Madams and Maids in Southern Africa: coping with uncertainties, and the art of mutual zombification

Francis B. Nyamnjoh

Africa Spectrum, 2005, vol. 40, issue 2, 181-196

Abstract: Drawing largely on a just completed empirical study this paper argues that like elsewhere in Africa and the world, maids in South Africa and Bot-swana, notably migrant maids from Zimbabwe, are subjected to the vicissi-tudes of ultra-exploitation. They, like their employers are all concerned with the uncertainties that plague their lives. Although employers are as-sumed to be in positions of power, their reality is often more nuanced and prone to constant negotiations with and concessions to maids. At one level, their own preoccupation with avoiding uncertainties by maintaining what-ever advantages they can cultivate implies that vis-à-vis their maids, the employers cannot always afford to enjoy the benefits of being in control. Structural inequalities notwithstanding, mutual zombification seems to be the order of the day between maids and madams.

Date: 2005
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