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| UN Photo/UNHCR/A. Duclos |
Mary-Sanyu Osire, International Organization for Migration
With “Madam,” Amiina calls out to the Caucasian lady who has just walked through the gate. Amiina’s right hand disappears into her guntiino (the traditional dress that Somali women wear) and it hastily resurfaces with a piece of paper in firm grip. With great stealth, she scoots the bewildered visitor into a corner and starts to bombard her with requests.
“We need a visa; we fear for our lives; these are my children,” she turns round, but there is no one by her side. She swings her head to the right-hand side of the compound and throws a glaring look at the five children who are hurdled in a far corner. One glance is all it takes. They scuttle to her side.
She animates her voice, raising it and lowering it, each time to emphasize different parts of her story. Amiina’s voice fades off as I walk further away.
IN TRANSIT. I am in a transit centre in Nairobi, Kenya. A place built to accommodate refugees as they await possible transfer to countries that are willing to accept them. With an approximate number of 440,000 refugees, Kenya hosts the fifth largest number of refugees in the world.
According to the latest World Migration report, there were an estimated 214 million international migrants in the world in 2010, a figure that represents an increase of almost 40 million in comparison with the first decade of the 21st century, and more than twice as many international migrants as in 1980.
Amiina, and other female migrants like herself, introduce the aspect of gender considerations into discussions about migration. It may be different reasons why women and men move, the process of migration itself can be different, and men and women will encounter different social, political and economic environments in their countries of destination.
NEGLECTED IN STUDIES. In Africa, female migrants like Amiina are said to comprise 46 per cent of all migration, and according to the International Organization for Migration, this figure is set to increase. Yet women are generally neglected in migration studies; they are mostly seen as the people who are left behind, and are in some cases viewed as mere additions to male migration.
Although research in the field of migration and its gender dimension is advancing, very little is known about what determines female migration. The new migration pressures for women and girls and the specific migration routes that they prefer to use. To this day patterns of female migration remain scantily researched and inadequately understood.
With specific regards to female labor migrants, Gloria Moreno Fontes, a migration specialist with ILO Migration Branch, notes:
“Besides being subject to sometimes very harsh working and living conditions, migrant female workers are in some instances prohibited from marrying local citizens. They also risk losing their jobs if they are pregnant, and are subject to pregnancy tests every six months. It is not only their status as women and non-nationals that put migrating women in a vulnerable situation, but also the type of work they engage in. They find themselves incorporated into an already disadvantageous labor market towards women, and these disadvantages intensify in the case of migrant women, especially for those who do not have legal travel documents.”
ACTION TAKEN. Around the world, the question of gender is taking a position of prominence in many fora, and Africa is not being left behind. In February 2009, the African Union (AU) adopted the AU Gender Policy. Prior to this, the AU had adopted several other important gender-related documents, including Article 4(1) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa. These policies are aimed at accelerating MDG 3 which highlights Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.
Humanitarian actors in Africa are also active participants in the gender debate.. The United Nations system in Kenya recently embarked on a joint gender mainstreaming program. Signed into force towards the end of 2010 by 14 of the 17 UN entities resident in Kenya, ‘The UN Joint Program on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment’ is aimed at mapping and promoting enhanced coordination of the UN systems’ support to national priorities in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Kenya.
SHAPING THE FUTURE. Female migrants like Amiina can no longer be ignored or clustered into one homogenous group with men because their needs are very distinct from the needs of men. Policy makers and various stakeholders ought to be mindful of these dynamics as they shape migrant laws, and as they work towards capitalizing on the benefits that come from the migration of women.
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