Chapter 13: Women, Wife, Mother: An Odyssey of Indonesian Marriage Migrant Women in Spain

Globalization, in combination with rapid technological advancement, has facilitated a fast-pace human mobility across different geographical spheres. For decades, the concept of feminization of migration underlines the trend of increasing women migrants as opposed to their male counterpart. This phenomenon also contributes to the unique formation of intercultural and interreligious family model which increasingly become more common in Europe, especially in Spain. Many women from the southern hemisphere of the globe willingly relocate themselves to a more economically well-off society in the northern hemisphere due to the desire to reunite with their spouse and to form a family. Unfortunately, they encounter many challenges throughout their migration process which lead them to question, to challenge, to surrender, or to confirm with the “ideal” conception of Indonesian womanhood. This pilot research aims to understand the experience of Indonesian women that migrate to settle in Spain as a result of their marriage with Spanish/European men and to understand how the “ideal” womanhood is perceived and understood by Indonesian women that relocate to Spain as wife/spouse. Additionally, it also touches upon the issue of motherhood which they embarked upon the migration journey and how their negotiated identity as Indonesian women is shaped along the way.