Empowering Women through Rural-Urban Migration in China.

Abstract: Gender equality and empowerment of women and girls were presented at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG5) by the United Nations. It has been realized that empowerment of women plays a crucial role in development. This study examines the empowerment process of rural migrant women in China. It first describes the registration house system called hukou and general gender roles in China. This research is based on literature an overview and analysis of the empowerment process through the empowerment theory developed by Naila Kabeer (1999b). This theory presents three dimensions: resources, agency and achievements. Resources have been analyzed as economic, human and social ones. Agency refers to decision-making as empowering process. Achievements include women’s participation in the labor market. Women through participation in labor market receive resources, became economically independent. Economic resources, like remittances increase their agency within family household and strengthen their social position.