Patterns and causes of female migration are changing in India. An upscaling proportion of women are moving towards cities, particularly big cities for reasons other than marriage.
Women’s migration from rural to urban areas offer a diverse range of benefits that can be associated with their financial and social empowerment such as independence, economic attainment through trading, and networking to find better economic opportunities. It is quite encouraging to find that the proportion of females migrating for work, employment, and education is increasing over time.
Women are coming to cities with aspirations of creating new opportunities, finding greater independence, gaining more security, and forging new lives for themselves and their families. Whether migrating voluntarily or forced to leave their homes, many migrant women are panning the education, jobs, networks, and communities they are looking for, enriching and upscaling their lives in the process. They are taking control of their lives in a new and often very challenging environment, sometimes a world away from what they have been used to.
Migration has contributed to the economic empowerment of women. Economic participation of women through entrepreneurial activities contributes to the process of empowering women. Women entrepreneurs can make a living in a new environment giving them self-esteem and more power in the household decision-making. Migration and entrepreneurship have the realistic potential to empower women financially in the new urban setting.
Traditionally it is believed that females in India migrate to short distances and mostly due to the reason for marriage purpose. The urbanizations, privatization, globalization of the Indian economy may afflict the migration of the population in general and females in particular. It is assumed that with these changes in the economy and society, there might be more female migration.
Hence, it is imminent to support and encourage this alteration since it provides not only women but the world too with intangible benefits, that can assist in the transformation of women from a caterpillar to a butterfly efficiently and triumphantly. To conclude, this proves to be the catalyst to success in endeavoring to make the world a better place to live in, for us and future generations.
Written by Anantya Daga