Follow the Maid

Book excerpt: The book follows the sites and stages of the migration process of Indonesian domestic workers. First the Indonesian migration regime, short-term contract labour to wealthier parts of Asia and Middle East, is considered. Using the example of the Javanese village of Kalembah in Central Java, the second chapter discusses how and why women leave the tea plantation fields. Other topics of the book include how gendered ideals about mobility enable men to act as brokers for domestic worker migration, domestic work trainings of Indonesian women and the illegalisation of domestic workers in Malaysia. Finally, the temporary character of labour migration is discussed. On the one hand Indonesian domestic workers are expected and legally required to return 'home'. However, many return migrants remain temporarily in the village seeking new employment often in new foreign destinations.