Does the routine disruption of the composition and daily workings of millions of families due to migration-related male absence create a pathway for female political empowerment? This question remains neglected by studies examining gendered consequences of male absence, which largely focus on permanent or indefinite absence. This dissertation examines this issue using the context of the most common form of recurring male absence: internal migration. Empirically I combine fieldwork intensive quantitative and qualitative data, with observational data in India. I find that male migration is resulting in the feminization of everyday local political engagement. Women in migrant households must engage routinely with elected officials, bureaucrats and local institutions to make claims on welfare services and benefits. They are more likely engage in civic activitieslike attending and speaking in local meetings, filling out paperwork and attending self-help group meetings. I argue that feminization of political engagement occurs through the activation of a social exposure channel due to the temporary absence of a woman’s primary gatekeeper. It translates into substantive changes at the individual and household level and is marked by an increase in local information, civic skills and household bargaining power. Importantly, unlike other forms of male absence, I show that migration empowers women without necessarily resulting in their earning autonomy. Despite these positive effects, I find that the household’s assessment of reputational risk is heightenedin the presence of other family members in a migrant joint family and has a moderating effect on female political engagement. Moreover, upon their return, migrant men are likely to take on the responsibility of representing the household in the public sphere. However, I reason that male migration has a constrained yet positive effect on female empowerment through lasting changes in women’s bargaining power, access to skills and information, and changing perceptions at the community level with a potential to shift local level politics. Therefore, the average increase in female presence beyond the household is indeed norm upending rather than norm upholding.