Why did rural households permit their daughters to be urban factory workers? A case from rural Malay villages.

Abstract

Export-oriented industrialisation has played a key role in leading economic growth over the last 20 years in Malaysia. The number of women who have joined the urban factory workforce has increased in this period, and many of them come from rural villages. The majority are young, single women who have just finished secondary school or have dropped out of school. Why do they choose to migrate to work at urban factories instead of following traditional Islamic teachings on women’s role in rural villages? To answer the question, this paper uses empirical data collected by the author in urban factories in Penang and rural Malay villages in Kelantan. It looks at household determinants of female migration by applying Thadani and Todaro’s migration framework. It applies quantitative methodology to the following factors: (1) net gain in expected household income, (2) household demographic structure, (3) household consumption and production levels of Z-goods, and (4) the non-economic perceptions of the migrant and her household head toward the migrant daughter’s life (marriage, urban life and traditional values). The paper shows that, as conventional migration models predict, family income gain plays a significant role in the female migration decision. More importantly, it also shows that members’ Z-goods production workload, household demographic structure, and non-economic perceptions explain why some rural females choose to migrate to work in urban factories. Show more