Women Taking Agency through Feminized Migration Patterns and Remittances: Socio-Economic Experiences of Migrant Street Vendors, Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal-South Africa
Background: This
anthropological paper contributes empirical findings which reveal that feminized migration patterns have
allowed women to migrate from different parts of Southern Africa to trade as
illegal street vendors in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where
they have earned remittances “their
financial agency”. This economic/financial agency has shaped their
resilience and has lowered their dependency on their husbands. Methodology:
This study was guided by a qualitative phenomenological research design. Sampling: The study recruited twenty foreign women trading on the Pietermaritzburg
through the purposive-snowballing sampling technique. Study Findings: This paper reveals that even though patriarchy and other structural issues have
excluded African women, Pietermaritzburg streets have allowed foreign women to
generate daily earnings which are between R1050 to R2500 per day through street
vending amid many daily challenges. Earned remittances have changed their families’
socioeconomic statuses. Families have afforded basic survival needs such as
food, school fees, medical care and clothing, which have been celebrated by
their children and families. Through remittances, poverty no longer has the
face of their families. Study Conclusion: This paper recognises that
Pietermaritzburg streets as full of economic possibilities for foreign street
vending women. Study Contribution: We contribute street vending asa new context to the feminized migration literature which African women
have entered into to generate remittances in South Africa as means of escaping rife poverty. Study Recommendation: The paper further recommends that heads of state in Africa and internationally
should forge policies that maximize the safety of street vending women
worldwide.
References
[1]
Abdourahman, O. I. (2010). Time Poverty: A Contributor to Women’s Poverty? The African Statistical Journal, 11, 1-22.
[2]
Adjei, S. B. (2015). Assessing Women Empowerment in Africa: A Critical Review of the Challenges of the Gender Empowerment Measure of UNDP. Psychology and Developing Societies, 27, 58-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971333614564740
[3]
Agyei, S. A. (2021). The Dynamics of Remittances Impact: A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand Ghana’s Situation and the Way Forward. Social Sciences, 10, 410. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110410
[4]
Al-Jundi, S. A., Al-Janabi, H. A., Bajaba, S., & Ullah, S. (2022). The Impact of Urban Culture on Street Vending: A Path Model Analysis of the General Public’s Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article ID: 831014. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.831014
[5]
Balderas, J. U., & Blackburne, E. (2013). The New Female Migrants: Do They Send More Money Home? A Case Study for Mexican Immigrants in the Houston Area. The Journal of Developing Areas, 47, 417-428. https://doi.org/10.1353/jda.2013.0025
[6]
Bruce, J. (2016). The Difficulties of “Living While Girl”. Journal of Eradication, 2, 177-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2055-6640(20)30462-3
[7]
Eversole, R., & Johnson, M. (2014). Migrant Remittances and Household Development: An Anthropological Analysis. Development Studies Research. An Open Access Journal, 1, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/21665095.2014.903808
[8]
Flahaux, M. L., & De Haas, H. (2016). African Migration: Trends, Patterns, Drivers. Comparative Migration Studies, 4, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-015-0015-6
[9]
Gamieldien, F., & van Niekerk, L. (2017). Street Vending in South Africa: An Entrepreneurial Occupation. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47, 24-29. https://doi.org/10.17159/2310-3833/2017/vol47n1a5
[10]
Gouws, A. (2007). The Feminization of Migration. Africa Insight, 40, No. 1. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC17623
[11]
Holst, E., Schafe, A., & Schrooten, M. (2012). Gender and Remittances: Evidence for Germany. Feminist Economics, 18, 201-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2012.692478
[12]
Kaka, E. J. (2013). Poverty Is a Women Issue in Africa. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 18, 77-82. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-1867782
[13]
Klaa, C. (2020). Role of African Women in Development and Economic Life: Reality and Challenges. International Journal of Inspiration and Resilience Economy, 4, 1-9.
[14]
Masanja, G. F. (2010). Migration and Female Empowerment in Mwaza City, Tanzania (pp. 1-337). Unpublished PhD Thesis, Open University of Tanzania.
[15]
Mawuena, K., & Okey, M. (2021). The Effect of Remittances on Education in Togo. Theoretical Economics Letters, 11, 1293-1311. https://doi.org/10.4236/tel.2021.116081
[16]
Ntinda, K. (2020). Narrative Research. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.,) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences (pp. 2-11). Springer. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-10-2779-6_79-1
[17]
Ojong, N. (2016). Remittances, Mobile Phones and Informality: Insights from Cameroon. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 8, 299-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2016.1163478
[18]
Pedraza, S. (1991). Women and Migration: The Social Consequences of Gender. Annual Review Sociology, 17, 303-325. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.17.080191.001511
[19]
Pernia, E. M. (2006). Diaspora, Remittances, and Poverty RP’s Regions (No. 2006, 02) (pp. 1-30). UPSE Discussion Paper.
[20]
Pophiwa, N. (2014). The Drivers and Outcomes of Feminization of Migration in Africa June 2014 (p. 6). Pambazuka News.
[21]
Recchi, S. (2020). Information Street Vending: A Comparative Literature Review. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 23, 56.
[22]
Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2015). Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as a Useful Methodology for Research on Lived Experiences of Pain. British Journal of Pain, 9, 41-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/2049463714541642
[23]
Smith, J. A., & Fieldsend, M. (2021). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. In P. M. Camic (Ed.), Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and Design (pp. 147-166). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000252-008
[24]
Telila, S. T. (2017). Anthropological Perspective Women’s Street Vending to Sustain Their Daily Survival in Urban Life of Dire Dawa: Challenges and Prospects. Journals: International Journal of Social Relevance & Concerns, 5, 100.
[25]
Tittensor, D., & Mansouri, F. (2017). Feminisation of Migration? A Critical Overview. In D. Tittensor, & F. Mansouri (Eds.), The Politics of Women and Migration in the Global South (pp. 11-25). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58799-2_2
[26]
Ullah, M. N. (2021). Livelihood of Street Vendors during Covid-19 Lockdown in Bangladesh: Earning Break off Expenses Remain. Indonesia Journal of Social Research (IJSR), 3, 160-170. https://doi.org/10.30997/ijsr.v3i3.142
[27]
Wanjala, B. M. (2021). Women, Poverty, and Empowerment in Africa. In O. Yacob-Haliso, & T. Falola (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of African Women’s Studies (pp. 1657-1679). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28099-4_106
[28]
Zack, T. (2015). Making Area Hot: Interrupting Trade in an Ethnic Enclave in Johannesburg’s Inner City. In J. Crush, A. Chikanda, & C. Skinner (Eds.), Mean Streets: Migration, Xenophobia and Informality in South Africa (pp. 60-77). South African Migration Programme. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh8r45r.7
