an exploration of agency within Somali women's lives and livelihoods in Johannesburg

190 Pages·2014·2.71 MB·English

by  Zaheera Jinnah

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UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL

Unfinished journeys: an exploration of agency within Somali
women’s lives and livelihoods in Johannesburg

Zaheera JINNAH

2013

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Unfinished journeys: an exploration of agency within Somali women’s
lives and livelihoods in Johannesburg

This dissertation is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Anthropology, University of KwaZulu Natal.
Supervisors: Professors Anand Singh and Kalpana Hiralal

By: Zaheera JINNAH
Department of Anthropology, Gender, and Historical Studies, University of KwaZulu Natal
Date: November 2013

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COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
DECLARATION - PLAGIARISM

I, Zaheera Jinnah, declare that
1. This dissertation, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research.
2. This dissertation has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other
university.
3. This dissertation does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other
information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons.
4. This dissertation does not contain other persons' writing, unless specifically
acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources
have been quoted:
a. Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them
has been referenced;
b. Their exact words have been used and their writing has been placed inside
quotation marks, and referenced.
5. This dissertation does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the
Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, in which case the source is detailed in the
dissertation and in the references section.

Signed, 1 February 2013

………………………………………………………………………………

Zaheera JINNAH
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Acknowledgements
This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of several people and
institutions across three continents.
First, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and trust of my respondents, who in
different ways allowed me to enter their lives and made me privy to their ongoing journeys.
The Somali Community Board and Somali Association of South Africa played a significant role in
ensuring my access to, and safety in Mayfair.
I am glad that my path crossed with Sowdo Hussein Mohamud. She was a guiding light to this
project and her friendship, probing questions, and patient explanations were invaluable to me.
Her presence remains a gift in my life even as she continued her own journey from
Johannesburg to Columbus.
At the University of KwaZulu Natal, I thank my supervisors, Professors Anand Singh and Kalpana
Hiralal, for their steady guidance. Together with Professor Shanta Singh, they enabled me to
obtain funding to carry out the fieldwork for this dissertation.
At the University of the Witwatersrand, I am indebted to Professor Loren Landau and my
colleagues at the African Centre for Migration and Society who provided me with a space to
think, and write. The ACMS also generously gave me access to existing data from the African
Cities Survey.
I am grateful to Cindy Horst from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Kasia Grabska
from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva, for
reading and helping me shape parts of this dissertation. Their knowledge of the Somali diaspora
has greatly enriched my own work.
Finally, I am blessed to have the love and support of my family, especially Hanouni.
This dissertation was made possible by a grant from the National Research Foundation.

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Wherever one looked, people were pouring out of opened doors. The streets were alive with
activity: women chatting volubly with neighbours; groups of uniformed children on their way to
school; infants, too small to carry their satchels, being led to kindergarten. Here and there
someone was busy siphoning petrol from one vehicle into another. Most cars had an abandoned
look, their bonnets up, engines cold. Occasionally one was driven past and everyone would
stare, first at the vehicle as if seeing a miracle, then at the person at the wheel, perhaps hoping
for a lift. The one time a taxi stopped, crowds converged on it and there was a scuffle,
whereupon the driver sped off, safe in his securely locked car:
To know how I am and how I have fared, you must understand why I resist all kinds of
domination, including that of being given something. As my epitaph I would like to have the
following written; here lies Duniya, who distrusted givers.
From the novel, ‘Gifts’ by Nuruddin Farah 1999.

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Table of Contents

Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... 13
Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ 14
Chapter 1: Host and Home: situating this study empirically and theoretically .......................................... 15
1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 15
1.2. Research questions ......................................................................................................................... 16
1.3. Structure of dissertation ................................................................................................................. 17
1.4. Somalia: a feminist history and geography ..................................................................................... 17
1.5. South Africa: migration laws and realities ...................................................................................... 25
1.6. Ethnography of a space: detailing the research site ....................................................................... 27
1.7. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 31

Chapter 2: Research Methodology ............................................................................................................. 33
2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 33
2.2. Research questions and rationale ................................................................................................... 33
2.3. Conceptualising and contextualising the study .............................................................................. 34
2.4. Why Somalis? Why Johannesburg? ................................................................................................ 36
2.5. Research design, sampling and data collection techniques ........................................................... 38
2.5.1. Qualitative ethnographic data ....................................................................................................... 38
2.5.1.1. Sampling ......................................................................................................................................... 39
2.5.1.2. Interview techniques ..................................................................................................................... 40
2.5.1.3. Observation .................................................................................................................................... 40
2.5.2. Quantitative data ........................................................................................................................... 41
2.5.3. Language and translation ............................................................................................................... 42
2.5.4. Reflexivity ....................................................................................................................................... 43
2.6. Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 45
2.6.1. Thematic analysis ............................................................................................................................ 45
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2.6.2. Social network analysis .................................................................................................................. 46
2.6.3. Community mapping ....................................................................................................................... 47
2.7. Sacred spaces .................................................................................................................................. 47
2.8. Limitations....................................................................................................................................... 49
2.9. Ethical considerations ..................................................................................................................... 50
2.10. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 52

Chapter 3: A synopsis of Somali migrants and migration: globally, in South Africa, and in theory ........... 53
3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 53
3.2. Gender and migration ..................................................................................................................... 54
3.2.1. Women migrants in South Africa during the colonial and apartheid eras ..................................... 55
3.2.2. Early migration to South Africa in the post-apartheid period ......................................................... 55
3.2.2.1. Migrants in South Africa ............................................................................................................... 56
3.3. Migration effects and outcomes: discussing the challenges and opportunities linked to livelihoods
and change for female migrants ................................................................................................................ 57
3.3.1. Livelihoods within, against, and as a result of policy frameworks and structural discrimination .. 58
3.3.2. The (transnational) household as a unit of analysis ....................................................................... 58
3.3.3. Does migration change things for women? .................................................................................... 60
3.4. Defining key concepts and practices relating to Somali migration ................................................. 61
3.4.1. Buufis ............................................................................................................................................... 61
3.4.2. Transnational engagements: Remittances. ..................................................................................... 63
3.5. Framing Somali migration and settlement dynamics globally, regionally and nationally .................. 64
3.5.1. Somali migration to the United States............................................................................................. 65
3.5.2. Somali migration to Europe ............................................................................................................. 66
3.5.3. Somali migration in Africa ................................................................................................................ 69
3.5.4. (Somali) migration to Johannesburg ................................................................................................ 70
3.6. What is the effect of migration for Somali women? .......................................................................... 71
3.7. Theoretical construction .................................................................................................................... 73
3.7.1. Migration Theory ............................................................................................................................. 73
3.7.2. Social network theory ...................................................................................................................... 74
3.7.3 Ethnic entrepreneurial theory .......................................................................................................... 76
3.8. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 77
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Chapter 4: Reasons, routes, and rationale: Understanding contemporary Somali migration patterns and
dynamics to South Africa ............................................................................................................................ 79
4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 79
4.2. Migratory patterns to South Africa ................................................................................................. 80
4.3. Routes to South Africa .................................................................................................................... 83
4.4. Trafficking........................................................................................................................................ 88
4.5. Why leave? ...................................................................................................................................... 89
4.5.1. Pre-migration household ............................................................................................................ 94
4.5.1.1. Minor reasons- decided to move to avoid the potential for conflict or find a better life
elsewhere ................................................................................................................................................. 98
4.5.1.2. Average reasons-indirect conflict or threat of conflict ........................................................... 99
4.5.1.3. Major reasons – direct conflict experienced ........................................................................ 100
4.5.1.4. Economic reasons ................................................................................................................. 102
4.5.1.5. Family reunification .............................................................................................................. 104
4.6. Why South Africa?......................................................................................................................... 105
4.7. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 106

Chapter 5: Trading places, shaping spaces: exploring the nature of Somali settlement and integration in
Johannesburg ............................................................................................................................................ 108
5.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 108
5.2. Coming to Johannesburg .............................................................................................................. 108
5.2.1. Entering Mayfair ........................................................................................................................... 109
5.3. Social Networks ............................................................................................................................. 112
5.4. A profile of Somali migrants in Johannesburg .............................................................................. 116
5.4.1. Households and housing conditions ............................................................................................. 116
5.4.2. Education and skill ........................................................................................................................ 122
5.4.3. Documentation and its effects ....................................................................................................... 124
5.5. Engagement and integration ........................................................................................................ 124
5.6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 127

Chapter 6: Livelihoods: forms, nature, and meanings .............................................................................. 129
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