Gender, religion, and migration: a study of Malawian Chewa and Yawo Muslim women in Durban, 1994-2017.
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2017
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Abstract
People move inside and between states as part of globalisation in the twenty-first century, looking
for jobs, a family, and an education, fleeing violence, persecution, terrorism, and human rights
violations, and coping with climate change, economic hardship, and natural disasters.1 This
increased global migration has been a significant milestone in South Africa's post-apartheid
transition. The opening of borders has led to an increase in women migrating across Africa,
changing historically male-dominated immigration patterns. Muslim women now account for a
fraction of the global migration flux. However, few studies have focused on Malawian women's
migration experiences, highlighting the need for more research on women in post-apartheid South
Africa. This study focuses on Malawian immigrants in post-apartheid South Africa, specifically
Chewa and Yawo women. It examines their migration reasons, challenges, and assimilation of
Muslim identities. The study highlights opportunities, socio-economic, and cultural obstacles
faced by these women, providing a nuanced gendered history. Participants were chosen using
snowball and purposive sampling. The study utilised gender, social history, oral history, and
transnationalism theory to investigate thirty women's lived experiences and migration patterns. It
found that gender dynamics significantly impact migration patterns and experiences in host
societies. Women from Chewa and Yawo tribes were found to be more prone to abuse and
exploitation than men. International migration often leads to social isolation and abusive
relationships for women, highlighting power imbalances. Male immigrants earn higher wages than
females, while female migrants send more money home. Chewa and Yawo Muslim women can
use their strength to flee and show agency in their host country, potentially causing envy among
conventional hosts. This usually leads to xenophobic attacks on foreigners. Hence, the study
explores women's agency in migration, highlighting their struggles and aiming to shape their lives.
It contributes to the historiography of migration in Africa and South Africa, and the scholarship
on the "feminisation of migration." It is also a study about resilience, Africa in Islam, longitudinal
experiences of communities, Pan-Africanist worlds, the persistence of memories, and the fluidity
of culture, the regional history of Durban and first-generation migrants and labour practices. This
dissertation is a trans-disciplinary study with history as the fulcrum. This study is crucial for
understanding gender, memory, and African oral history, particularly for women immigrants. It
highlights women's active participation in migration, coping strategies, and absorption into host
societies. This dissertation covers essential aspects of post-Apartheid South Africa's immigration
history.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.