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International Journal of
Population Studies A Burmese woman’s migration and exclusion

of unemployment and underemployment than their particularly evident in migrant-receiving societies, where
male counterparts (Iglesias et al., 2022). Caregiving belonging operates on multiple levels: as an insider to the
responsibilities within the family often limit their time and dominant cultural group or as an insider within already-
flexibility to search for or sustain employment (Koyama, established immigrant networks.
2015). Externally, they encounter systemic barriers such as Belonging is shaped by both socioeconomic and
workplace discrimination rooted in cultural stereotypes, sociocultural factors, and it frequently functions to
non-recognition of foreign qualifications, gaps in reproduce binary distinctions between insiders and
employment history, and the non-transferability of skills outsiders. Migrants often find themselves navigating this
(Campbell, 2018; Pittaway & Bartolomei, 2000). These borderland, experiencing a partial or aspirational sense
challenges not only hinder economic participation but also of being included without fully achieving it. As a result,
deepen patterns of dependency and social marginalization. belonging is less a fixed status than an ongoing, situated
Education is frequently identified as a pathway to negotiation (Ullah et al., 2021). Chattoraj’s (2022) study
empowerment and socioeconomic mobility, yet refugee of internally displaced Tamil populations in Colombo,
women continue to face considerable obstacles in accessing Sri Lanka, illustrates this process of “becoming insiders”
and completing formal education. Language barriers, despite their formal inclusion being delayed or contested.
disrupted educational histories, and financial hardship Similar dynamics have been observed among privileged
remain significant impediments to educational attainment migrants. Ullah et al. (2021), for instance, showed that
(Burke, 2022; Hartley et al., 2019). Recent work by Burke even skilled and economically independent Southeast
et al. (2023) identified seven critical barriers that restrict Asian migrants, despite holding legal status and high social
refugee women’s access to higher education, including capital, may still position themselves as outsiders due to
rigid gender expectations, intensive caregiving duties, persistent cultural barriers, institutional discrimination,
and experiences of racism and xenophobia. As a result, or ideological exclusion. These findings emphasize that
many refugee women report feeling like outsiders within belonging is not guaranteed by privilege, legality, or
academic institutions and remain disconnected from economic contribution; rather, it is contingent upon
mainstream educational trajectories. This disconnection deeper social recognition and interaction.
not only undermines their sense of belonging but also Existing studies show that belonging is often conditional,
limits their capacity to advance professionally and build hierarchical, and exclusionary, shaped by dominant
sustainable livelihoods. cultural norms and state practices. This raises an urgent
question: what happens when belonging is unattainable,
1.1.2. Sense of belonging in migration studies undesirable, or insufficient? Despite legal status or years of
The concept of belonging has become a central concern in residence, many migrants continue to experience exclusion
migration studies, particularly in relation to refugee and due to language barriers, cultural dissonance, or gendered
migrant integration. Unlike assimilation, which assumes expectations. This paper responds to this gap by proposing
that migrants must adopt the dominant culture to become a shift from belonging-centered integration models toward
insiders, belonging is understood as a more subjective a focus on access, not just to legal recognition, but to
and multifaceted experience. While assimilation retains healthcare, education, livelihood, and personal autonomy.
a hierarchical structure that casts migrants as outsiders By foregrounding the lived experience of a Burmese
striving to enter a pre-established cultural order, belonging refugee woman, this study rethinks integration not as a
emphasizes emotional attachment, social inclusion, and the matter of cultural fit but as the ability to claim and exercise
individual’s self-positioning within various communities rights in material, embodied, and socially embedded ways.
(Chattoraj & Gerharz, 2019). 2. Data and methods
Belonging, as Gilroy (2000) and others have argued, is
not a straightforward process in multicultural societies. 2.1. Research design
Individuals may feel attachments to multiple social groups, This study used a qualitative narrative approach to explore
including family (Walsh, 2006), co-ethnic diasporas, and the resettlement experiences and identity formation of a
national identities (Westwood & Phizacklea, 2000). In the Burmese refugee woman. Narrative inquiry is particularly
context of migration, these attachments often become fluid, effective for understanding how individuals interpret their
and migrants may simultaneously occupy the position past, present, and future within the context of broader
of an insider in one context, such as within an ethnic or societal structures (Elliott, 2005). This method captures
religious enclave, and an outsider in another, such as in personal stories’ temporal and relational aspects, revealing
mainstream national institutions. This dual positioning is how lived experiences are shaped and understood over

Volume 11 Issue 6 (2025) 83 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJPS025160060