A Qualitative Study To Identify The Social Problems Of Seasonal Migrants: A Case Of Bagri Community Married Women With Children

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative case study was to explore the living conditions, causes of migrations and the social issues faced by women and children of a minority migrant community in Pakistan known as ‘Bagri’. The Bagri community seasonally migrates from the province of Sindh to Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan province in Pakistan. This exploratory study used semi-structured interviews with ten participants. Purposive sampling was used for sample selection. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using NVivo version 11. Techniques such as word tag clouds and tree map analysis were used for theme identification. Major categories/themes that emerged were poverty and weather induced migration; poverty and movement as barriers to education; out of school children’s activities; health related issues; and residents’ attitude and behavior towards the Bagri migrant community. Policy implications for the government along with the suggestions for future research are discussed in the end.