ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the relationship between mothering and urbanization in Africa has been understood by Africanist scholars. The predominant theme points to mother’s economic challenges in increasingly neoliberalizing cities. The contemporary struggles of mothers have been linked to colonial legacies such as their exclusions under the colonial urban economy and the colonial legal framework that treated women as property – thus limiting their economic opportunities. These colonial legacies have been further exacerbated under neoliberal economic reforms that have increased their financial responsibilities in the maintenance of their families. Despite their marginalization, mothers are engaged in activism to assert their rights to the city and demand a more livable life. The central issues that have been highlighted by scholars pertain to skills acquisition training and urban displacement, as they respectively relate to the quest to empower mothers and make them more economically autonomous, and to government efforts to hide poverty and make urban space more viable for regional and global capital. This chapter also highlights that emerging scholarship on mothering and urbanization in Africa point to the premature conclusions on falling poverty among female-headed households and the need to diversify research on urban motherhood beyond the poverty lens.
