CHARTING WOMENS

MIGRATION FROM THE

EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
Christina Laurenzi, MSc (African Studies)
28 August 2015

Impetus for this research

Impetus for this research

Zithulele Birth Follow-Up Study

480 mothers recruited, interviewed

Surveys at birth, 3m, 6m, 9m, 12m,

and 24m

Impetus for this research

Philani Maternal and Child Health and

Nutrition Centre
Zithulele Hospital (Dr. Karl le Roux)
Stellenbosch (Prof. Mark Tomlinson)

Impetus for this research

Healthcare-seeking behavior
Coverage and timeliness of
immunizations
Feeding practices
HIV, PMTCT, PCR
Family planning
Maternal depression
Social/demographic factors:

Household composition, grants,

employment, income, assets, food security

Impetus for this research

~70 mothers lost to follow up for 1-2

surveys, said they had left area, later
reappeared

Follow-up trip to Rustenburg shifting

estimates

Women moving back and forth, not

always planning ahead

A presiding social
narrative

The rural homestead, as a patriarchal institution,

reliant on womens labor to sustain it, can no
longer do so (van Onselen, Guy 1987, Bozzoli
1983)

Fraying of traditional attachments, and decline in

marriages, given economic insecurity and
chronic unemployment (Breckenridge 2014,
Hartford 2012, Hunter 2009)

At the same time, general acceptance of women

moving (Hunter 2010, Lee 2009)

Literature: agency

Transactional sex, sex-for-money

exchanges possible a search for
autonomy?
Broader conversation about access to
resources?
Cole 2005, Akileswaran and Lurie 2010,
Hunter 2002, Hunter 2009, LeClercMadlala 2003

Literature: agency

Social grants,
household
infrastructure can
facilitate migration

NIDS: from 2008

Hunter 2010,
Neves and du Toit
2008

Literature: agency

Mark Hunter From Migrating Men to Moving

Women (2010):

In a situation where marital bonds are no longer

commonrural women can pivot multiple
movements around their rural home (sometimes
where a child is left), a fairly flexible arrangement
allowing for womens frequent movement, the
transfer of resources through sexual liaisons, and the
redistribution of state benefits, especially pensions,
often through the presence of a rural grandparent.

Literature: constraint

Bozzoli, in Women of Phokeng (1991),

discusses a limited sphere beyond
which ordinary women rarely envision
themselves exerting power
Domestic struggle
OR Tambo: among the poorest districts
in SA, 95% of families receiving at least
one grant (Zibfus)

Main questions

Are women following this model of

moving flexibly and frequently, using
households and grants for support, and
remaining unattached to men?

Research design and

sample

Village emphasis
Short-term/circular/temporary migration
Networks of women mostly clusters of
neighbors and some relatives
40 semi-structured interviews in March
2015
Supervised by Jonny Steinberg and
William Beinart (African Studies Centre,

Children

Relationshi
ps

Movemen
t,
migration

Employmen
t

Households

Why move? 2 narratives

Migration as a way for young single women

to explore opportunities

Sense of malaise or hopelessness in rural

areas, even among those who matriculate
Others assert they have little choice to
support families
No jobs here
Varying levels of household support = very
different experiences

Why move? 2 narratives

For women in more traditional

contexts, migration part of their routine

Visiting men, or staying and maintaining

the homestead
Often married women
Once married, subject to a different set of
rules, not free to move at will

Why move?

However, these narratives are not

discrete, and these stories take different
forms

Conceptions of tradition still define the

way that many women define their
prospects for mobility and independence

3 main takeaways:

Attachments, relationships with men = still

important considerations in decision to
move

Flexible movement is contingent on support

structures, family

Urban experiences present new

opportunities but also reveal limitations

Relationships

Modes of providing
How women see their own roles, expectations,
prospects for mobility
Not always directly related to movement but relevant

Negotiations
You have to negotiate, due to the custom,
you have to obey your husbands rules
its him who is the leader of the house, so
you need to have the instructions from
him. You cant say that yoh, Im just
coming today, Im in the bus station.You
have to discuss, and plan.

Money and independence

First of all, the man doesnt like the
working wife, you have to obey his rules
[theres the idea that] if you let your woman
go to work, youll end up [being] treated
disrespectfully, because shes having
money now, she wont treat me as a man.

I dont know [why he doesnt want me to

work], maybe hes scared that I will be
catched by others.

Challenging the role of provider

She said shes afraid. Thats what is
happening here, each and every woman,
they are struggling while their boyfriends
are working. And thenif you take a man
to magistrate, the man sometimes
threatens to kill you or kill the child. [The
man will say,] You want to eat my money!
Because my kid is so young, he doesnt
know about moneyits you whos going
to take that money.

Household infrastructure

Support systems allow flexibility in movement

Following Hunters model of grandmothers
reappropriating pension grants, rearing
children

Balancing support and

reliance

(Mostly single) women leave home to

support their families, at the same time
rely on support in the home

Balancing support and reliance

Its difficult [living here], because Im not

working and theres no source of income.
Im struggling to raise my own kid, thats
why I decided to go away.
Its hard to support five children. My
mother and father were working at that
moment, so it was easy to go, [for them]
to raise the kids.

Support of family
Its quite easy to raise kids here in the
home, unlike there [in the city], because of
the support of family. If there is a problem
with the kids, my mother tells me, no, its
going to be okay.
My mother has a pension grant, also
helpful. But there are many of them, so
theres just a little bit for each. There are
six total, if I leave mine.

Migrating to ensure support

We are a little bit nervous [when we visit].
We are not fully aware of that place, even,
if our husbands are not phoning or writing a
letter, its stressing. So we might think that
hey, maybe hes taken by someone else
Yoh! Were frustrated, better to just go.
[When we arrive], its better, now see my
husband is not doing anything, just staying,
alone.

Urban experiences

Shaped around employment, or

visits
New opportunities, but also in retold
in temporary terms

Urban living
It wasnt strange for me, it was what I
was expecting to seeEach day there [in
Rustenburg] was a relaxing moment for
me. I was staying alone, cooking for my
husband, waiting for my husband to come
home from work, washing myself, I was
like pretty, it was good for methere,
everything is in the house [electricity,
water], unlike here.

Urban challenges
I didnt make it to get the real job, [just]
small piece jobs. Sweeping at the shop
maybe, if theres other people who are not
working at that time, then I start working.
Sometimes here in the home, it felt strange
to adapt, because of moneyon that side,
you have to buy each and every moment.
Even when you are going to cook you have to
buy something, not like here.

Short-term movements
Its difficult because I dont even speak
their language or stay for a long time. So
its just when Im trying to learn, then Im
home, and when Im back, dont even
[remember] how to speak.

Challenges and further questions

How do these pieces intersect? How

might this village focus help enhance our
understanding of migration?

And what impact does this information

have on a broader scale, on policies, if
any?

Role of social grants investigate

further?

Some public health considerations

HIV and
sexual/reproductive
health

Access to health
services while away?
ex. ARVs,
immunizations for
infants, family
planning and ANC

Food security,
household strain