Left Behind: The Emotional Cost of Labor Migration on Children and Women Leave a comment

By Shanvi Shetty, East Central University, OK, USA — for Global Maheela

Background and Significance

Labor migration has long been a key part of South Asia’s socio-economic landscape. Driven by huge disparities in job opportunities and wages, millions of workers leave countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka each year to find better lives abroad. In 2022 alone, India received over USD 111 billion in remittances—making it the world’s top recipient while Pakistan and Bangladesh ranked sixth and eighth globally, with inflows of about USD 30 billion and USD 21.5 billion, respectively. Nepal’s reliance on remittances is even higher, with nearly 23 percent of its GDP coming from them. These funds support families, strengthen national foreign exchange reserves, and help pay for important public services.

Current Trends

Recent years have witnessed both a quantitative and qualitative shift in South Asian labor migration. These include rising outflows post-COVID-19, diversification of destinations, and gender dynamics. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO, 2024), Nepal experienced a staggering 102% increase in worker departures between 2019 and 2023, the highest among 13 surveyed Asian countries.  In just eight months of the fiscal year 2024, over 534,500 Nepali youths embarked on overseas employment, averaging more than 2,200 departures daily. While Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states remain the top destinations—particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait—South Asian migrants are increasingly branching into Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore) and even Europe for sectors ranging from construction to healthcare and hospitality, according to the World Migration Report. Gender dynamics have also been witnessed in labor migration, as women constitute nearly half of all international migrants in the region. Though they often occupy low-wage occupations such as domestic and care work, their remittances are disproportionately invested in health, education, and community development—a trend noted in the Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2024.

Pull and Push Drivers

There are several factors that have consistently driven labor migration from South Asia. These include economic disparities marked by persistent underemployment and a lack of higher-wage opportunities at home, which push workers abroad, while demand for labor in infrastructure, manufacturing, and service sectors in destination countries pulls them in. Demographic factors also play a major role in labor migration, as South Asia’s youthful population expected to exceed 600 million under age 30 by 2030 puts additional pressure on local labor markets, prompting more individuals to seek jobs overseas. Finally, initiatives like the Colombo Process (established in 2003) promote cooperation among 12 Asian labor-sending states to improve recruitment, ensure remittance efficiency, and protect worker rights through multilateral dialogue (IOM).

Economic and Social Impacts

Countries in South Asia have benefited from labor migration, but not without its costs. Steady remittance flows lift families out of poverty, finance education, and improve healthcare access. In Nepal, an estimated 740,000 labor permits were issued in fiscal year 2023/24, underpinning rural economies and reducing pressure on domestic job markets (ilo.org). Remittances are a vital source of external financing, contributing to macroeconomic stability. For countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, they surpass foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined. Yet, the benefits are accompanied by social challenges including prolonged family separation, mental health strains among left-behind children, and an unequal burden of reproductive labor shifted onto female relatives when mothers migrate (ilo.org).

Challenges and Vulnerabilities

There are various challenges and vulnerabilities associated with labor migration. The most prominent is exploitation and debt bondage that comes in the form of excessive recruitment fees often up to USD 5,000 versus the official cap of USD 650 that trap workers in cycles of debt. A recent AP investigation highlighted 280 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia who paid exorbitant fees and later faced 24-hour shifts, withheld passports, and substandard living conditions, culminating in over USD 694,000 in unpaid wages, apnews.com. Additionally, workers who overstay visas or fall victim to unscrupulous recruiters can become irregular, forfeiting labor and social protections. Trafficking remains a persistent threat, especially among women and ethnic minorities. Long hours, inadequate housing, and minimal access to healthcare contribute to untimely deaths; in Saudi Arabia alone, over 13,600 Bangladeshi workers died in 2022, many without proper investigation of causes, theguardian.com.

Looking Ahead

To ensure labor migration continues as a pathway to development rather than exploitation, stakeholders must deepen multilateral cooperation, enforce ethical recruitment standards, and expand social protection coverage for all migrant workers. Harnessing technology for transparent recruitment, bolstering data-driven policymaking, and centering migrant voices in governance dialogues will be crucial. As South Asia’s economies evolve, sustainable and rights-based labor migration must remain at the forefront of national and regional agendas, transforming the lives of millions while safeguarding their dignity and well-being.