Gendered Dynamics of International Labour Migration: Kurdistan Region, Iraq

This study is part of a larger multi-country research project ‘Gendered Dynamics of International Labour Migration’ involving four countries and main cities in them: Islamabad in Pakistan, Istanbul in Turkey, Beirut in Lebanon and Erbil in Kurdistan Iraq (KRI). The analysis aims to contribute to theoretical and empirical knowledge of gendered migrations, both within the Global South (Izaguirre and Walsham 2021) and from the North, especially from Europe and North America (Kofman 2022) and to highlight the diversity of migrants in relation to sectors of employment, educational and skill levels, and countries of origin. In doing so, we seek to avoid a perspective that sees migrant women only as victims of the process of migration, but also to highlight women’s agency in bringing their voices to the fore. The project sets out to elaborate a gender-sensitive understanding of the interaction between economic and socio-cultural drivers of labour migrations and the experiences of women migrants in KRI. The Kurdish research team interviewed a diverse group of women migrant workers, especially those working in the household, education and NGOs, and who originated from neighbouring countries, other countries of the Global South (Africa and South-East Asia), and the Global North (Europe and North America), about their living and working conditions and how they dealt with the pandemic in Erbil, the capital city. The report is based on fieldwork conducted in 2021 during a period when the Covid-19 pandemic was impacting on how we conducted our fieldwork and whom we could access. This report has been cooperatively written by the members of the research team. It is theoretically grounded in critical migration and feminist theories. On the one hand, the political and economic factors of structural violence, and their role in women’s migration, are acknowledged. On the other hand, micro-processes are recognised and highlighted, so as to be able to see the nuances of experiences at the interplay between power and agency, away from pre-fabricated and stereotypical understandings of South-South women’s migration. This implies adopting a perspective which is close to migrants’ experience and their own sense-and self-making away from victimising stereotypes (Mulinari and Sandell 1999).
Irwani, Aghapouri and Kofman (2024) Gendered Dynamics of International Labour Migration: Kurdistan Region, Iraq; Gender, Justice, and Security Hub, Migration & Displacement Stream.Gender Justice and Security GCRF Hub (2024) Kurdistan-Iraq Country Briefing