Earning a Living in a Foreign Land: The Dilemma of Female Workers Amid a Wave of Layoffs

Amid the rising wave of layoffs hitting various industrial areas in Indonesia, there are hidden and silent stories that rarely attract public attention. One such story belongs to Mira, a housewife who was devastated when her husband lost his job. With minimal severance pay and small savings, her husband had to finance daily household needs for their four children, the youngest being eight months old and the eldest in the eighth grade. This story is not only about a husband losing his job, but also about women who must make a difficult decision: stay with a family facing economic hardship or go abroad to earn a living.

Mira’s story represents many other women forced to become breadwinners. Fortunately, after working abroad in Saudi Arabia, Mira’s fortunes changed. She is now an instructor at a training institution for prospective overseas workers and occasionally receives catering orders for Middle Eastern cuisine. Mira has also been appointed as a tour guide for Middle Eastern tourist groups because she is fluent in Arabic. She once endured a harrowing experience when she had to deal with the police and was jailed for fighting a foreign man who tried to harass her. Fortunately, she was imprisoned for only three days because her colleagues showed solidarity by collecting money for her release fine.

Mira’s story is just a glimpse of the experiences of female migrant workers. Another example is Emi, who currently works in Italy. She once consulted about her daughter studying at a university in Jakarta who had to transfer to a university in Bali. Emi’s struggle as a single parent with two daughters in university and a son in high school is extraordinary. She was willing to travel the vast distance between Indonesia and Italy. She ended up working there after an elderly Italian couple who frequently visited Bali, where she worked in a restaurant, invited her to live with them for a large salary. Since 2017, Emi has lived there. She admits to missing her homeland but must persevere for her children’s education.

For many families, a husband’s layoff is not just a loss of monthly income; it often marks the beginning of household economic uncertainty. Instalments must still be paid, children’s education costs cannot be postponed, and daily living needs continue. In such conditions, many women who previously played the role of housewife or informal worker begin to consider working as migrant workers abroad. The decision is not easy. On one hand, working abroad offers new hope, with income in destination countries often far greater than local opportunities. On the other hand, the decision leaves a deep dilemma, as women must leave children who still need attention and a husband struggling with the psychological pressure of job loss.

This phenomenon shows that behind the growing statistics of migrant workers who support family economies and contribute to national foreign exchange, there is a significant social sacrifice. When a mother chooses to earn a living in a foreign land, she bears a double burden: economic responsibility for the family and the longing for those left behind, sometimes coupled with misfortune abroad due to employer treatment. In many cases, becoming a migrant worker is not a first choice but a last resort after all other considerations have been exhausted. Many women leave because decent job opportunities in their home regions are increasingly limited, and when a husband is laid off and new jobs are hard to find, migration becomes an unavoidable survival strategy.