International Research Journal of Social Sciences_____________________________________ ISSN 2319–3565 Vol. 3(9), 34-41, September (2014) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 34 Women Migrants and their Mental Health: A Study of Working Women Hostellers in Mumbai Reshmi R S 1 , Sayeed Unisa 2 and Juby Ann Jose 1 1 Institute of Health Management Research, #319, Near Thimma Reddy Layout, Hulimangala Post, Electronic City Phase-1, Bangalore- 560105,Karnataka,INDIA 2 Department of Mathematical Demography and Statistics, International Institute for Population Sciences, Govandi-station Road, Deonar, Mumbai- 400 088,INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 5 th July 2014, revised 15 th August 2014, accepted 11 th September 2014 Abstract Mental health is an important component of the total positive health and is interwoven closely with the physical and physiological dynamics of the human body. Migrant population, being a non-native population, is vulnerable and is exposed to mental health problems. The situation may be worse among female migrants in urban areas who migrate for work related reasons. Hence it is essential to give special attention to the mental health status of women migrants who live in urban areas. The present paper, based on primary data collected from women migrants in working women’s hostels of Mumbai, aims to understand the working and living conditions and its association with mental health status of the women migrants in Mumbai. The analysis indicates that the quality of life of women migrants has a significant effect on their mental health status. The factors such as age, occupation, push factors related to migration, quality of life and general health status of the migrant women can affect their mental health status. Thus, it is essential to ensure better working and living conditions and quality of life in order to improve the mental health status of women migrants. Keywords: Women migration, urban areas, quality of life, living conditions, mental health. Introduction Internal migration plays a significant role in the economic development of developing countries like India. People migrate to improve their well-being. Yet, most of the time migration can be a very stressful process, with potentially negative impacts on mental health 1 . Migrant population, being a non-native population, is vulnerable and is exposed to many health problems. Most of the health problems of migrants are ascribed to their migration to urban areas, decreased awareness about local health facility, inability to cope with psychological stress, unhealthy sexual practices, and frequent migration 2 . Although pattern of migration in India shows the dominance of males, females also constitute a significant segment especially in the working ages. The consequences of women migration are different both at the family and the community levels. Although literature on internal migration in India in general is abundant, little attention was given in the sociological research to the causes and nature of women migration in India and the impact of migration on women 3,4 . Research works on women migrations in other countries have made it clear that there is special need for field research and new methods of investigation. Women constituted a larger proportion among internal migrants in Kerala. According to Zachariah et.al 5 , one in four among the internal migrants in Kerala was a woman. A significant section of the educated women in Kerala migrates to Mumbai for employment opportunities. When a single woman migrates for work related reasons, usually they stay in a working women’s hostel. The living conditions and factors related to workplace may have an impact on the mental health status of the migrant women. According to UNFPA (2011) 6 , lack of familiarity with new locations, less access to traditional support systems, exposure to different lifestyles and influences, and vulnerability to exploitation and abuse are some of the factors that impact on migrant women’s health. Despite the growing participation of women in extra domestic work throughout the economy, the study of the relationship between conditions in the work place, living conditions and their health has not been broadly developed with respect to the women worker 7 . In this context, the present study particularly focuses on the working conditions, living conditions and its association on mental health status of women migrants from Kerala who stay in the working women’s hostels of Mumbai. Methodology The present paper is based on the primary data collected from migrant women who stay in working women’s hostels of Mumbai. The list of working women’s hostels in Mumbai was collected from Business information Centre in Mumbai, which came into 32 in number. Out of these hostels, 15 hostels were excluded as there was no migrant woman from Kerala. Out of the 17 working women’s hostels, women from Kerala who were