Between dreams and dilemmas: aspirations and gendered challenges experienced by Bangladeshi women returnees from Saudi Arabia

In recent years, a growing number of Bangladeshi women with limited socioeconomic and cultural capital have migrated to the Middle East in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular, in search of employment as domestic workers. Employing a qualitative research approach, this study explores the migration aspirations of Bangladeshi women who have returned from Saudi Arabia. Specifically, it aims to comprehend whether these returnees wish to remain in Bangladesh or re-migrate, while also highlighting their lived experiences and challenges they face both in their home country and Saudi Arabia. Findings reveal that although many women return before completing their contracts due to exploitative and harsh working conditions, a substantial proportion still aspire to re-migrate to Saudi Arabia. This decision, however, is not an easy one, as the women are already aware of the numerous challenges they may encounter in the host country. Conversely, the aspiration to remain in the home country subjects them to various socioeconomic pressures, including economic hardship, conjugal conflicts, social disparagement, and stigma. We contend that women engage in a deliberate weighing of each option’s advantages and disadvantages, with their decisions ultimately shaped by ‘calibrated aspirations’.