The report itself is a presentation of the results of a study that was undertaken among migrant women workers in the manufacturing industries of Ha-Thetsane, Lesotho between June and July 2008. Consequently, women have migrated to the cities of Lesotho in search of employment in the manufacturing industries .
Rationale' for Choosing Thetsane as Locale' of the Study
It can thus be argued that there are more employment opportunities for women with only basic education in Lesotho than there are currently for men with the same level of education. As a result, it has become a common feature for women to work while men stay at home.
Context and Motivation for the Study
Second, a significant feature of women's employment (and subsequent power conflict in the family) appears to be the unsupportive attitude of husbands who regard working women as a threat to their male dominance and often use domestic violence to restore it. that (Dyer, 2001; Mapetla and Shlyter, 1997). Thus, women's employment migration can be seen as a source of tension within the family, which can potentially lead to the disintegration of the family unit.
Possibility of Role Conflict
While this is an obvious risk to children's safety, it also causes great anxiety on the part of mothers who have to choose between materially caring for their children or caring for them. Therefore, a review of the possible role conflict that migrant women may face must be made.
HIV/AIDS
The relationship between prostitution and the spread of HIV is well known and the extent of the problem, when exacerbated by low-paid migrant workers, needs to be established. However, there appears to be little literature on women's studies in the period between the mid-1990s and the early twentieth decade, which seems to be filling up again recently.
Research Assumptions
Non-probability sampling was used in this study due to the fact-finding nature of the study. This study is a one-sided overview of the effects of employment migration on the whole family.
Literature
Introduction to the Chapter
Bowlby (in Bretherton, 1995) indicated that a one-year-old's attachment to his mother is a product of the child's instinctive strategies and the mother's instinctive responses, culminating in a mutual bond. This research will work towards uncovering the effects of disruption in the mother-child loving bond for both the mother and the child as a result of mothers' migrant work.
Literature Pertaining to the Study
Historically, up to 50% of adult men from Lesotho worked in South Africa, mainly in the mines (Macdonald et al, 2000). Currently, however, labor migration in Lesotho is primarily internal and appears to be moving towards the cities, with very little back to the countryside, as stated by research participants Kimane and Ntimo Makara.
Effects of Labour Migration on the Family 2.3.1 Effects on the Spousal Relationship
Thus, as indicated in the description of the research problem, migration for employment motives has the potential to increase the risk of HIV in the family (Coffee et al, 2007). As hinted in passing in the analysis of the problem, migration for employment reasons has a high potential to separate the married couple.
Research Methodology
Introduction the Chapter
Furthermore, according to Holliday, qualitative studies "examine behavior in depth within specific social settings rather than the general population. This research examined a small sample of migrant workers in the manufacturing industry of Maseru to delve into how they are treated. radical social change, i.e. where knowledge in the subject area of the research is insufficient to identify all the variables needed for the study.
This study could not identify at the planning stage all the variables that play a role in migrant workers' families, such as various aspects of family members' health, issues of role conflict and the dynamics at play in migrant workers' host areas. . An overview of the effects of labor migration as felt by other members of the working family would also have added value to the study.
I mplementation Strategies
A description of the sampling procedure used in this research appears in the first chapter of this report. Therefore, the researcher was unable to find a database of the target research population or sampling frame. The validity of the findings of this research should be measured according to the validity checks as announced by Lincoln and Guba (1985 in de Vos in de Vos et al 2005).
The presentation of data that follows in the next chapter will also describe and analyze the findings of the research in detail. Here the researcher asks himself whether the findings of the study can be confirmed by another.
Ethical Considerations
The researcher will make these documents and information available to the examiner(s) upon request and will also document some raw data such as transcribed interview notes in the research report for emphasis. Briefly, the researcher became aware of possible factors that could potentially compromise the credibility of this study and demonstrated the methods she used and those that others may use to minimize their influence on the findings of this study. Although the results of the study cannot be completely generalized, they will definitely be credible and trustworthy for female migrant workers.
Findings of the Study
Introduction to the Chapter
Under the objectives of the study, the responses of the participants will be discussed in relation to the context and motivation of the study as elaborated in the first chapter. As mentioned in Chapter 3, migrant women employed in the manufacturing industries of Ha Thetsane at the time of the study constituted the target population for the study, from which a sample was drawn. The study sample consisted of thirty women, 28 of whom were married, 1 single and 3 abandoned.
On the other hand, participants' educational levels varied from below primary education to Cambridge Ordinary School Certificate (COSC) as follows: 7 or 23.3% of women had attended school to the level between Grade 5 and Grade 6, 8 or 26.7% had gone beyond grade 7 but below the Junior Certificate (JC), while 15 or 50% had achieved between JC and COSC. This is an important variable for this study because, as will be shown, children of study participants appeared to be negatively affected by being separated from their mothers due to migrant labor in an age-specific manner.
EFFECTS OF LABOUR MIGRATION ON THE FAMILIES OF WOMEN LABOUR MIGRANTS
34;Maybe we are both tempted to have extramarital affairs [because we rarely see each other]. 34;We are in danger [of contracting the virus] because we do not know the status of the men we meet. ". Here in Maseru, children speak English and are exposed to a better lifestyle."
It makes me so sad that sometimes I cry when she says that [because I'm only going to be there for a short time].” 34; [My family cannot complain because] I give them money, and help them in many different ways." 34; [Even if I inconvenienced them by leaving my children behind] it is for the benefit of all of us.
34;My mother is unable to perform other duties such as agricultural work [because wherever she goes, she has to take my children with her]."
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction to the Chapter
Of the remaining 28, all lived with their husbands in Maseru, except 5, whose husbands were labor migrants in the Republic of South Africa. Children of 3 women lived with their mothers in Maseru, while the rest remained in women's places of origin under the care of extended family members. Data collection took place on weekends because target participants of the study were otherwise at work.
Each interview was conducted over a period of a minimum of one hour to a maximum of one and a half hours, and data collection took place over twelve days in June and July 2008. Although some inconveniences arose that required immediate arrangements in the event of unforeseen events (shown in the first chapter ), there were no major problems in the collection of study data in the conduct of this study.
Findings
Similarly, children in this age group reacted negatively to their mothers' absence. 5.1.2(b) How female migrant workers maintain their relationship with their children All women interviewed in the study said that they do not have enough time to spend with their children, which could be the main reason for the apparent alienation between mothers and children. Additionally, a significant finding of this research is that women suffer from maternal anxiety due to being separated from their children.
The women in this study articulated this form of uncertainty by assuming, for example, that their children had lost weight since the mothers left for work. Another adjunct to maternal anxiety that emerged in this study is that women expressed that those left in the care of their children neglected to provide their children with adequate care.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Second, there is a need for creative strategies that can help migrant mothers and children to make the most of the short time they spend together, in the absence of day care centers and in cases where children cannot travel to Maseru to be with their migrant mothers. . In conclusion, it is evident that the marital relationship of the female migrant worker is ensured by working and staying in the same place at the same time as her husband. Gender Relations at Home and Workplace in Lesotho: A Case Study of the Gender Implications of Lesotho's Current Economic Development Strategy for the Garment Industry.
Gender differentiation and the question of migration: The case of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil (101-116). Serial migration and its implications for child-parent relationships: A retrospective analysis of the experiences of children of Caribbean immigrants.
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