Women's Lives behind a Migration Story

The main aim of this study is to understand how women‘s lives change in terms of authority, power and gender roles after their husbands‘ migration from Fatsa (Turkey) to Nagoya (Japan) since the beginning of 1990s. In this regard, the research question of this study is how women‘s lives change in terms of authority, daily life practices and gender roles after the migration of their husbands. Otherwise stated, this study inquires whether male migration empowers women‘s lives; especially their controls on the household, in terms of decision-making processes in the family issues and if yes to what extent it takes place. This research question also provides an opportunity to shed a light on a further point to grasp the meaning of the whole picture of women‘s lives. Although, male migration has similar impacts on women‘s lives in different parts of the world; how do women develop different strategies from the other cases to handle with the absence of men in Fatsa? In other words, what makes this study different from the others? How do women experience the process of migration from Fatsa to Japan? Perception of the migration process by the women is essential to focus on as it can be argued that this process is the point where everything starts to changes in women‘s lives. The process of taking the decision of migration to Japan, specifically the city of Nagoya, and women‘s strategies to handle with this decision and process will be discussed from the perspective around this point.