Changes in Perception of Gender Roles: Returned Migrants

Abstract

This study explored how migration influenced gender role perceptions. A comparison of returned migrants with non-migrants was made to see the effects of migration-repatriation. Sample of 120 men and women returned migrants were interviewed and Islamic Attitude towards Women Scale (Khalid & Freiz, 2004) was administered. t-test results showed significant differences in attitude towards gender roles. Changes in the returned migrant groups were also related to a number of demographic factors. Results also suggested that returned migrant men and women either take on new patterns of behavior or maintain the traditional ones only when these are congruent with financial concerns of the family or can be integrated into living conditions in Pakistan upon return. Gender role perceptions are socially constructed standards. The expectations of gender related tasks and power distribution roles may differ within a culture and across cultures. Social role approach, the predominant approach to understand gender role beliefs, attributes the sources of these beliefs to the different social roles performed by men and women (Eagly & Wood, 1991). The situation in Pakistan today reflects two positions regarding appropriate gender roles, the liberal and the conservative. The conservative group promotes the marginalization of women and looks down upon their independence from the home. The liberal group accepts an egalitarian view of women and men and encourages emancipation of women. Perception of appropriate roles for men and women has universally changed over the years. The change is mainly due to urbanization, industrialization, media, exposure to other cultures, technology, migration and repatriation of populations. Due to several economic and political reasons, there is a continuous influx of migration and repatriation of the Pakistani population. Every year numerous students and professionals from Pakistan migrate for a short period, i.e., one to three years, to developed countries for improving their qualification. The number of Pakistani students studying abroad has significantly increased; majority of them are postgraduate students. The postgraduate students are usually joined by their spouses and are likely to stay abroad for 3 to 4 years before returning to Pakistan. Pakistani migrants to UK, before their departure, live in a traditional Muslim and patriarchal society where gender roles are organized in terms of sex and age of its members. In the host industrialized society they experience living in a more liberal and egalitarian environment where segregation of sexes is not practiced, relationships between men and women are more informal and gender roles are more flexible and permissive; although this does not mean that some kind of gender typing stereotypes do not exist there. Shared responsibility for housework and childcare is more likely to be practiced by Pakistani couples in UK than in the country of their origin. Sharing of domestic tasks is considered an important indicator of gender equality. More egalitarian gender role beliefs are associated with more sharing of domestic work (Xu & Lai, 2004). Acculturation refers to changes in cultural attitudes, values and

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