Publication History
Submitted: July 23, 2025
Accepted: August 11, 2025
Published: August 31, 2025
Identification
D-0519
DOI
https://doi.org/10.71017/djsi.4.08.d-0519
Citation
Binita Kafle (2025). Privatization and Return Labour Migration: A Sociological Study of Tanahun, Nepal. Dinkum Journal of Social Innovations, 4(08):651-662.
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s).
651-662
Privatization and Return Labour Migration: A Sociological Study of Tanahun, NepalOriginal Article
Binita Kafle 1*
- Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science South, Asian University, New Delhi
* Correspondence: binitakfle@gmail.com
Abstract: labor migration and return labor migration is two different concepts. In labor migration, people moved from one place to another for improvement of livelihood. In return labor migration migrants return at home with tag of economic success and failure. People have various reasons to migrants and return at homeland. The study determined how privatization is a reason for the foreign labor migration; and second whether all the migrants became successful to get adjusted in the country of destination and whether those migrants felt alienated from the society. The study used qualitative study method; it is work to understanding the lived experience of participation. The study takes seven participants for the study. The interview conducts on two different phases; first interview with return migrants about their experience outside and inside country, in the second phase, interview conduct with family members. Labor migration has various reasons which affect the individual life, family and society. Privatization is one of the reasons to increase the labor migration. Labor migration is one of the livelihood tools which support people tackle in the society, as if that is not sustainable solution. After certain period of time people return to their homeland with different experienced. Gender matter at outside and inside of the country. The patriarchal thought towards women in different situation is creates difficulty for migrants’ women. The role of media, technology, and privatization with labor migration is interesting which develops the social network between individuals. The advertisement and attractive strategies promoted by media that play most important role for the labor migration, with use of the media and technology, people connect each other and minimize the distance between outside and inside of the countries.
Keywords: privatization, labor migration, sociological study, Nepal, experienced.
- INTRODUCTION
Labor migration and return labor migration is two different concepts. In labor migration, people moved from one place to another for improvement of livelihood. In return labor migration migrants return at home with tag of economic success and failure. People have various reasons to migrants and return at homeland [1]. The context of Nepal, labor migrants and return labor migrants increase day by day. The study focuses on two major ideas, first the reason of the labor migration, where study develops the hypothesis that is role of privatization which increases the labor migration in present condition. Second is perspective of return labor migrants, who are back to their community and found themselves difficult to readjust in the because of structural transformation and gab between personal relationship. The returned migrants have had experience in both the countries: the origin country of migration (i.e. Nepal) and the destination country of labor migration (i.e. any other country where he/she was migrated). Some of those migrants could learned different skills from outside of the country and use it in their country of origin once they are back. However, there are lots of people who are not able to adjust in own environment. They are unable to take a decision in the family, participate in social activities and they found themselves in a different position. It studies how the flow of the labor migration affected the social relation at the different level. In overall, the study concentrates on the experience of people [2]. What happened during the process of labor migration and how that has affected individual’s-social relationship are key question that that study tries to answer. Considerably less study has been done in the area of study. There is lots of study available on political economic and social sector to address the privatization. Social economic and political changes have welcomed the privatization. The studies on how culture of consumerism and privatization encourages foreign labor migration and studies whether such migration is have theoretical underpinning of the notion of alienation. The studies on those people who spent their long time as a foreign labor migrant and currently back the country of origin [3]. In a general understanding, mobility is a part of migration where people shifted from one place to another place. Migration is a complex process which has affected the demographic, social, cultural and economic structure in society on a different level. The social underpinning of migration is concerned with the physical movements of the individual which has a close relationship with social structure, groups, and community. Furthermore, the migration process is always connected with geographical movements, social structure, and social relation. Different social scholars understand migration differently which makes migration as a multi-diverse phenomenon. Several of perceptive towards the migration exists in national and international context [4]. Sociological Dictionary defines migration as “The movement of a population from one region to another, especially from rural areas to the urbanized ones, as well as from one society to another. In both cases, the people who migrate are not the poorest ones, but the individuals who can become aware of the existing discrepancy between their aims and the possibility of fulfilling them” [5]. Hence, migration can be defined as one of the integrated social processes in the larger part of the social system. Within the existing network of social relationship. The anthropological point of view, migration emphasizes the cultural basis which is considered a cultural change with demographic changes. There are several types of mobility of people that exist in both in the internal and international environment. Geographical studies studied migration as territorial mobility and ignored the social relation and structure [6]. The nature of migration is so complex and intertwined with any social, economic and political factor of space. The surficial look of the migration shows that it has many layers and types. Seasonal migration, brain drain, national and international, family and labor migration are some common types of migration that exist in any developing society [7]. South Asian society, which is characterized by poor economic and social protection system made people choose to migrate whether it might be influenced by economic, social, political, geographical and cultural factors. Usually, those who belong to developing countries seek to improve their economic condition and to uplift their life in the competitive globalized environment, which made them think that migration is the luring possibilities to overcome these problems and to meet their needs. In overall, the study would study how free market economy forces people to be economic migrants and how such migration creates a new form of alienation in the society. The study focused on migrants, migrant’s family and their overall experience. An author [8] describe that return migration is in unwritten chapter of the history. Labor migration is always being a part of the study but return migration are in ignoring condition. After back to the country the return migration has to challenge reintegration and readjustment in society. Labor migration is temporary livelihood strategies where people spend certain period of time then they have to back on society. In that condition some of them completed their objectives and some of them face the failure to achieve the goal. Return migration has various types like retirement, refugee and so forth. The study only focuses those who migrated with labor propose on gulf and they back to home. The international definition the return migrant is those who had lived abroad certain period and back to the country. Different countries fixed the criteria that are the part of return migration. They study would address the labor migration, they are part of low skill worker migrated on gulf countries and back home after certain period of time. Russell King explains that labor migration is depending on the economic condition of the country where gulf play the key role evolution of the global economy [9]. Most of the gulf countries recruit low skilled manual works from developing countries through personal contract and agencies. Nepalese community people migrated as low skilled manual workers for the improvement of financial condition of home. They faced challenges at foreign land and they return home with various reason then they have read just on society. Oscar Handlin describes the life of return migrants where he describes the socialization; work and language create the problem in readjusting problem. The return migrants physically present in society but they faced some psychological problem in different levels. The various factors affect their life such as the reason to back country. The study has two significant issues of the daily social life of present-day Nepal. First, it studies whether and how privatization is a reason for the foreign labor migration; and second whether all the migrants became successful to get adjusted in the country of destination and whether those migrants felt alienated from the society. The study targeted those groups of people who are back to the country of origin after being migrated for more than ten years. During the study period, available literature was studied to develop an argument about the relations between privatization and the motivation for migration. Secondly, they study the personal experience of those returned migrants.
- MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study used qualitative study method; it is work to understanding the lived experience of participation. In one hand, data and much existing information about migration, cultural alienation and relating issues taken from census issues related working organization for the supporting of the argument. On the other hand, study maintains the subjective experience, understanding, and meaning of what they describe during the interview period. It also covers the participant’s personal experience and observation of the study. The qualitative study method always shows the picture of the complex understanding of issues. Information gathering is not only the responsibility of the study, where the study is planning to analyze interpreted the collected data based on setting objectives and theoretical background. The nature of qualitative study provides an in-depth understanding of the specific group and community. It is not possible to cover all the population and gather the information about them. The study would specifically select the participants for considering time limitation budget difficulties and geographical situation. The study chose the twenty people for the study based on purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is effective for the study to identification and collection of the information from migration related participants. That type of sampling guiding the study to reach with the target group in quickly. In the study, the purposive sampling helps the study to set the target participants and gather information in a limited time. To address the first question the author asked migrants family members. Questions are related to the migrant’s experience and social relation. The study is about those who migrants and back to their place. The sample for the study the migrants themselves and their family members. The participants are who have already migrated and back to the country after ten years. These people have various experiences in past life, and the experience matters for developing the major argument in the study. People are closely connected with their family member and family member can observe every activity of the migrants. The experience of the migrated family member defines the personal connection between a migrated person and family members. The family members have represented the social institution which has a very close connection with social structure. The study takes seven participants for the study. The interview conducts on two different phases; first interview with return migrants about their experience outside and inside country, in the second phase, interview conduct with family members. Study presents the real experience from back migrants and would try to theorize various respondent experiences by using different sociological and psychological concept.
- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The case of developing countries labor migration is increasing day by day. Return migrants have an individual explanation beyond their situation. Return migrants express that wish of financial progress of the family status and social pressure is a major cause of migration. Conversation with return migrants found various inspirational factors to influence a lower-middle-class family to migrate in different places. The inspirational factors are not only limited to the lower-middle-class family, but people with higher influence also migrate to different countries according to their financial ability. The major influences factors are a material attraction, financial independent, personal freedom and distract to political and social instability. These inspirational factors are connected with the concrete function of the privatization and family livelihood. Thus, privatization plays an influential role as an inspiration in Nepalese society. The debate between supporting and not supporting the privatization on the labor market has various perceptive. Some scholar preferred the privatization because it provides the financial confidence to the labor and labor family. Others criticize the privatization because it increases the exploitation, humiliation and hardship and modern slavery. These difficult situations indicate the dehumanization which is a negative part of the privatization. The opposing- capitalist views argue that in capitalist project labor cannot consume what they produce. In that process, lots of factors affected by labor. Moreover, the study is a concerned with that labor who migrated on Gulf countries and contributed their energy for improvement of livelihood. Based on the field observation and personal interaction the tries to analyze that labor migration inspirational where the privatization made migration as a compulsion. The structural transformation emphasis on economic transformation of society. The economic transformation is all about changes in production that are related to the livelihood of an individual. The economic transformation of Nepalese society gradually changes from agriculturally based to remittance based. Most of the household’s income depends on the remittance [10]. The economic transformation is connected with increasing globalization which enforces and impacts the structural change in various sectors. The economic structure represents the foundation of livelihood for each family member such as education, health, communication and so on. The interviewee of the Rajesh indicates that motivation of the migration is all about changes and transformation of the social structure. The structural changes led to the increase the desire of the people to move from rural to urban because people want to enjoy developmental at urban area. The inspiration for labor migration is not only money; it becomes a structural transformation. People want something new in their generation. The changes become the motivational factor and driving force of migration. The voice of Rajesh represented the multi-layers of the labor migration migrated on the same family. The desire to follow the change circumstances and wish to follow the urban lifestyle made the migration an inspirational. Other factors made it a compulsion. He did not regret to influence his son for the next migration even he was happy because his son would earn money at the gulf and build a house at urban area. The structural change is seen both micro to the macro level, However the problem of sustainable livelihood arises. The transformation of agriculture to remittance based is not a problem, but the long-term consequences create difficulties. The urban lifestyle, construction and materialist life made people moral- less. The motivation to change the financial condition is respectable decision; however, using the remittance on unproductive sector made the system unsustainable. To understand the perspective of the interviewee Rajesh Thapa, we have to think about why people force the next generation for the migration? First generation of migrants had painful experience but why they are not ready to stop new generation to bear the same painful experience. Ramesh K. Suman and John Mcarthy pointing out the domination of the global labor regime play the role of reinforcement in labor mobility [11]. The global labor regime indicates the demand for labor under the neoliberalism world, which attracted the labor from various corner of the world. The distance labor mobility creates the delocalization of the livelihood in various places [12]. Rigg idea is delocalization of livelihood in a rural area is reducing the certain poverty and develops the new kind of poverty in society. The “New Poverty” is a concern with materialist life where people force the next generation again the way of migration. Material attraction is one of the motivational factors of labor migration. Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism defines that reduce to the state of an object and force to exist through a world of things. The simple interpretation of the commodity fetishism force people to live in a material world or capitalist society. The capitalist world uses the commodities fetishism as a self-regulating mechanism which is most important in the production and distribution of the goods. The concept of the commodity fetishism indicates the mysterious character of the object which is effectively played on the human desire. The idea of labor migration is closed to the idea of fetish or material attraction. The materials attraction plays the role to increase the labor migration. The successful migrants, who improve the lifestyle, increase the expectation of others. They successfully create a wonderfully imaginative world in a local community where people get inspired. The commodities fetishism and migrants’ inspirational feelings have hidden compulsion. The hidden compulsion is explored through social pressure. An example someone brings color television when he turns from migration the next family also want similar television. The social and political issues could be anything that affected the livelihood of the family. The analysis of interview information from migrant’s family express that social discrimination is the reason to migrate. Dilli Ram’s voice represents the social and political situation that force people to migrate. He felts guilty that he was not aware of the importance of education. His feelings are true as in the globalize world, education provide the capacity to tackle difficult situation. He was trying to say that education degrees open other possibilities rather than labor migration. Despite of that we have to understand that Formal degree holders also be part of the labor migration. However, the educational degree affected the personal life in different situation like adjustment in a different environment, decision-making process so forth. The point is clear that lack of education and social discrimination encourage labor migration. Here, the question arises of how social discrimination enforces labor migration? The social discrimination arises from the concept of homo hierarchy which creates structural violence. The realm of structural violence directly affects family livelihood [13]. Many sociological writings maintain that Nepalese society has caste and gender-based structural violence in past. Those who belong to the Dalit community they deprived of various resources including education. Delhi Ram Darji is pointing that structural violence of the past has affected his children’s education, and then he chose labor migration as an alternative solution for their livelihood. The argument is those who are a victim of the structural violence they easily adopt into labor migration. Dilli Ram anger with political parties indicates the states avoidance and negligence towards the carrier of labor. The question arises from the side of the labor’s family; does the government recognize the contribution of labor migration? An individual contributes his/her energy to the outside of the country and sacrifices his or her social life. Nobody recognizes their values. His aggressive thought towards the function of the government is a represented. The government needed to recognize return migration. Government can establish the insurance policies, develops benefited rules and regulation for labor worlds. They contribute their labor force more than ten to twenty years for the fulfillment of the family requirements. The remittance is their struggle at abroad which is a part of the national GDP is. After return home, again they have struggle for readjustment on social life. Nowadays NGOs and INGOs started working with return labor migration. The government also develops loan facilities to establish sustainable livelihood, but the program utilization is in very low. Return migration has a problem to develop meaningful relations on society. Society makes the compulsion of the migration, those who are interested in living at home and doing something that makes challengeable because of the treatment of society. The decision to go on labor migration is not an easy task; it is embedded with socio- cultural norms, meaning of life and family expectation. Sometimes the expectation is not matched, and lots of challenges have to be faced by migrants. From the perceptive of return migrants, they had both sided experiences. Based on the field, information the chapter addresses how returns labor migrants adopted the life situation inside and outside of the country. According to return, migrants experience for the Nepalese is horrible as they faced exploitative situation. Most of the Nepalese migrants in gulf employed on domestic work, construction, manufacturing, private sectors, hotel restaurants, and small enterprises. The way of the migration is to develop through a social network [14]. The social network plays a vital role to connected people to each other. Those who are already migrated some time they played role of the middle man or the agent. Binod Shrestha aged 48; he was migrated because his cousin sends him a visa. When he arrived in Kuwait, his cousin facilitated to find work, supported him one-month accommodation and help him to learn some useful languages. There are many other Nepalese were work together, most of the time they are busy on duty. When they feel free they being socializing together they celebrate some cultural festivals, sing Nepal songs and stay together as much as possible. He shared that most of the Nepalese shared a single room, they live up to nine and team members in a congested room. The location of the room could be a slum area, and it would be very small. He said that people congested on the room but there are no possibilities to afford the comfortable room for us. Binod confesses that we concern about the six hours sleep, unhygienic and unconformable things. Our commitment is our strong support to live there. If we were not committed to the work if we conscious about hygienic things then we could not send money at home. The experience of Binod represented other youths and migrated person who suffered from various countries. They are deprived of basic facilities and stay only to improving the livelihood of the family. The world of privatization creates the cycle of the lives where people are not able to come out of from that cycle. The structural changes and privatization are an important part of the country economy. Labor migrants create the situation like slavery. The argument is not to encourage neither discourage those who want to migrants in different destination. The point is government need to give more attention on sustainable livelihood program which provides better opportunities for return migrants. Based on their experience skills and skilled workers have different experience. Ishower Pulami who has taken three months of cooking training speaks about; he relates that those who have enough skills in different sectors they can earn money similar to others. The labor market is full of competition People came from a different place; thus, who don’t have skills and competencies they are exploited. He narrates that, everybody knows the discrimination on the salary scale, but nobody listens to our voice. In different cases, people feel frustrated and back to home. Labor migration not only concern about the individual, but it also becomes part of the society where people are influence to migrate on a different destination. Sometimes labor was not able to adjust various condition and return back to home. Globalization, privatization and liberalization already changed the social structure and life change of the people than those who return home they have to face before and after kind of situation. The observation of return migrants experience explains that they encounter with unknown situation in homeland that led the feeling of alienation. As an example, they don’t want to be a part of socialization, group work, feel awaked to take a bold decision in society. The argument that, entire social structure is affected by unknown behavior of the return labor migrants. ‘Language’ is a major problem to adjust at abroad. Migrants need four to six months to understand the basic conversational language. As they were not talking the whole day at duty time, their language inability made them alienated and lonely from working environment. The point is barrier of language is difficult but true part of the labor migrants which make them isolated from foreign land. Labor migration is not a permanent solution for livelihood. They have to return back at home at certain period of time. The relationship between migrants and family has become complicated because they were in the distance for a long time. The lack of family attachment, understanding, physical and emotional supports. The situation of return migrants is waste. The scholar defines that return migration is the movement of emigrants back to their homeland. In the period readjustment and adaptation is might be a problem within society. The return migration has a cross-cultural experience that impacts in readjustment [15]. Migrated decided to return with various reason where sometimes they suffered a lot and could not adjusted in the foreign community. Each painful experience encourages them to be back at homeland. Pull and pull factors play the major role return to the home. Psychological discomfort, personal relation, and alternative solution make them return home. According to my field observation, demotivation of the work which is related to harassment, family issues, discrimination, and low payment, accident and health issues influence migration return back to the country. Every migrant expects a good life and when they feel regrets with migrating somewhere every day they live on demotivation. If they are on failure way that means they were not able to offer a good lifestyle which enforces the return at home. Because in the demotivating period they expect emotional support for adopting the environment. The case of success, migrants, feels that urban lifestyle, children education is now completed, and that is an age of retirement now it’s time to next generation. They were not afforded ten to eighteen hours. The field information suggests that most returnees were not failures, but neither were great successes. Social and political changes also make people take a decision back to the home country that is related to visa issues. Return migrants have cross border and city life experience which can make difficulties on readjustment in the social process. Even success and failure are related to the social adjustment process. Those who are return back to the community with a successful lifestyle, society treat him good manner which analyses easier readjusting into society. Those who are back to the community with the tag of failure again they have to suffer more in the adjustment process. Based on field observation those who returned after eight years with no change of financial condition and tried to use various livelihood strategies. Society treats the failure return migration on a negative way which is discouraging for reason. Social perceptive is playing an important role in the readjustment. It depends on individual behavior. Those who want to follow the livelihood strategies after they back to the community they need family and social support. The social ignorance and the situation of isolation victimize them, then instability increase in their life. The concept of alienation came from bible to literary work [16]. Layman understanding of alienation is separate from something or feeling of isolation. The meaning of the alienation defines here is different from the Marx concept of alienation. The study concern with Seeman’s concept of alienation which focuses on human psychology or feeling of distance from society. Alienation exists with human condition what they feel in which condition. The problem is there in no mechanism to decide a person is alienated. The feeling of disconnect is analyze through personal experience of return migrants. The migrants experience to reflect that where, how and when they felt alienated. The narration of the Binod reflects the experience by migrants’ life. Frustration of life abroad that is an experience of migrant’s life. His experience indicates the situation of alienation. The simple understanding of the alienation has come from isolation, meaninglessness and the feelings of loneliness. In abroad they already alienated from working environment because of barrier of language. All migrants have commitment to money and work where they forget life beyond that. The life experience of the labor migrants conveys the message of subordinate and awareness. Subordinate because someone controls their life and dictate what, where and how to do. Awareness b f labor migrants are alienated in abroad. The experience of the return migrants reflect that alienation happened in their community or not? Because they aware that something wrong happening in their life but they cannot come out of it. The argument is alienation happened in abroad that proved by lived experience of return migrants. In the case of return migrants, the studies whatever the situation persists in society. Those who spend more than ten years abroad separate from family, friends, and society, technological development helps them to be in touch and shared the feeling. The technology supports the verbal and visible connection, but physical absent always make difficulties. A father could not be able to touch the new baby; a son could not be present the death of parents. These types of events affect human psychology, where the migrants develop the feeling of the alienation with family and society. Rajesh’s experience represents the many other Nepalese situations. The absent of the physical representation affect human psychology where people create distance from society. On the basis of the lives experience of return labor migrants study connected feeling of alienated from both sides. The return migrants feel alienated only for the certain period like five to six months. However, the distance is always created between family members because of the layer of the migration. Migrants, alienation because of the physical absence of the family and society. Some religious rituals provide the importance of physically present where migrants were not able to attend. The physical absence of the important rituals in the community develops the negative perceptive toward the migrants. Not only that the absent decrease the trust from society; thus, return have migrants felt alienated and difficult in the socialization process. In conclusion, social adaptation is difficult for labor migration on both sides outside of the country and at homeland. In abroad land language, cultural barrier and socialization create them isolated and difficult to adjust in a new environment. When they return to home social status, their success and failure, division of the class affected their readjustment of the socialization at their community. The migrants experience to reflect the alienation in both places. Based on the field information, we can say that return migrant faced the difficulties in socialization process because of physical absent in important rituals. In the readjustment process, gender differences create more problems for women. Women have to face questions and more suffering for the readjustment compared to man. The historical perceptive female labor migration took the space on society in the 20th century [17]. Labor migration is a part of economic activities which is concern about the livelihood of the family. Among the family member, the performativity task has already divided based on sex. As an example, mother performed the household works and father performed the outdoor works where the economic responsibility included the father performance. A child socializes same performativity actions. Theory of performativity is a help to understand how socialization divided the role of gender [18]. The idea is female participation in the labor migration itself challenges. The beginning point of the labor migration is rise from the personal interest that is embedded with gender performance. The culturally constructed gender performance not allowed women going abroad for work. Buttler defines the idea of ‘gender’ is an act which leads by the body in various performances. It would change with consciousness. The female labor migration in long distance is certain to change. The feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir explains that we want the evolution of women’s condition female need to participate in production and freedom from reproductive slavery [19]. The female involvement of the labor migration has associated the idea of Beauvoir which conveys the message of female empowerment and contrast to the reproductive slavery. Nevertheless, the masculine and feminine character of gender affected as always on both places working destination and homeland. The experience of the female participated in the labor migrated clear that how they treated as the second position on both places. The female labor migration is a result of the structural change which is valuable transformation against the dominating patriarchal society. Unfortunately, the contribution of female labor migration is the unrecognized situation — the lack of female political representation and normative operation of power on gender performance. The various feminist studies explore the female image during labor migration process where they portrayed the vulnerable and painful situation. To recognize the women labor’s contribution means to provide respectable values for the women struggle in abroad. Society can recognize the women contribution through create the women-friendly space in the readjustment process. Labor sending and receiving both countries need to make a women-friendly environment at working place. The 1990s social transformation and many other socio-political changes of Nepal, increase the females in migration path. It is strong decision to challenges the patriarchal practice and historical suppression for women in society. The women Labor migration process has applied to two different conditions. One of the women labor migrations of the Nepalese society indicates the women empowerment and represents a similar work with the man. The participation of women in livelihood breaks the traditional beliefs. And another is women migrants are involved in low paid work and faced wage discrimination — the critical reality of those who are part of labor migration. According to my primary information from the field most of the low skilled women labor migrants engage in domestic work for example baby caring, cooking, cleaning washing and so on. These types of work have a low payment which represents the crisis of the gender. Male labor migration increases female participation in the decision-making process [20]. In my understanding, the Kaspar idea is all about male labor migration provide opportunities to women as participation in the decision-making process and hold household power. The absent of male members make the female more empower against the institutional patriarchy. The structural transformation gradually challenges the traditional rules which increase the women consciousness. However new challenges are increasing day by day in different formed on society. Where readjustment of female return labor migration is one of them, the field interview and women experience to explain how society deals with return female labor migration? The migrant’s destination or labor market for the Asian countries is a gulf. Many women who work on foreign land they sacrifice the motherhood. They suffered social and cultural anxiety, but the work commitment is always in priority. Nepalese women who spend on eight years on Dubai shared her experience the labor life of Dubai is not easy. Sabitra Pulami left Nepal when her daughter was two years old. She didn’t have any professional degree when her husband lost his leg in an accident; she decided to migrate, her relatives who already in Dubai help her in preparation. Then she was migrated on 2000 A.D for the improvement of the financial condition of the family. According to her experience, domestic work for the women is not safe; she spends eight years at foreign land where she suffered lots of problems. First of all, language creates her big problem to adjustment in a foreign land. She explains that exploitation, violation and discrimination, alienation and psychological trauma suffered most of the female migrants. Chandra Bhadra wrote about the social problem of migrated women in a foreign place that are a desertion of women, violence against women and the emergence of marital stress. These negative things happened because of gender discrimination and lack of self-consciousness. The social and cultural diversity is not women-friendly which affect the women migrant in the various destination. The national and international policies need special attention for the women labor migrants. The social problem is not limited to the migrant’s destination. Those return back to home after a certain period again they have faced lots of challenges on readjustment process in own community. Labor migration is the temporary livelihood strategies where labor back to their homeland with cross border and global experience. A couple of return migrants shared the personal experience it difficult to establish a meaningful relationship with family. A couple of years she got a divorce she said that society toward her as a negative way. According to her experience, the readjustment process is more completed for women than man. The case of Rabina is represented that how women are suffered because they follow the way of labor migration. In my field observation caste also matter the readjustment process because of the social practice. I want to clear that women from Brahmin community suffered more compare to another caste. The social and cultural values affected return migrants in the readjustment process. The challenges of the women readjustment are not only limited to the Nepalese society. The problem is all over the South Asian countries. Law of Nepal government allowed women migration as guardian, but in 1998 the government imposes a ban on the women labor migration. The reason for the band is increasing situation of sexual violence. The death of Kani Sherpa a Nepali migrant domestic worker in Kuwait is proved that the insecure condition of the female labor migration. After her death various female activist, women groups organized the campaigns and ban were finally lifted at 2003. The case of Kani Sherpa is clear that women are not a safe situation. The case of Kani Sherpa and other women experiences indicated that women are insecure in labor migration. The historic male dominating society is not easy to change; those who are tried to challenge the patriarchy system they become victimized. The gender perceptive always identified the problem of the women, but labor migration creates some positive outcome for the women participation. Overall, the study points out various issues of the women labor migration. First, the part of the labor migration itself challenges for the patriarchal society that is big achievement of women consciousness. Second, the work division affected the wage; women are involved with low pay for financial independence. Third, the working place is not women-friendly, sexual violence, raped; discrimination and various problems make women always be victimized. At last, when they back to homeland the readjustment process is more completed than man. Society needs to support to create the women-friendly environment everywhere which is a necessity in present condition. According to the field information the development of the technology and media impact in labor migration in positive and negative both ways. Participates define that when society started to use the communicational instrument then decrease the feelings of the loneliness. Media is part of the globalization thus it helps to increase the labor migration. Keiko Yamanaka explains that social capital is important for labor migration where media is support to increase the social capital. It increases the interaction process that support that is in migrating process. Media support the idea of Marx’s analysis of class consciousness with common interest of the individual who is part of migration. It helps to increase the bounding between migrants in foreign land, which is decrease isolation. The idea of class consciousness is increasing the awareness among labor migrants how they are exploited from privatization, how to get help if they are in difficult condition in foreign land, what king of policies they need and so on. One of the return labor migrations shared the experience by using phone call we can shared the personal feelings with family; sometime migrants were not engaging the job the feel difficulties on survive then family send them money. The media is influencing people in negative way but it is useful for the labor migration. Media is one of the tools to reduce the feelings of the alienation. It connected people on their own community. The lack of the media is increasing the feelings of insecurity. Media is playing mediator between migrants to family. The media help to increase the labor migration. Many participate shared that they migrate through agent which creates the advertisement on various media which increase inspiration to migration. Conclusion, media is part of the privatization and globalization which play the role on negative and positive way. In positive manner in develop the social connection which help to reduce the loneliness alienation. It makes easy on readjustment process. Media increase the social capital and attract people in migration process. By using media and communication people increase their inspiration on labor migration which is affected the social structure.
- CONCLUSION
Labor migration has various reasons which affect the individual life, family and society. Privatization is one of the reasons to increase the labor migration. The function of privatization in rural and micro level changed the social, political and economic structure. The structural transformation changed the livelihood of people where they migrate from rural to urban. To maintain the urban way of life and follow the modern livelihood everyone needs strong financial support. Thus, people migrated in different countries. However, the labor migration is not sustainable solution then they return back to society with tag of success and failure. The study develops certain arguments to understand that privatization help to migrate people in various destination, which is not going to stop soon, and those who already return in society how they exclude from society, family and friends, they faced difficulties in readjustment in everyday life. The privatization policies and implementation create the global impact where developing countries are easily influenced to adopting these policies without knowing the consequences. The Nepalese society highly influence with LPG (liberalization, Privatization and globalization) with various reasons which led transformation of the agriculturally based society to remittance-based society. Privatization in every sector such as (education, health consumption and so forth) increases the everyday expenses where lower middle-class family was affected. That kind of situation they do not have any other option except the migration at foreign land. The worldwide impact of the privatization attracts the labor in various places. The tiger economic countries and gulf countries demand the labor force from developing countries. The bitter truth of the developing countries is supplying labor force without any special concern. The labor force supplying process globalization, social network, materials attraction and social political change impact life of labor. Study found the voice of Dalit community, where they point out, the caste based structural violence in past is made them compulsory to adapt the labor migration. They were in exclusion situation which deprived them in different opportunities and they are not able to competitive with upper caste. In the discriminatory situation they easily enforce next generation to follow the migration. Labor migration is one of the livelihood tools which support people tackle in the society, as if that is not sustainable solution. After certain period of time people return to their homeland with different experienced. Returning home is not easy for migrants because they had already faced outdoor difficulties, they are back to home again they need to readjustment in homeland. The combat has started between experienced return migrants and normal people, where the limited number of return migrants challenged alienated circumstances from society. The experience of the return labor migrants expresses their feeling of powerlessness, loneliness, isolated in abroad because someone controls their life. Labor as a part of subject because someone can control their behavior, their time, their whole life. When they back to home they the emotional distance make them more alienated with community and family members. The alienation happened in two different situations for the life of return labor migration: when they migrants in outside of the country, when they return to their homeland. Gender matter at outside and inside of the country. The patriarchal thought towards women in different situation is creates difficulty for migrants’ women. Female migrants suffered more than male migrants in both sides. Society observed female return migrants with concept of negative characters. The caste hierarchy affects female return labor in readjustment process. Most of the Brahmin women community was not allowed to migrate in abroad as labor. In case they migrate and return back to the community, it becomes major challenged to them. The role of media, technology, and privatization with labor migration is interesting which develops the social network between individuals. The advertisement and attractive strategies promoted by media that play most important role for the labor migration, with use of the media and technology, people connect each other and minimize the distance between outside and inside of the countries.
REFERENCES
- Rauf Bhutt, Mehmod, UL Hassan and Andul Raoof. 1999. “Global Privatization Trends and Associated Policies for State-Owned Enterprises and Banking Institution in Pakistan.” Pakistan Economic and Social Review 61-82.
- Adhikari, Ramesh Kanta. 2006. “Privatization and Technical Education: The Case of Education and Health Professionls in Nepal.” Regional Health Forum, Vol 10, (1): 59-65.
- Adnan, Shapan. 2013. “Land grabs and primitive accumulation in deltaic Bangladesh: interaction between neoliberal globalization, state intervention, power, relations and peasant resistance.” The Journal of Peasant Studies, 40(1): 87- 128.
- Giuliano, Paola, and Marta Ruiz-Arranz. 2008. “Remittances, Financial Development and Growth.” Journal of Development Economic, 90(1) 144-152.
- Awadaila, Dr. Safwat A. 2003. “Privatisation and Economic Development: Study on the Effect of Privatisation on theEconomic Efficiency in Developing Countries: Egypt: As a Case Study under Law No. 203for 1991.” Arab Law Quarterly Vol 18: 34-61.
- Bhattarai, Prakash. 2006. MIGRATION OF NEPALESE YOUTH FOR FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS. Youth Action Nepal, 05 31.
- Buttler, Judish. 1990. Gender Trouble : Feminism Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
- Castles, Stephen. 2002. “Migration and Community Formation under Conditions of Globalization .” International Migration Review Vol 36, 1143-1168.
- Che, Jiahua. 2009. “A Dynamic Model of Privatization with Endogenous Post- Privatization Performance.” Review of Economic Studies, Vol.76 (2): 563-593.
- De Beauvoir, Simone, and Howard Madison Parshley. 1953. The Second Sex. New York: Vintage books.
- Dean, Dwight G. 1961. “Alienation: Its Meaning and Measurement .” American Sociological Review 753-758.
- King, Russell. 2000. “Generalization from the History of Return Migration.” In Return migration: journey of hope or despair?, 7-55.
- Ewers, Edward J. Malecki and Michael C. 2007. “Labor migration to world cities: with aresearch agenda for the Arab Gulf.” Progress in Human Geography,Vol.31(4): 467–484.
- Gmelch, George. 1980. “Return Migration.” Annual Review of Anthropology Vol.9(1): 135-159.
- Harvey, David. 2007. “Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction.” American Academic and political Science Vol.610(1): 21-44.
- Hobley, Jagannath Adhikari and Mary. 2011. Everyone is leaving – who will sow our fields? project Work, Kathmandu: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Nepal and Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation Nepal, 2-82.
- Hopkins, A. G. 2010. “The Historiagraphy of Globalization and the Globalization of Regionalism.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orients Vol.53(2): 19-36.
- Hvidt, Martin. 2011. ” Economic and Institutional Reforms in the Arab Gulf Countries.” Middle East Journal Vol.65(1): 85-102.
- Kainth, Gursharan Singh. 2010. Push and Pull Factors of Migration: A. Panjab: Munich Personal RePEc Archive.
- Kansakar, Vidya Bir Singh. 2012. “International migration and citizenship in Nepal.” Central Bureau of Statistics 85–11
Publication History
Submitted: July 23, 2025
Accepted: August 11, 2025
Published: August 31, 2025
Identification
D-0519
DOI
https://doi.org/10.71017/djsi.4.08.d-0519
Citation
Binita Kafle (2025). Privatization and Return Labour Migration: A Sociological Study of Tanahun, Nepal. Dinkum Journal of Social Innovations, 4(08):651-662.
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s).
