Older Female Migrants and Transnational Care Circulation: Examining the Case of Migrants in Malaysia

How do older female migrant workers engage in transnational care circulation when faced with the uncertainties of remaining in the country of work? In what ways do these older women migrants negotiate their desire to go home “for good” with the responsibility of caring for their family in the homeland? This study looks at older Filipino migrant women in Malaysia, one of the largest Southeast Asian groups in the country, who mostly work as domestic helpers. Most of these women have been employed by the same employer for a long period of time, thus enabling them to continue working through their late 50s to 60s. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya in March and August 2018, as well as follow-up conversations through messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, this study looks at these women’s experiences of ageing, which is thought of as a socio-cultural process that is not only tied to one’s physical body, but is also linked to several factors such as gender, social class, as well as societal expectations on their familial roles. This study argues that the performance of care among these women migrants is seen to be more possible when it is done from a distance, where these older migrants can carry out their dual roles as breadwinners and nurturers for family and kin back in the homeland. While many of these older migrants hope to go back to their homeland “for good” soon, doing so prematurely would cause a break in the circulation of care between the migrant and her family, thus disrupting existing intergenerational relationships. This study hopes to contribute to existing literature on migration, transnational ageing, care, and transnational families by analyzing this specific Asian case.