Introduction

In their article ‘Long-distance mothering in urban Kenya’, the authors conclude that, with rapid urbanisation, many female migrants will move into urban areas, with their families, seeking employment (Cotton and Beguy, 2020). This article, based on research from two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, shows that the fate of children's lives is an urgent policy concern surrounding female migration and mothering. Echoing this view, African feminist scholars have argued for the need to give voice to the varied yet nuanced richness of African women's lives, while at the same time acknowledging the commonalities they share (Heugh, 2011). As Bunwaree observes ‘For African feminists, rethinking diversity entails a new political and theoretical engagement with women's multiple identities and social positions’ (Bunwaree, 2004, p 154).

Some commonalities that women face in the course of their lives include caring, nurturing, observing, working, becoming mothers and/or mothering children in diverse family contexts (Clark et al, 2017; Gaydosh, 2019; Cotton, 2021). However, less is known about African women themselves and the specificities of social-mothering practices in these varied familial and community backgrounds. Often absent is an understanding and conceptualisation of African women's lives through their biographies, which form a central aspect of understanding society (Steady, 1981; Ogundipe-Leslie, 1994; Imam et al, 1997; Mikell, 1997).

This chapter devotes itself to the reconstruction of a single mother's biography, grounded in qualitative data obtained from analysis of her life narrative. Qualitative methods are used because they enable mothers’ voices to be discernible and further advance knowledge about social mothering as a concept. Melodi (a pseudonym), the mother in focus, is part of the ‘mama nguo’ female labour force offering a washing/laundry service, who live predominantly in informal settlements and provide services to middle-and upper-class families in Nairobi. While recognising the overwhelming poverty where Melodi lives, positionality, power relations and representation, all related to reflexivity, are discussed within the specificities of African feminist research and biographical interviewing. The focus on Melodi's life – belonging, doing, being, and becoming a mother – are influenced by social cultural norms related to social mothering in the Abaluhya culture, to which she belongs (Wandibba, 1997). The interconnectedness of individual life narratives, the role of agency and structure in everyday life, and how these enable an understanding of social mothering, provide significant insights into the challenges inherent in Melodi's life.