Gender Relations in a Transnational Space

Abstract

Based on extensive fieldwork in South Africa (Johannesburg and Durban) and Ethiopia (Addis Ababa and Hosaena) since 2014, this chapter focused on the gendered consequences of the increasing feminization of Ethiopian migration to South Africa over the past decade. Few women migrate independently, while most are sponsored by prospective husbands. The chapter contests the dominant narrative that international migration provides opportunities for economic independence, and provides space for emancipation and empowerment of women. It further argues that the feminization of migration morphed from a benevolent relationship that materially benefited spouses into an exploitative one, as husbands control the socioeconomic and political spaces in the informal economy of South Africa leaving women with dual responsibilities as wife and worker. Moreover, men import, appropriate and modify socio-cultural institutions primarily to get financial benefits when a prospective wife arrives in South Africa. Exploitation of women is made more likely as most are teenager and inexperienced. By identifying girls and introducing them to established men in South Africa prior female immigrants reinforce the transnational social networks and sustain smuggling of more women.