Recorded on July 4, 2023.

This webinar will discuss the way in which migration has produced quite complex and contradictory impacts and implications for Nepali women’s food in/security. Such contradictions are starkly manifest in both rural and newly urbanized/urbanizing places which are under tremendous pressure from various forces of globalization. Under the combined weight of the Nepali society’s patriarchy and global forces that challenge women’s livelihoods, migration has become an important means for addressing women’s food insecurity, especially of those from Dalit and Janajati communities. Migration has, at the same time, threatened both migrant and non-migrant women’s food sovereignty in Nepal. But what does food sovereignty look like for women? The webinar will also reflect on an intersectional feminist food justice in relation to Nepali women’s cross-border migration for work.

About the speaker

Hari KC is a migration scholar with research interests in the politics of migration, pertaining to labour migration along South Asia-Middle East corridors, migration policy and governance, and gender and migration. In his doctoral research funded by the IDRC Doctoral Research Award, Hari explored the issues of Nepali women migrant domestic workers in the Arabian Gulf countries. He has collaborated on several research projects, including the Gender + Migration Hub which seeks to enhance the capacity of governments, civil society and other stakeholders in designing and implementing gender-responsive migration policies and programs.

Before joining CERC Migration, Hari was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Wilfrid Laurier University where his work focused on bilateral labour agreements (BLA) and food in/security from a gender perspective. Hari has a PhD in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs and master’s degrees in English and Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo.

MiFOOD is hosting a series of webinars on various topics about migration and food security that highlight the progress of the project. These webinars include conceptual discussion, empirical findings and policy analysis. Through these webinars, we intend to build a community with various stakeholders for knowledge sharing, deepen the understanding of the complex intersections between migration and food security, and facilitate the discussion of effective policy interventions. Follow the MiFOOD Twitter (Moving on Empty), Like the MiFOOD Facebook page to be notified about upcoming webinars.