Gender, marriage, and the dynamic of (im)mobility in the mid-Western hills of Nepal

Zharkevich, Ina

doi:10.1080/17450101.2019.1611026

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Our results also show that left-behind older parents' mental health was affected by a male child's migration, but not by a female child's migration. In Nepal, it is customary for daughters to leave the family home after marriage (Zharkevich 2019), and this traditional practice may partly account for this finding. The traditional norms of "filial piety" place caregiving responsibilities for aging parents on male children (Chalise 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal and International Migration and the Mental Health of “Left-Behind” Older Parents

Thapa

Visentin

Kornhaber

et al. 2023

International Migration Review

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Despite evidence of the impact of adult children's migration on left-behind older parents, the comparison of left-behind older parents’ mental health and psychological well-being between internal and international migration is limited. This article examines how the relationship between adult children's migration and parent's mental health differs according to the migrant's destination — only internal migration, only international migration, or hybrid migration (at least one child who migrated internally and at least one child who migrated internationally). Drawing on a 2019 cross-sectional population-based survey of 697 left-behind older adults (≥ 60 years) in Nepal, we assessed the mental health of older parents, using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and a range of socio-demographic, health, lifestyle, and child-related characteristics. Multilevel mixed-method linear regression was performed to examine the effect of adult children's migration on left-behind older parents’ depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Results showed that parents whose children had all migrated internationally were at higher risk of mental health problems, particularly anxiety and stress, compared to parents whose children had all migrated internally. Older parents from the hybrid group (having both internal and international migrant adult children) had higher levels of anxiety, compared to parents whose children had all migrated internally, with no significant difference in depression and stress symptoms. Further, mothers of internationally migrated children were at higher risk of mental health symptoms than fathers. Interventions aiming to improve left-behind older parents’ mental health and psychological well-being should specifically target parents whose children have migrated internationally.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal and International Migration and the Mental Health of “Left-Behind” Older Parents

Thapa

Visentin

Kornhaber

et al. 2023

International Migration Review

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“…These findings suggest that Nepal continues to experience high rates of migration, both within the country and outside it, from rural to urban areas and from hilly to Terai regions. Studies by Zharkevich (2019), Poertner et al (2011), Pun et al (2009), Speck (2017), and Thieme (2008) have shown that this demographic transition combined with massive outmigration, particularly from the Middle Hills, brings about significant changes in family and household composition for an increasing proportion of older people. The absence of younger family and household members has led to altered living arrangements and has implications for familial support and intergenerational care.…”

Section: Data Analysis: Policy Fails To Understand and Know Senior Ci...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Senior Citizens in Nepal: Policy Gaps and Recommendations

Acharya,

Dhungana,

Traille

et al. 2023

Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

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Limited research has been conducted on the views of senior citizens in Nepal with regards to contemporary challenges and aging issues. To better understand their existing problems, it is important to talk to and survey senior citizens and reflect on their experiences and insights. The Senior Citizens Acts, 2063 in Nepal defines senior citizens as individuals who have reached the age of 60 years or above. With an increase in life expectancy rates, the senior citizen population in Nepal is on the rise. However, despite the guarantees of rights outlined in the policy, little attention has been paid to the needs of the elderly population. This knowledge can help inform policies and programs that improve their quality of life and well-being. Therefore, this study aims to collect the lived experiences of older generations across Nepal, including information about the society, culture, and hardships they faced. The research aims to contribute to existing literature on the experiences of the elderly and inform policies related to senior citizens. A mixed-methods approach was used for this study, incorporating both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was collected through an informal survey posted on Facebook targeting senior citizens in Nepal which generated 100 responses from senior citizens aged 65 years or older within a 2-week period.

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“…The situation is markedly different for women. In Thabang, as in most of rural Nepal, migration is highly gendered (Zharkevich ): it is the job of men to go abroad, while the job of women is to stay. In 2016, out of the total 2,365 women (2011 census data) in the Thabang area, there were only four women who had ever gone abroad.…”

Section: Introducing the Fieldsite: A Transnational Village In The Himentioning

confidence: 99%

Money and Blood: Remittances as a Substance of Relatedness in Transnational Families in Nepal

Zharkevich

2019

American Anthropologist

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Drawing on research with transnational families in Nepal, this article explores how kinship is reconstituted through transnational mobility and what role material flows play in sustaining and disrupting kinship ties, rethinking remittances as a substance of relatedness. In a situation of unprecedented international mobility in Nepal, money has become a substance through which kinship is produced across time and space, resulting in a profound reconfiguration of the institution of the family, with long-distance marriages and nuclear families increasingly becoming the norm. Transnational families in Nepal maintain cohesiveness on condition that there is a flow of remittances, pointing toward the role of money in constituting affective relations, delineating the boundaries of transnational families, and reproducing kinship ties across borders. Rather than arguing that money is "thicker than blood," the article shows that the flow of money illuminates how thick "blood" is: the extent to which affective kinship ties map onto formal kinship structures in the world of today. [transnational families, substance of relatedness, remittances, money, Nepal] RESUMEN Con base en investigación con familias transnacionales en Nepal, este artículo explora cómo el parentesco es reconstituido a través de la movilidad transnacional y qué rol los flujos materiales juegan en sostener e interrumpir los lazos de parentesco, repensando las remesas como una sustancia de relacionalidad. En una situación de movilidad internacional sin precedentes en Nepal, el dinero se ha convertido en una sustancia a través de la cual el parentesco es producido a través del tiempo y espacio, resultando en una profunda reconfiguración de la institución de la familia, con matrimonios de larga distancia y familias nucleares convirtiéndose crecientemente en la norma. Las familias transnacionales en Nepal mantienen la cohesión a condición de que haya un flujo de remesas, indicando hacia el papel del dinero en la constitución de relaciones afectivas, delineando los límites de las familias transnacionales, y reproduciendo los lazos de parentesco a través de las fronteras. En vez de argumentar que el dinero es "más pesado que la sangre," el artículo muestra que el flujo de dinero ilumina qué tan pesada la "sangre" es: la medida en la que los lazos afectivos de parentesco se trasladan a un mapa sobre las estructuras formales de parentesco en el mundo de hoy. [familias transnacionales, sustancia de relacionalidad, remesas, dinero, Nepal] RÉSUMÉ A partir de recherches menées auprès de familles transnationales au Népal, cet article explore la manière dont la parenté est reconstituée dans des situations de mobilité transnationale et le rôle joué par les flux matériels dans le maintien et la rupture des liens de parenté, repensant ainsi les remises comme substance de parenté. Dans un contexte de mobilité internationale sans précédent au Népal, l'argent est devenu une substance par laquelle la parenté est produiteà travers le temps et l'espace, avec pour résultat une pr...

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Gender, marriage, and the dynamic of (im)mobility in the mid-Western hills of Nepal

Cited by 11 publications

References 37 publications

Internal and International Migration and the Mental Health of “Left-Behind” Older Parents

Internal and International Migration and the Mental Health of “Left-Behind” Older Parents

Senior Citizens in Nepal: Policy Gaps and Recommendations

Money and Blood: Remittances as a Substance of Relatedness in Transnational Families in Nepal

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