Shifting Geographies of House and Home Female Migrants Making Home in Rural Sri Lanka

家屋與家的地理學轉移斯里蘭卡鄉村女性移民對家的創造

歐芝蜜(Fazeeha Azmi) ； 龍德兒(Ragnhild Lund)

《地理學報》 57期 (2009/12) Pp. 33-54

https://doi.org/10.6161/jgs.2009.57.03

摘要

性別化的移動已經成爲全球化及經濟重構中重要的部份。本文主要探討因工作而遷移至中東的斯里蘭卡鄉村女性如何建立家屋與維持家鄉生計。在本研究中，我們傾聽一些回到斯里蘭卡中北部地區的移民女性的經驗。透過對於這群女性的訪談分析，我們瞭解了建造家屋與家的社會與文化的實踐，除了是在跨國脈絡中展開之外，也鑲嵌於斯里蘭卡的在地社區中。當女性移民獲得越來越多權力並在家中掌握決策權時，女性扮演家務勞動者的傳統角色則會轉變。這意味著權威結構的轉變與各種新型態力量的出現：這些新型態力量可以扭轉他們的命運與貢獻，與在家庭關係中的權力，以及逐漸重要的自我價值。然而，確切地說，這些女性爲獲得成就與權力而付出的各種犧牲與努力不應當被隱而不顯。當女性移民往返於在地與跨國空間中工作的時候，家的政治在空間上也開始轉變。家不能只是被簡單的再現爲地域或物質空間，而應該超越在地與全球，展現出跨國生活的動態性。

關鍵字

女性遷移 ； 跨國生活 ； 家屋與家 ； 索拉瑪 ； 斯里蘭卡

並列摘要

Gendered mobilities have become an intrinsic part of globalization and related economic restructuring. This paper focuses on rural women from Sri Lanka who have migrated to work in the Middle East and thereby contribute to making houses and sustaining livelihoods at the home place. We follow the transnational experience of some women migrants from the north-central region who subsequently returned to Sri Lanka. Our analysis of interviews with these women shows how social and cultural practices of creating house and home are embedded in the Sri Lankan community, despite being facilitated in a transnational context. The traditional image of women as homemakers is changing as female migrants have gained increasing authority and decision-making at the household level. This signifies a shift in authority structure and the emergence of various new powers: power over their own destinies and contributions, power in relation to family members, and increasing self-worth. However, it is pertinent to note that the sacrifices made by these women should not be hidden behind the achievements and power they have gained. The politics of home is also changing spatially as female migrants work in both local and transnational spaces. Home cannot any longer be represented by a simple location or physical space, but transcends the local and the global, thereby revealing the dynamics of transnational lives.

並列關鍵字

female migration ； transnational lives ； house and home ； Solama ； Sri Lanka

參考文獻

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