The struggle of migrant women continues

Women’s month has passed, but their issues persist; more so because the economic significance of their entrepreneurial activities has never been more relevant in the context of the Covid pandemic, particularly in Africa. The migration of women on the continent is a regular occurrence and increasing; the UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs reported the proportion of migrant women in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 46.4% in 2005 to 47.5% in 2019, with SA being their ideal destination.

Push factors include wars and political conflicts, poverty and poor service delivery, gender persecution and inequality, as well as limited economic opportunities, while better economic conditions, employment prospects and political stability are the main pull factors. Many migrant women engage in entrepreneurial activities such as cross-border trading at a regional level, retailing, au pair (housework and childcare) and operating hair salons at the domestic level, to list a few. 

The number of migrant women engaged in entrepreneurial activities in post-apartheid SA is notable. According to the Stats SA 2020 Migration Dynamics Report, about half of the total of migrant women in SA work in the informal sector. It also that the estimated percentage of migrant women residing in the country rose from 3.1 % in 2012 to 4.5% in 2017, making them increasingly important in facilitating micro intra-regional trade in Southern Africa and domestic retailing in informal sectors. Migrant women entrepreneurs are usually innovators who offer unique expertise and services, and introduce new products and marketing methods from their country of origin to the SA economy.

However, they face a variety of challenges, which the Covid pandemic has served to highlight. According to the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa, migrant women in host countries face the triple disadvantage of race, gender and ethnicity. Moreover, a 2019 article by Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo from the Institute for Security Studies argues that migrant women in SA face the triple discrimination of xenophobia, racism and misogyny. As a result, women have often single-handedly carried the burden of caregiving for family members infected by Covid and providing home-schooling for children during lockdowns, besides the impact on their business activities.

An exploration of the impact of the pandemic on women and their businesses indicates that women have little or no financial support since businesses were forced to close during lockdowns, resulting in loss of earnings and jobs. Most of these migrant women entrepreneurs operating informal businesses were breadwinners and the loss of income not only meant the closure of their business but also severe implications for their dependants.

Legal implications

Additionally, restrictive immigration policies and laws at the national and municipal level continue to impede the entrepreneurial activities of migrant women, and leave them with no social protection. This applies in most cases to street vendors who do not have operating permits and no of recourse to the police should anything happen to them.

Migrant women have coped by relying on family and humanitarian support (where available), a few have been fortunate to adapt and find formal employment, but the majority survive via informal work, sex work, and entrepreneurial endeavours such as street vending, hairdressing and retail operations. This precarious situation leaves them vulnerable to exploitation, violence, sexual abuse, and other violations of their rights.

To mitigate these challenges, supporting mechanisms must be formulated and implemented. The private sector together,  civil society organisations and migrants must come together and create opportunities for migrant women entrepreneurs to join formal support networks that offer access to credit and skills development.

The Women's Platform by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town is a good example of an initiative that addresses such challenges, offering migrant women access to networking, training and personal development and financial sustainability.

The government, too, should formulate and implement policies to assist migrant women become contributors to the economy and part of the population. The announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that vaccination is open to everyone who is in the country no matter their documentation status is a commendable step in opening up access to health.

Furthermore, think-tanks, academics and the media engage in gender research on migration to aid the formulation and implementation of gender-responsive policies in SA. T Though it doesn’t focus exclusively on women, the Migration Project implemented by the Democracy Development Programme and co-funded by the EU and Konrad Adenauer Foundation offers a good example. The project aims to nurture the collaborative entrepreneurial activities of migrants and South Africans and help them overcome their challenges because these activities benefit the overall economy.

• Kariuki is executive director of the Democracy Development Program. Matema is project officer assigned to the Migration Project at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Johannesburg. They both write in their personal capacities.