She cares because she is a mother: the intersection of citizenship and motherhood of Southeast Asian immigrant women in Taiwan

Since the late 1980s, Taiwan has become a major destination for female marriage migration in East Asia. Women from Southeast Asia established their families in Taiwan after their marriage. The dual transition of becoming a citizen as well as a mother-wife is a common experience amongst these migrant spouses. This chapter argues that their ‘marital citizenship’ is entwined with their motherhood in the sense that motherhood features centrally throughout their rite of passage of becoming a citizen. From their motivations to the actual exercising of their citizenship, motherhood defines their relationship with their Taiwanese family and the host society.