Roksana Gabidullina December 18, 2014Professor Rahimov

Motivations, Choices, and the Decision-Making of Female Migrants from Kyrgyzstan

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan faced acute social,  political,

and economical problems; Russia pulled out its previous state subsidies, numerous

factories closed, unemployment skyrocketed, and people lost access to various

services that were provided by the Soviet government (UNIFEM 2009, 8; Thieme

2008, 330). One of the results was massive migration, both internal and external

(Thieme 2008, 331). Today, thousands of Kyrgyz citizens cross borders every

year in search of better prospects, many of them ending up in Russia and

Kazakhstan due to their proximity, cultural and historical ties, and existing

networks (Thieme 2008, 329). Other popular destinations include Arab countries,

such as the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), where about 5,000 to 7,000 Kyrgyz

citizens work in shops, IT companies, or in others (Malikova 2012), and South

Korea, where about 3000-4000 Kyrgyz are reported to work in factories, in the

fishing industry, or in small-scale enterprises (Iakupbaeva 2014).

This migration has profound effects on Kyrgyzstan’s politics, economy, and

society, especially since in the first half of 2011, migrants sent back 23% of

Kyrgyzstan’s GPD in remittances (Tian Shan Policy Center). The abuses that

migrants face abroad are well-documented (Anderson and Barbone 2013, 48) and

while substantive research on female migrant workers exists (UNIFEM 2009), there

is a need for a more comprehensive study of the motivations and choices

encountered by women migrating from Kyrgyzstan. A study found that female

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preferences for destinations differ from those of men; women prefer North Korea,

U.A.E., Poland, and France as opposed to men who prefer Denmark, Canada, United

States of America (U.S.A.), South Korea, and Germany (Turgunbayev, Botoyeva,

Ablezova, and Tynayev 2007, 7). The reasons for these differences are not very well

researched. Thus, my project will attempt to illuminate the choices and motivations

of female migrants coming from the Kyrgyz Republic to the Russian Federation,

South Korea, and Arab countries by studying which pull and push factors bring them

to the countries and force them to migrate out of Kyrgyzstan. These topics further

our understanding on the effects of the economy, politics, and culture on the push

and pull factors for migrant women.

The methodology and the number of interviewees are weak in this paper due

to the fact that not one person out of four of the interviewees could meet with me.

Thus, they had to answer a series of questions and depending on their answers,

follow up questions would be offered for them to answer. Four women from the

ages of twenty-one to thirty responded to questions; two of them are currently

working abroad in U.A.E., one is planning to work in U.A.E., and the last respondent

has worked and travelled to U.S.A. There were people who agreed to be interviewed

but never responded back to questions. As for those who did, clarification and

additional questions were asked but some of these were not answered either. Thus,

while the methodology leaves much to be desired, the four respondents still provide

interesting answers. All women speak and write in English, are educated, and have

access to Internet, all of which, of course, suggest a particular viewpoint on

migration. It seems that economic consideration does play a role in choosing to go to

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a particular country but for two of the respondents, cultural expectations play a

more prominent role.

Push Factors in Kyrgyzstan

Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and economic restructuring,

Kyrgyzstan lost many subsidies from Moscow and was forced to close down many

factories, privatize sectors, and face a shortage of funding (Thieme 2008, 330). One

of the hardest hit groups was women, who during the Soviet Union relied on the

state to receive welfare support. They lost numerous jobs since funding was cut for

teachers, nurses, and etc. (Thieme 2008, 303) and for those who stayed, the money

they earned was often not enough and they had to find second or even third jobs to

ensure the survival of their families. Furthermore, sectors that traditionally

employed women, such as textile and clothes manufacturing, had to be

“considerably reduced…due to the economic crisis and an inability to compete with

cheap imported goods” and women had to compete not only with the older

generation of women but also men over jobs, such as retail trade and catering

(UNIFEM 2009, 8-9). Many turned to trade and some travelled from one country to

another to sell goods, for example travelling to Turkey, buying goods there, and

reselling them in Kyrgyzstan. Today, the “suitcase traders” (chelnoki) practice has

decreased and instead, more and more women are migrating to find work outside of

the country (UNIFEM 2009, 20).

Reports state that women from Central Asia migrate mainly due to

economic considerations (UNIFEM 2009, 22) but in the interviews here, it seems

that this applies only to two of the four women. Many are facing difficulties in

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finding well-paying jobs and choose to leave Kyrgyzstan in search of better

prospects. The economic situation in Kyrgyzstan is such that the incomes

sometimes cannot sustain the whole family and many migrate out of Kyrgyzstan

to find jobs with good salaries. M., who is thirty-one and has a B.A. in Teaching

English as a Foreign Language from the Talas State University, works in Dubai as a

sales executive. She started working in Dubai at the age of thirty and she chose to go

there because “the salary level here is much higher than in my home country, and

plus there is the advantage of not paying any tax.” The reasons for her were purely

economic and cultural and religious aspects “didn’t play any role in my selection.” U.,

who is twenty-one years old, is sociology major from the American University of

Central Asia. She works as a Guest Service Executive in a U.A.E. hotel and she writes

that the U.A.E. is a good place for “career growth.” Although a good paying job and

career growth are the main reasons why these two women went to work in Dubai,

they cite additional considerations for why they chose Dubai specifically.

Sometimes, women have different motivations from men to migrate, which

include finding a husband or keeping their husband from cheating while abroad or

looking for independence. A married woman sometimes migrates with her husband

because she may be concerned he might “fancy alcohol, or might get married a

second time” (Thieme 2008, 333). An unmarried woman might feel liberated from

cultural constraints. Therefore, in addition to looking to improve a family’s

economic situation, women might have additional non-economic factors that affect

their decisions. For the twenty-three year old G., Dubai is a culturally close country

with a dynamic and multinational population. She says that while she loves her

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country, she cannot work in Kyrgyzstan or in any of the post-Soviet states. She

doesn’t mention China or South Korea as part of her destination choices, meaning

she doesn’t want to migrate there either. She wants to live far from her house and

she wants independence; for her, working abroad in Dubai with its “flawless”

culture is a perfect way to do find independence from the culture in Kyrgyzstan. She

is planning to work in Dubai as a real estate consultant. As for the twenty-one year

old N., who is a junior sociology major at AUCA, she migrated to work in the summer

through the Work and Travel program. The main reason for her wanting to work

abroad was to travel and see the United States of America but she does continuously

mention career growth, so N. does not think that in her and other people’s case, they

can realize career-nurturing opportunities in Kyrgyzstan. This counts as part of the

push factor for N.

Factors that Pull towards the Destination Country

M. and U. talk about the importance of a well-paying job and cheap costs of

travel but for them, additional reasons are factored in to their decision-making

process. M., who is the oldest of the four, writes that the company she was going to

work for offered her a legal work contract, suggesting that the legal nature of work

is very important to her. Her answer suggests that she will not work illegally but

that is perhaps due to her level of education and her access to opportunities. She

would not need to work illegally because she would be able to find a well-paying,

legal job. U. writes that “the first thing that attracted me [is] that I almost did not pay

for travel costs.” As with U., M.’s travel costs and housing expenses were also paid

for. For both of them, this was the main reason why they traveled to UAE and it

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seems that neither of them would turn down an opportunity to work in Russia or

South Korea if similar opportunities were offered there because neither culture nor

religion matter much to them. U. further replies that the proximity of UAE is very

attractive to her; she can fly back and forth often and her parents can visit her

relatively easily. She also finds the relative safety of Dubai as important to her

because the country does not allow for “depravity, violence, theft, [and] corruption.”

She would not work just anywhere and she feels that if Russia or South Korea

offered similar job opportunities, she would work there as well, showing that she

thinks these countries are also stable enough for her.

Although for M. and U. economic factors trump religious and cultural reasons

to migrate to a certain country, for G. the cultural is much more important. She

writes, “I don’t run after money, I can find work in Kyrgyzstan. The main reasons

why I am migrating to find work in Dubai are because of people and flawless

culture.” In addition to liking Dubai’s multinational society, she likes the beautiful

architecture and the “smell of wealth and, at the same time, ease.” She says that the

society in Kyrgyzstan needs to become kinder and the life there must be improved,

so for G. the easy-going people and the relaxed and beautiful atmosphere of Dubai

pull her to this country. For N., traveling and seeing the world, especially the United

States, is what pushed her to move. She doesn’t mention money when asked

whether economic factors pushed her to migrate and only mentions that she wants

to travel. Yet, when asked what the government should do to improve the situation

of migrant workers, N. writes that the government should work on improving

working contracts and safeguarding the interests of international students and

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migrants—they shouldn’t be working for low salaries. Work and Travel program

may have been chosen because this program is legal and would not pay low salaries,

so perhaps for her this was implicitly important as well. So, for N., the economic

factor was not the main one, she wanted to travel safely and legally.

Conclusion

All four women are educated, speak English, and are fairly young, and they all

migrated to work abroad. They share the fact that they all work or worked legally—

three in Dubai, one in the U.S.A. M. and U. write that the economic factors played the

main role in their decision to work abroad in Dubai, while for G. the culture of Dubai

was really important and N. just wanted to travel and see the U.S.A. Considering that

the majority of migrants from Kyrgyzstan migrate to the Russian Federation and

Kazakhstan, the lack of female migrant representatives in these both countries is

somewhat surprising. A nuanced analysis of female migration and the choices facing

women from various social environments must be made to fully understand which

factors motivate women to migrate to particular countries. Not all migrate to

support families, some travel to improve career prospects, while others travel

because they want independence. By better grasping reasons and understanding

concerns of female migrants, Kyrgyzstan’s government can make sounder trade and

migration policies.

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