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“Negotiating the Border”: Zimbabwean Migrant Mothers and Shifting Immigration Policy and Law in South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2019

Vusilizwe Thebe  and
Pamela Maombera
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Abstract:

Based on an extended study of Zimbabwean women migrants in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, this article focuses on these women both as mothers and as labor migrants, seeking to understand their migration intentions in relation to changing policy and law in South Africa. It also focuses on their responses to the changes in policy as they seek to renegotiate the border. The strategies adopted by the women in negotiating the border not only demonstrate their agency, but are also intricately linked to their migration intentions. Their responses are critical to our understanding of contemporary migration in the region.

Résumé:

Basé sur une étude approfondie des femmes migrantes du Zimbabwe dans la province du Gauteng en Afrique du Sud, cet article porte sur ces femmes en tant que mères et émigrantes, et cherche à comprendre leurs intentions en matière de migration en relation avec l’évolution de la politique et du droit en Afrique du Sud. Il se concentre également sur la réponse de ces femmes aux changements politique alors que la frontière est renégociée. Les stratégies adoptées par ces femmes lors de la négociation de la frontière démontrent non seulement leur capacité d’action, mais aussi leurs intentions qui sont étroitement liées à l’émigration. Leurs réponses sont essentielles à notre compréhension de la migration contemporaine dans la région.

Resumo:

O presente artigo parte de um estudo mais aprofundado acerca das mulheres zimbabueanas que migraram para a província de Gauteng, na África do Sul, para se centrar no papel destas mulheres enquanto mães e enquanto trabalhadoras migrantes, procurando compreender os objetivos da sua migração, em correlação com as alterações políticas e legislativas na África do Sul. São também aqui abordadas as suas reações às mudanças políticas, enquanto tentam renegociar a fronteira. As estratégias que estas mulheres adotam para negociar a fronteira não só demonstram a sua agencialidade, como também estão intrincadamente relacionadas com os seus objetivos migratórios. As reações destas mulheres são absolutamente essenciais para se compreender a atual migração naquela região.

Keywords

childrenimmigration policymigrant mothersSouth AfricaZimbabwe
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 62 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 134 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2019 

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