Female Migrant Workers under Patriarchal Society: Case Study in Taiwan

Authors

Safina Al Shifa Chandra Gouw Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Arfin Sudirman Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Falhan Hakiki Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Imam Bonjol, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22515/bg.v10i1.9897

Abstract

Through the lens of normative feminism, this article examines the many difficulties experienced by female migrant workers within Taiwan's patriarchal framework. Taiwan's economy has mostly benefited from the labor of migrant workers, most of whom are women. Because of the country's pervasive patriarchal system, these workers frequently face complex gender-based problems. This study explores the overlapping layers of marginalization, exploitation, and discrimination faced by female migrant workers via the lens of normative feminist theory, drawing attention to the many difficulties that these women face as a result of Taiwan's patriarchal norms interacting with the job market, social structures, and cultural prejudices. Utilizing non-participatory observation and internet-based literature research, this article finds that there is a lack of research on gender-based factors that cause these challenges. Though there has been international support from labor protection-focused organizations, there are still limitations and loopholes in the existing legal protections available in Taiwan and sending countries of these workers, causing cases of risks faced by female migrant workers go undocumented at a large number. This study pushes forth the urgency for more robust instruments and government bodies that bind and regulate the treatments and protections towards these female migrant workers.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Asian Migrant Centre. (2015). Taiwan. Asian Migrant Centre. https://www.asianmigrantcentre.org/taiwan.

Babbitt, L. G., Brown, D., Antolin, A., & Toosi, N. R. (2023). Improving migration experiences for workers: Recruitment practices along the Bangladesh–Qatar corridor. World Development Perspectives, 30, 100506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100506

BBC News Indonesia. (2017). TKW Indonesia di Taiwan: “Saya diperkosa lima kali seminggu.” BBC News Indonesia. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/majalah-38714819

Benfield, J. A., & Szlemko, W. J. (2006). Internet-Based Data Collection: Promises and Realities. Journal of Research Practice, 2(2), 1–15. http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/30/51

Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Cheng, S.-J. A. (1996). Migrant Women Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan: A Comparative Analysis. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 5(1), 139–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/011719689600500107

Deng, J.-B., Wahyuni, H. I., & Yulianto, V. I. (2020). Labor migration from Southeast Asia to Taiwan: issues, public responses and future development. Asian Education and Development Studies, 10(1), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEDS-02-2019-0043

Eviota, E. U. (1992). The political economy of gender: women and the sexual division of labour in the Philippines. Zed Books.

Foster, P. (2006). Observational Research. In R. Sapsford & V. Jupp (Eds.), Data Collection and Analysis (pp. 58–92). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849208802.n3

Freedom United. (2019). Taiwan Failing to Protect Vulnerable Migrant Workers. Freedom United.

Fuchs, R. (2011). CEDAW, Taiwan NGO CEDAW Report on Violence against Women: Migrant Workers.

Gusman, Y. (2024). The Endeavour of Indonesian Female Migrant Workers in Taiwan in Building Family Resilience. Journal of Social Development Studies, 5(1), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsds.11361

Hadiwinata, B. S. (2017). Studi dan Teori Hubungan Internasional: Arus Utama, Alternatif, dan Reflektivis. Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia.

Huang, L. (2017). The trafficking of women and girls in Taiwan: characteristics of victims, perpetrators, and forms of exploitation. BMC Women’s Health, 17(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-017-0463-2

Huang, S., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2007). Emotional Labour and Transnational Domestic Work: The Moving Geographies of ‘Maid Abuse’ in Singapore. Mobilities, 2(2), 195–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450100701381557

Inayati, A., Tonapa, S. I., Sithichoksakulchai, S., & Priyanti, R. P. (2022). Work-Life Experiences of Female Migrant Workers: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study. KnE Life Sciences. https://doi.org/10.18502/kls.v7i2.10375

International Labour Organization (ILO). (2021). ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Results and Methodology.

Koesrianti. (2018). An Overview of Indonesia’s Protection on Women Migrant Workers. In S. Lee & H. Eun Lee (Eds.), Asian Yearbook of International Law, Volume 18 (2012) (pp. 38–64). Brill | Nijhoff. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004379732_003

Komarudin, U., Pramuji, P., Handoko, W., & Irawati, I. (2023). Indonesian Domestic Workers in Taiwan: An International Migration and Workers Rights Perspective. Lex Publica, 10(1), 141–164. https://doi.org/10.58829/lp.10.1.2023.141-164

Ku, Y. (1988). The changing status of women in Taiwan: A conscious and collective struggle toward equality. Women’s Studies International Forum, 11(3), 179–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-5395(88)90133-1

Ku, Y. (2013). A Distorted Semi-Liberal Market of Migrant Workers in Taiwan. Taiwan Human Rights Journal, 2(2), 93–112.

Liang, L.-F. (2021). Everyday Vulnerability: Work and Health Experiences of Live-in Migrant Care Workers in Taiwan. In The Global Old Age Care Industry (pp. 219–242). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2237-3_10

Liu, M.-C. (2000). A Critique from Marxist Political Economy on the Cheap Foreign Labor Discourse. Taiwan: A Radical Quarterly in Social Studies, 38, 59–90.

Loveband, A. (2004). Positioning the product: Indonesian migrant women workers in Taiwan. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 34(3), 336–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472330480000141

Menozzi, C., & Hovy, B. (2016). International Migration Report 2015.

Misra, J., Rozario, T. D., & Chakraborty, D. (2022). Transnational Feminist Sociology. International Sociology, 37(2), 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1177/02685809221102285

Nianyi, C. (2023, December 20). Latest Investigation: 1 in 6 Female Migrant Workers Has Experienced Gender-Based Violence. Taoyuan City Serve the People Association. https://www.spa.org.tw/article/405

Noriel, C. C. (1993). Labor Rights in Selected Asian Countries. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 2(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/011719689300200203

Pan, S.-M., & Yang, J.-T. (2012). Outsiders in the Family: Abuse of Migrant Domestic Workers in Taiwan. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 18(1), 87–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2012.11666123

Ramli, L., & Astawa, I. P. G. (2020). Illegal Female Migrant Workers: Victims of Violence to Human Trafficking. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 12(03). https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2020.12.03.492

Employment Service Act, (2023).

Wang, M. S., & Lin, C.-H. (2023). Barriers to Health and Social Services for Unaccounted-For Female Migrant Workers and Their Undocumented Children with Precarious Status in Taiwan: An Exploratory Study of Stakeholder Perspectives. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 956. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20020956

Yusup, M. R. (2023). Social Protection for Indonesian Domestic Workers in Taiwan. Jurnal Jamsostek, 1(1), 67–86. https://doi.org/10.61626/jamsostek.v1i1.8

Zani, B. (2022). Women Migrants in Southern China and Taiwan: Mobilities, Digital Economies and Emotions. Routledge. https://doi.org/9781003137290

Downloads

Published

2025-04-17

How to Cite

Gouw, S. A. S. C., Sudirman, A., & Hakiki, F. (2025). Female Migrant Workers under Patriarchal Society: Case Study in Taiwan. Buana Gender: Jurnal Studi Gender Dan Anak, 10(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.22515/bg.v10i1.9897