Migration adolescente et autonomie féminine en matière de divorce en Afrique : réflexions à partir d’un suivi de population au Mali

Abstract

Les migrations de travail des adolescentes se sont imposées comme un phénomène de masse et un déterminant des évolutions de l’entrée en union dans de nombreuses populations rurales ouest-africaines. Ont-elles aussi des retombées à plus long terme dans la gestion de la vie conjugale des femmes, notamment en matière de divorce ? La question est abordée à partir des données quantitatives et qualitatives recueillies depuis 25 ans au sud-est du Mali par le projet Slam-Suivi longitudinal au Mali. Les migrations adolescentes, en décloisonnant l’espace de vie des femmes, ont effectivement élargi leur marge de manoeuvre et contribué à redéfinir leur place dans l’espace familial et conjugal. Cependant, elles n’ont pas conduit à une augmentation, mais à un recul des ruptures d’union. Ces résultats suggèrent que l’autonomie portée par l’expérience migratoire se décline dans l’espace familial par une capacité à développer des alternatives au divorce et à éviter les coûts personnels d’une rupture d’union (éloignement des enfants, abandon du réseau relationnel…).Labour migration of girls during adolescence has become a mass phenomenon and a determinant of nuptiality changes in numerous West African populations. To what extend does this experience influence women’s future conjugal life, especially in terms of divorce ? We address the issue using both quantitative and qualitative data collected over the past 25 years in south-east Mali (Project Slam “Suivi longitudinal au Mali”). To some extent, migration during adolescence serves as an apprenticeship, by providing women with opportunities to access a wider “living space”, and skills to manage family life and conjugal relationships. However higher levels of labour migration during adolescence are associated not with higher, but with lower, levels of divorce. It seems therefore that the autonomy women gain through migration helps to develop alternatives to divorce and so to avoid the high personal costs of a marriage breakdown (notably having to leave the village, one’s children and one’s social network)

Union breakdown in West African cities: The cases of Ouagadougou and Lomé

“…The study of union breakdown requires data on marital histories, but this kind of data has been rarely collected in West African countries. In some research the longitudinal approach to studying unions has been adopted; at the national level (Gnoumou Thiombiano and Legrand 2014), in cities (Marcoux 1997;Antoine and Dial 2005;Antoine 2006), and on specific populations (Hertrich 2014).…”

Men’s Migration, Women’s Autonomy, and Union Dissolution in Rural Mozambique

“…However, in contexts where women’s social position is primarily determined by marriage and family relationships and where employment options outside subsistence agriculture are very limited, women may strongly prefer to stay married, and thus may seek to influence men’s behavior within a marriage rather than leave the marriage. Consistent with this possibility, some research in sub-Saharan Africa has found that women’s autonomy is associated with lower divorce rates (e.g., Hertrich, 2014). This association, however, is contingent on the marital partners’ communication.…”

“…Consistent with this possibility, some research in sub-Saharan Africa has found that women's autonomy is associated with lower divorce rates (e.g., Hertrich, 2014). This association, however, is contingent on the marital partners' communication.…”