ABSTRACT
Feminization of migration attracted the attention of scholars and policy-makers around the globe. In the African context, there has not been detailed systematic research to explain patterns of intra-continental female migration. By drawing on this gap, the chapter discusses the intricacies of gender and migration in the context of South–South migration with a specific focus on Ethiopian labour migration to South Africa. This chapter presents how the phenomenon of labour migration is highly influenced by overarching gender norms and sociocultural landscape in Africa. The chapter examines how gender beliefs and gendered arrangements affect gendered migration patterns. Furthermore, it presents the multifaceted factors accounting for the mobility and immobility of women and young girls. The empirical bases of this chapter are an extended ethnographic research conducted in Southern Ethiopia within the framework of the research project, migration for development and equality (MIDEQ), focusing on prospective and potential migrants destined to the Republic of South Africa. By drawing on the case of intra-continental migration of Ethiopians to South Africa, this chapter locates the lived experiences of Ethiopian women within the mainstream discourses on gender and migration. The aim is to add to the existing body of knowledge while addressing the lacuna of research on gender and migration in Africa.
