Migrations and Patriarchy: A Historical Focus on Gender Relations in Southern Africa

Migrations have both negative and positive ramifications for the reconfiguration of gender relations. This paper focuses on how the changing status of African women migrants impacts on gender relations, and how patriarchy impacts on migration. Primary and secondary data from a qualitative analysis established that in all types of migrations, patriarchal relations are both strengthened and challenged, whilst in the main, gender relations are strengthened. Inferences drawn from regions other than Africa are also applied to the analysis to enrich the arguments in a manner that makes the paper relevant to academic analysis in other regions globally.