Abstract
Women’s labour force participation allows them to gain some form of economic empowerment in society. Yet there are various challenges that migrant women face in terms of their role within the family structure. Drawing on 20 interviews of men and women from Ga-mphahlele in Polokwane, the current study sought to capture motherhood experiences of black female migrant workers and their spouses’ perception of female migrant labour. The dissertation highlights three major findings: (1) the decision to leave home for work that women engage in and the negotiation this process entails with their husbands demonstrates the strong sense of agency the women display; (2) the tension experienced by female migrant workers between the motherhood role and their role of providing for their children; and (3) the perceptions of husbands who remain home about their wife’s decision to participate in migrant labour, assisting with childcare and undertaking household chores. The study argues that the transition to female labour migration has resulted in a transition in the family structure and most importantly a transformation in the traditional gender roles of both men and women within black communities as women migrate to work while men remain home. A role reversal occurs in such households whereby women take on an active role in their family’s economic well-being, a role generally viewed as belonging to the male as the head of the household. The dissertation challenges the stereotypical views concerning the role of African men within the family unit as it reveals their perceptions of female migrant labour which allows women to play an active role in the provision of the family’s needs and their perceptions with regards to taking on childcare responsibilities in the absence of the women. In addition, the women’s absence also affects the children as they experience added household responsibilities and taking care of their siblings in the absence of their mothers. Lastly, the experiences of female migrant workers provide insight into understanding the challenges of being a migrant worker and a mother. The study reveals that the physical separation between mothers and their children causes mothers to experience negative emotions of guilt as they are unable to care for their children on a day-to-day basis; to guide and support them.
M.A. (Industrial Sociology)