Abstract
International migration presents challenges to Malawi as a country, as well as to
individual households, that go beyond financial considerations. The marital institution
of the household is more particularly affected because migration involves either the
separation of partners in a marital relationship or the relocation of both parties to a
country beyond their national borders. Couple stability is typically threatened by
distance from family and kin and the need to restructure long-standing and culturally
established role expectations, social isolation, and economic challenges. While
international migration is a topic that has been widely investigated, studies that focus
on how migrant couples experience and construct the changes in their marital
relationship are rare. In this study, I present a holistic perspective of the experience of
migrant families by exploring the lives of men who migrate alone leaving their families
behind and the women who stay behind, as well as husbands and wives who migrate
and stay together in their destination country. The focus is particularly on the interplay
of migration, gender, and family structure and how these shape couples’ experiences.
The analysis of data from stay-behind women suggests that patriarchal norms are
reinforced and displayed in power relations between husband and wife when making
migration decisions. Sacrificial motherhood is indicated as the primary reason for
staying behind. The cost of this sacrificial decision is that stay-behind women
experience separation from their husbands which leads to emotional disconnection.
The stay-behind women also go through a period of waiting as they anticipate the
return home of their husbands. Data from the interviews also suggest that stay-behind
women undergo community policing, stereotypes, and falsehoods. Nevertheless, in
the presence of remittances, stay-behind women exercise autonomy. The improved
economic status and the absence of their husbands enable them to negotiate their
position in the family. The exploration of data from men who migrated alone and data
from migrant families suggests that international migration is regarded as a household
livelihood strategy. In a transnational relationship, men and women have fewer
possibilities for gestures of caring and affection than couples who reside together. The
act of a husband contributing through remittances, as well as the wife’s response to
these remittances, are significant sites of spousal support and care. Stay-behind wives
interpret the absence of remittances as a lack of love and affection. However, migrant
men go through many challenges in the destination country that might affect the flow
of remittances. For migrant couples, much as migration brings them closer together
emotionally as they face and conquer new challenges together, they experience
isolation because of living far away from family and acquaintances. The analysis
illustrates that while migration can be a struggle for couples who are forced to rethink
their values, expectations, and reciprocal responsibilities, it can also be an opportunity
to experience new closeness away from their family’s control. The thesis argues that
international migration has a mostly negative impact on marital relations in Malawi,
and hence it cannot be advocated as a strategy of long-term development.
International migration is a process that is influenced by gender, and it has a significant
impact on marriage. The impacts of international migration are gender-specific and
men’s migration strengthens patriarchy. This thesis demonstrates the need to shift
attention away from the economic benefits of labour migration towards the social costs
of gender-specific labour migration. A concerted effort by government, employers, and
communities is therefore required to protect the marriage institution in the international
migratory sphere.