ABSTRACT
Although women's experiences vary, Sue's situation as an accompanying wife is in many ways exemplary of that of expatriate wives in Jakarta. This chapter argues that their lives are limited in ways that their husbands' are not. Considering women as trailing spouses not only reveal a particular dimension of the boundaries that characterise expatriates' lives, but also sheds new light on the discussion of gender and privileged migration. The relationship between research on transnational migration on the one hand, and gender analyses on the other, has been tenuous. A key issue concerning this nexus between gender and transnational migration which might benefit from such a framework is what limiting effects migration may have, in particular for women. Expatriate wives are women who accompany their husbands on their postings in the capacity of trailing spouses', as they are sometimes casually referred to. These women's stay permits for Indonesia are usually linked to their husbands' working visas.
