The Biopolitics of Women’s Rights under the Immigration and Labor Law: Case Study of Bangladeshi Domestic Workers Migrating to Hong Kong

From 20,000 Bangladeshi domestic workers which were expected to arrive in Hong Kong under a new joint migration policy between Bangladesh and Hong Kong in 2012, there are currently around 1400. While Hong Kong is with its elaborated labor and immigration law perceived as the safest country for domestic workers in Asia, approximately one third of Bangladeshi women opted for illegal employment from 2012 to 2016, mostly ending up in highly precarious situations. This research examines the impact of biopolitical functioning of the Hong Kong’s law during the migration process and its effect on decision-making of Bangladeshi women over their legal status. Specifically, I intend to investigate how biopolitical interpretations of the law in training centers and recruitment agencies affect production of so called ‘’runaway girls’’, former domestic workers who decided to overstay their visa. In Bangladeshi training centers, under the slogan ‘’Reform my thinking, make my dream come true!’’ future domestic workers are taught to align their demands for legal protection with needs of the labor market. Simultaneously, the wide-spread wrong interpretation of the immigration law in recruitment agencies prevents domestic workers from exchanging their employers in case of disagreements. This is especially relevant for Bangladeshi women who are newcomers to Hong Kong. As a result, recruitment agencies in Hong Kong and training centers in Bangladesh become biopolitical spaces where through internalization of specific truth discourses women are brought to adjust their behavior in line with political economy. This research is informed by feminist readings of biopolitics and draws upon around 50 interviews with current, future and former domestic workers, managers and trainers in recruitment agencies and a year-long participant observation of the migration industry.