotal for future programme planning for addressing both the issues of male migration and empowerment of farm women.