Invisible lives, inaudible voices? The social conditions of migrant women in Johannesburg

Abstract

Migration studies have been dominated by economistic models that measure the costs and benefits of the process on a variety of levels – regional, national, community, and individual. Much of the literature consequently gauges population movements' material costs and benefits for migrants, households, hosts and source countries or regions. With their focus on economic engagement and wage labour, scholars have typically overlooked the active role women play in the migration process as women are analytically consigned to the home or informal economy. The increased feminization of migration is, however, challenging this and directing academic and practitioners' attention to a broader range of women's experiences. But much of this literature focuses on instances of overt exploitation, portraying women as passive participants or victims without individual or collective agency or social status. Consequently, a growing body of literature has recently begun highlighting the shortcomings of these perspectives, illustrating women's agency and how they sometimes manipulate exploitative conditions to their advantage. Using accounts from cross border migrant women in Johannesburg this article reveals how women are moving, the mechanisms they use to do so, and the meanings they ascribe to these movements. In doing so, it collapses binary conceptual frames that depict women either as victims or victors in the migration process and provides a deeper understanding of the socio‐political dynamics in areas that have become primary regional or global destinations for migrants.