Abstract

Modern technology plays a complicated role in (re)shaping the transnational relationships between migrated men and their left-behind wives in Kerala. Since the 1990s, the Malabar region in Kerala has witnessed large-scale migration of its workforce to the Gulf countries. As these women juggle between family, migration, and gaps in socio-economic development, multiple forms of technologies and surveillance complicate the institutionalization of patriarchy within the private sphere in the name of women’s safety. Technological devices turn the migrants’ wives into docile bodies, observable at any moment by their husbands’ virtual eyes. This paper argues that using modern technology, which is operated around the idea of surveillance, migrant husbands foster a “mediated patriarchy.” Further, modern technology (re)shapes transnational relationships and functions as a double-edged weapon in the left-behind wives’ lives. Qualitative approaches and ethnography have been used to understand the demographic profile and personal experiences of the left-behind wives in Kerala.

摘要

现代技术在（重新）塑造喀拉拉邦移民男子与其留守妻子之间的跨国关系方面发挥着复杂的作用。自 1990 年代以来，喀拉拉邦的马拉巴尔地区见证了其劳动力向海湾国家的大规模迁移。由于这些妇女在家庭、移民和社会经济发展差距之间徘徊，多种形式的技术和监视以妇女安全的名义使私人领域内的父权制制度化变得复杂。技术设备将移民的妻子变成温顺的身体，他们丈夫的虚拟眼睛随时可以观察到。本文认为，使用围绕监视理念运作的现代技术，移民丈夫会培养“中介父权制”。更远，现代技术（重新）塑造了跨国关系，并在留守妻子的生活中起到了双刃剑的作用。定性方法和民族志已被用于了解喀拉拉邦留守妻子的人口特征和个人经历。