Centering African women as circular migrants in a globalising world

Akosua K. Darkwah

Chapter 47 in Handbook on Gender in World Politics, 2026, pp 312-317 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter highlights a significant gap in migration studies by focusing on African female transnational traders engaged in circular migration. It challenges the dominant South-to-North narrative by examining women who travel repeatedly, primarily to China, to source consumer goods for their businesses back home in Africa. The analysis details the sophisticated formal and informal support networks that facilitate this trade on both continents. A key focus is how these entrepreneurial women navigate and resist persistent, negative gendered scripts that cast them as immoral or neglectful due to their mobility and economic independence. The chapter aims to make this crucial, yet overlooked, form of female agency and South–South migration visible within scholarly discourse, correcting a significant oversight in the literature.

Keywords: Circular Migration; Transnational Trade; African Women; Gendered Scripts; South–South Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781803923765
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