Neoliberal globalization and women's experiences of forced migrations in Asia

INTRODUCTION The world is now characterized by extensive and rapid movements of people. An increasingly important issue for industrialized countries, such as Australia, is the rising number of people who are becoming displaced within their homelands as a result of a multitude of interconnected factors. The majority of displaced persons and refugees in our region are women and children. Yet, they are severely underrepresented in refugee determination processes, claims for asylum and settlement. This paper will examine women's experiences of forced migration and the neoliberal global context in which they occur. Over the past two decades the implementation of neoliberal policies in both the north and south have not only resulted in colossal displacements, but have simultaneously given rise to exclusionary politics. While globalization conjures up a vision of a borderless world, as a result of free flow of goods, this paper will show that increasingly nation states have closed their borders to the displaced, emphasizing the distinction between ‘economic’ migrants and political refugees. […] The persistent dichotomy of internal and external displacement, and the failure to classify as refugees those who have not crossed an international border, despite the escalation of their numbers in developing countries in the Asian region exemplifies the Eurocentric nature of refugee discourse. The complex processes of decolonization and increased integration of the world economy have set in motion large-scale population movements that render meaningless distinct categories of dislocations.