Necessity or choice: women’s migration to artisanal mining regions in eastern DRC

Abstract

Women have long remained invisible in representations of artisanal mining in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Based on original field data, this paper seeks to fill that gap. It shows how women come to mining sites with the hope of finding a degree of security, economic possibilities and the start of a new life. Contrary to what dominant discourses on the "resource curse" and sexual violence towards women have suggested, women may find a degree of protection in mining areas. We take the analysis beyond the "push" and "pull" factors with which migration is usually explained, to understand women's motivation to move into mining areas as complex and changing. The study situates women's movement to the mines within their life trajectories which are shaped by violence and various forms of insecurity. The notion of social navigation is brought in to understand how they cope with gender discrimination, challenges and risks in the mining economy. The paper shows how push and pull factors merge over time and how some women succeed in creating new sources of revenue and manage to mitigate the situation of vulnerability in which they find themselves. RÉSUMÉ Les femmes sont restées longtemps invisibles dans les représentations de l'exploitation minière artisanale dans l'Est de la République démocratique du Congo. Fondé sur des données originales de terrain, cet article vise à combler cette lacune. Il montre comment les femmes arrivent sur les sites miniers avec l'espoir d'y trouver un degré de sécurité, des opportunités économiques et le début d'une nouvelle vie. Contrairement à ce que les discours dominants sur la « malédiction des ressources naturelles » et la violence sexuelle à l'égard des femmes ont laissé entendre, les femmes peuvent trouver un certain degré de protection dans les zones minières. Nous poussons l'analyse au-delà des facteurs attractifs et répulsifs par lesquels la migration est habituellement expliquée pour comprendre les motivations des femmes à s'installer dans les zones minières comme quelque chose de complexe et changeant. L'étude situe le déplacement des femmes vers les mines dans leurs trajectoires de vie, qui sont déterminées par la violence et diverses formes d'insécurité. La notion de navigation sociale est introduite pour comprendre comment les femmes font face à la discrimination, aux difficultés et aux risques dans l'économie minière. L'article montre comment les facteurs attractifs et répulsifs fusionnent au fil du KEYWORDS

Migration, authority and the gendered organization of labour in artisanal gold mining in Sierra Leone (and Mozambique)

“…I suggest that, by analysing how migrant status plays a role in shaping social relations in the artisanal mining sites, one gains an insight into the particular gendered cultural politics at play, including the authority relationships and the differential weight of territorialized 'belonging'. However, migration has not been a consistent topic in the burgeoning scholarly and policy analyses of ASM in sub-Saharan Africa (but see Bashwira and Cuvelier 2019;Bashwira and van der Haar 2020;Bryceson et al 2021;Maclin et al 2017). When it is mentioned, as I show below, migration is typically hinged on either side of the commonly bifurcated analytical portrayals of this extractive activity: as either an exemplar of the putative unruliness of the sector or to demonstrate its vital economic importance for so many people.…”

“…Mohanty 1997;Benya 2015). In the few studies on women's and men's gendered motivations to move for artisanal mining in sub-Saharan Africa, the emphasis has been on explicating motivations for moving to the mines, emphasizing migrants' strategic agency in navigating insecurity and resettlement (see, e.g., Bashwira and van der Haar 2020). My analysis here adds to the literature by addressing a related gap: the gendered authority relations that shape the cultural politics of migration and the gendered organization of labour into which women and men move.…”

The Experiences and Challenges of Women Who Reside in Driekop Mining Community of the Limpopo Province

“…It was also found in Uganda that women who were working in the mining sector often traded sex in order to get favours from men (Atim et al, 2020). Another study by Bashwira and van der Haar (2020) seeking to account for women's migration to the mining communities in the DRC found that women who engage in prostitution move to the mining areas seeking rich miners and the prospects of success in their trade is even higher if the level of mining production is high. The challenges associated with mining, according to Atim et al (2020), should not mask the advantages that women derive from these communities.…”

Ecofeminism and Natural Resource Management: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied

“…The stringent gender equality policies to empower women by providing skills-based training and valid permits to work in the mining help them contribute their share in the labor force participation rate, ultimately contributing to an inclusive growth agenda. Bashwira and der Haar [15] discussed different push and pull factors that Congolese women faced intending to join the artisanal mining sector to get security and a degree of freedom. Despite some positive thoughts, women were discriminated against in various ways during the working lives that hurt them and deeply buried their hopes under sexual violence and job insecurity.…”