ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the migration of African women in the Umtata District in the Transkeian region of South Africa over the period 1880 to 1935. The Umtata District encompasses both rural areas and the small town of Umtata. It is important to look at the migration of African women within the rural areas and to observe their movement to the smaller urban centers as well in this early period for two reasons. First reason, because most of the literature has focused on female migration mainly to the large urban area of Johannesburg, research has fallen prey to certain statistics. Second reason, some scholars have concentrated on the economic motivations for women's migration. For example, researchers have largely emphasized the higher wages offered in the cities as a "pull" factor that drew women out of the countryside. The usual explanation is to see African urban population increase in terms of economic push and pull factors.
