2 - Free to Decide?: Education, Mobility, and Occupational Choices among Nepalese Women

This presentation discusses social changes from the perspectives of women’s education, mobility, and occupational choice in Nepal. In Nepal, difficulties in obtaining employment opportunities in the domestic labor market have led to a marked increase in young people migrating abroad for work or study. For young people today, the quality of their secondary education will, in no small part, determine their chances for success in attaining further education, finding a job domestically or abroad, or working for their family business. In my fieldwork, which was conducted in a hilly rural area of Nepal,  I observed women pursuing various life courses, such as migrating abroad after secondary education, getting married and moving to urban areas, or raising children while supporting their husbands’ international migration. Amidst such remarkable changes, geographic mobility has become more accessible, and career choice for women has expanded. At the same time, however, it is also apparent that differences and restrictions based on gender and socioeconomic status continue to exist in different forms, as women are forced to restrict their choices in order to support their families financially and meet the demands of their employment agencies and recipient countries of migrants. This presentation explores both change and the absence of change in Nepal through an examination of the experiences of women with secondary education.