Marriage drives migration of women in India!

More Indian women are open to migration within the country than men says the latest report published by the statistics and program implementation ministry. Sixty-one percent of urban women migrate due to marriage as against 91% in rural India.  

The 14th issue of the report named “Women and men in India-2012” shows that the trend of migration is getting more popular within women in comparison to men both in rural and urban areas. The report was published on October 31, 2012.

The report says that the share of rural migrant females stood at a high 47.7% as compared with a paltry 5.4% to their male counterparts. The pattern is similarly evident among urban female migrants as well. As against 25.9% of urban men, 45.6% of urban women have migrated.

Reasoning the higher rate female migration, Professor Kamla Ganesh, an expert in migration studies from University of Mumbai says, “Women now move from rural to urban areas because they now prefer a hassle free life. They are now keen to have an independent life and want to stay within a nuclear family which is more customised and less monotonous.”

The report also suggests that out of the total female rural migrants  as 91.2% migrated due to marriage followed by 4.4% due to movement of parents/earning member.

Anjali Pawar, a women and child rights activist from Sakhee NGO, Mumbai says, “Women in India have the least to say when it comes to decision making in the family and that’s the obvious reason which reinforces the increase in majority of migration amongst women in India.”

Migration due to studies and employment still ranks low among rural women as only 0.7% and 0.5% migrate from rural to urban areas respectively.

Similarly, the higher percent of migration amongst urban female migrants also occurred due to marriage followed by movement of parents/earning member and the least due to employment and studies.

While 60.8% of the total female urban migrants migrated due to marriage and 29.4% due to movement of parents/earning member, only 2.7% migrated due to employment and just 2.2% migrated due to studies.

Talking on the emergence of a new trend within the family Professor Ganesh from University of Mumbai adds, “In India over the ages women are the ones who was suppose to migrate when they get married but adding a new trend now rural women are migrating to urban areas with marriage, as now parents are open to urban culture that has more opportunities and freedom.”