In this article, I explore the role of transnational marriages in the activities and strategies of trading networks, through the lens of money and uncertainty in marriage. I argue that uncertainty in spousal relations challenges the durability of such unions and hence the effectiveness of their role in trading activities. These uncertainties are shaped by intertwined factors, including especially the embedded relationship between commercial and social networks (for example, business partners, kinship, friendship) and spousal relations, the differing cultural values and practices of the partners to such unions, stereotypes, varying forms and degrees of trust and mistrust, and the dynamics of global markets and state policy. Uncertainties driven by these factors exacerbate mistrust in both marriages and trading relations; they also shape shifting orientations toward future life. Therefore, I argue that the role of marriage in trading activities should be neither simplified nor romanticized.
The 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development explicitly links the goal of reducing inequality between and within countries to the encouragement of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration. Yet to date there has been little discussion on how migration processes, especially those which occur through commercialised recruitment intermediaries may, in fact, enhance rather than reduce socio-economic inequalities. In particular, existing research shows that migrant workers from the Global South, especially in Asia, are often recruited by intermediaries into low paid, temporary and precarious jobs such as domestic service and hospitality work, agriculture and construction, manufacturing and mining. Such workers are often recruited as cheap, flexible labour and denied access to the right to organise in trade unions. Moreover, intermediaries often charge migrants fees for recruitment which inhibit their ability to maximise their earnings and remit monies home. This article addresses one of the hitherto neglected yet most fundamental aspects of international migration: how commercialised recruitment intermediaries serve to reinforce racialised and gendered inequalities. The article draws on a content analysis of recent articles published in the media on Bangladeshi migrant workers, aiming to contribute to discussions of gender, race and inequality in international migration and domestic labour through the lens of intersectional analysis.
This paper explores intermarriage between Chinese women and foreign Muslim traders in Yiwu, China through a consideration of women's experience of uncertainty in settlement and decisions regarding migration. In so doing, it argues that intermarriage plays an important role in anchoring trading networks for the traders. However, this anchor is not firm, as such households also face significant uncertainties due to the structural constraints resulting from the unstable nature of informal trade; state migration policies, both internal and border control; and challenges regarding children's education. Furthermore, migration decision-making processes are equally impacted by personal dimensions of attachment, marriage (in)stability, family orientations and perceived cultural gaps. Women are active agents in negotiating and adapting to new situations but their agency is limited by structural constraints.
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