« Rural - urban divide or continuum ? » On the consequences of female labour migration

People have always migrated. Recent globalisation dynamics, however, significantly alter the conditions and features of migration. This paper analyses ruralurban interactions as shaped by female labour migrants in a globalising Thailand. The central question is how female migrants in Bangkok constitute space through their relationships with their rural origin and concisely, whether female labour migration is situated within a Bangkok periphery divide or continuum. The Thai case is particularly interesting because Thai societal norms, based on Theravada Buddhism, are often claimed to support female migration better than other cultures (Osaki 1999; Curran 1998). Specifically, only the migration streams from the rural towards Bangkok and its vicinity and the migrants who are employed in the industrial sector are targeted. In anal¬