Gendered Dynamics in West African Migration

Much of the literature on West African migration ignores gender perspectives or tends to focus on women ‘as’ gender while men are portrayed as neutral or un-gendered. But both men and women migrate from their homes, however, whether permanently or temporally, and with or without their families. Such movements challenge notions of traditional family systems, as shown in this new book chapter written by Mary Boatemaa Setrana, Director of the Center for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, and Nauja Kleist, Senior Researcher at DIIS. 

Exploring overall trends, remittances, practices and negotiations of divisions of labour in migration, aspirations and the quest for a better life as well as return migration and deportation, the chapter offers a solid overview of gender dimensions in West African migration – paying attention to male and female migrants as well as changing ideals of masculinity and femininity. Still, women’s migration is often seen as a potential problem. As the authors conclude:

“Women have mainly been described as joining the migration trail as wives, sisters and daughters but, for at least four decades now, women moving for education, work, and other purposes has become a prominent trend […]. Yet, women’s independent migration is still confronted with concern and preoccupation with their sexual behaviour, an indication that migratory practices seem to develop and change faster than patriarchal norms”.

The chapter is a part of the volume Migration in West Africa – an open access IMISCOE Regional Reader, edited by Joseph Teye.