Rethinking Care in Female Migration

From Rupture to Transformation

Abstract

This article advances a conceptual correction to dominant accounts of care in female migration by arguing that care does not disappear but transforms across the migratory cycle. Drawing on a critical theoretical review, it develops a typology of transformed care comprising four dimensions: care at a distance, commodified care, care in transit, and invisible care. Particular attention is given to transit contexts, where care is reorganized under conditions of mobility, risk, and institutional absence, as illustrated by transit corridors such as the Darién. The latter dimension captures the mental and emotional labor that remains unrecognized within existing policy frameworks. From an intersectional perspective, the article shows that these transformations are unevenly distributed across migrant women, according to their social position. It argues that the gap between nominal gender-sensitive policies and effective protection is not merely a problem of implementation but an epistemic gap...