‘A Child is Born’ – Gender, Remittances and Patrimony: The Case of Chivi District in Zimbabwe

Abstract

While debates about its morality continue among states and conservatives, migration is taking place in Africa. In previous decades, migration was dominated by men. Increasingly, in Zimbabwe, women are taking centre stage in this process. Using the case study of Chivi District in Zimbabwe which is now considered an established ‘donor’ of migrants, we examine how access and control of remittances by migrant men and women determines patrimony. This paper argues that migration and remittances have given birth to new rights and entitlements to daughters who were previously marginalised.