9 - Narratives of Zimbabwean female teachers’ experience in South Africa
Corresponding Author(s) : Zvisinei Moyo
African Sociological Review,
Vol. 25 No. 2 (2021): African Sociological Review
Abstract
The violent political situation and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe at the turn of the 21st century that saw a mass exit of Zimbabweans to other countries served as a catalyst for this study. Female teachers were among the historic outflow to neighbouring South Africa. Thus, this paper examined the experience of Zimbabwean female immigrant teachers in South Africa. Empirically, narrative interviews, were used together to elicit data. The author who was amongst the immigrant teachers gave a narration of her story. The interviews were electronically recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using the feminist critical discourse perspectives. The key findings speak to female immigrant teachers as resilient professionals who were able to overcome the challenges of resettling in South Africa. Zimbabwean female immigrant teachers have challenged prevailing stereotypes for instance that male dominance. Therefore, the South African government needs to enact policies that improve the plight of female immigrant teachers.
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- Adelowo, A. Smythe, L. & Nakhid, C. 2016. Deciding to migrate: stories of African immigrant women living in New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 28(1):52-59.
- Boyd, M. & Grieco, E. 2003. Women and migration: incorporating gender into international migration theory. Migration information source, 1, Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE). 2008. Land reform in South Africa: Getting back on
- track. Johannesburg: CDE Chagonda, T. 2016. The other face of the Zimbabwean crisis: The black market and dealers during Zimbabwe’s decade of economic meltdown, 2000–2008. Review of African Political Economy,
- (147):131-141.
- Chaumba, J. 2015. Social capital and employment outcomes of Zimbabwean immigrants in the US.
- Migration and Integration, 17:487-505.
- Chereni, A. 2014. A methodological approach and conceptual tools for studying migrant belongings in African cities: A case of Zimbabweans in Johannesburg. Historical Social Research, 39(4):293-328.
- Creswell, J. W. 2012. Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Crush, J. & Williams, V. 2010. Labour Migration Trends and Policies in Southern Africa Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP). Policy Brief 23.
- Crush, J. 2000. The Dark Side of Democracy: Migration, Xenophobia and Human Rights in South Africa.
- International Migration, 38 (6):103-133, International Organization for Migration (IOM).
- Crush, J. & Tevera, D.S. (eds) 2010. Zimbabwe’s Exodus: Crisis, Migration and Survival.
- Cape Town – Ottawa: Southern African Migration Programme – IDRC.
- Crush, J., Chikanda, A. & Tawodzera, G. 2012. “The Third Wave: Mixed Migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa.” South African Migration Project, Migration No. 59, CapeTown: Bronwen MüllerEnigbokan, O., Edkins, B. & Ogundele, O. 2015. Relevance of migration theories in the identification of influencing factors for Nigerian and Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa. Paper presented at the Economic Society of South Africa (ESSA) Conference, Cape Town, 2015.
- Fwangyil, G. A. 2011. A reformist-feminist approach to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.
- African Research Review, 5(3):261-274.
- Garatidye, S. 2014. An exploration of the experiences of Zimbabwean women informal cross-border traders at the Zimbabwe/ South Africa Beitbridge Border Post. Unpublished Masters Dissertation: University of Cape Town.
- Goredema, R. 2010. African Feminism: the African woman’s struggle for identity.
- African Yearbook of Rhetoric, 1(1):33-41 Gott, C. & Johnson, K. 2002. The migrant population in the UK: fiscal effects.
- Development and statistics directorate occasional paper no. 77.
- Hammerstad, A. 2011. Linking South Africa’s Immigration Policy and Zimbabwean diplomacy. SAIIA Policy Briefing
- Hanke, S. 2008. Zimbabwe: From Hyperinflation to Growth (Washington, D.C: Cato Institute, 2008); Hanke, S. and Kwok, A. “On the Measurement of Zimbabwe’s Hyperinflation” Cato Journal 29(2) (2009): 353-64.
- Hurst, E. 2017. Local villages and global networks: the language and migration experiences of African skilled migrant academics. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 15(1):50-67 Johnson, A. J. & Whitley, M. A. 2016. Girls’ Sport in Northern Uganda: A Postcolonial Feminist Exploration of Definitions and Benefits. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 24(2), 131-142.
- Lazar, M. M. 2007. Feminist discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse Praxis.
- Critical Discourse Analysis 4: 141–164.
- Loo, S. 2011. A re-assessment of knowledge from the perspective of the knowledge economy. The International Journal of the Humanities, 9(2):111-119.
- Lucas, R. E. 2005. Migration and Economic Development: A Review of Existing Evidence, Journal of African Economies 15 (suppl. 2) 337-395.
- Mama A. 2007. “Is It Ethical to Study Africa? Preliminary Thoughts on Scholarship and Freedom.” African Studies Review 50: 1-26.
- Manik, S. 2013. Zimbabwean Immigrant Teachers in KwaZulu-Natal Count the Cost of Going under the Hammer. Alternation: Special Edition, 20 (7): 67–87.
- Manik, S. 2014. South African migrant teachers’ decision-making: levels of influence and ‘Relative deprivation’. Journal of Southern African Studies, 40(1):151-165.
- McDuff, E. 2015. Women’s voices from the Zimbabwe diaspora: migration and change.
- Irink″rindõ Journal of African Migration, 8(1): 1-42.
- Mercier-Laurent, E. 2006. Brain Amplifier for Holistic Knowledge Management using eration of AI. ICAI, Beijing.
- Mikell, G. 2010. African Feminism. The politics of survival in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia Mohapatra, S., Ratha, D. & Silwal, A. 2010. Outlook for Remittance Flows 2011-12. Recovery after the Crisis, but Risks Lie Ahead. New York: World Bank (Migration and Development Brief, 13).
- Morreira, S. 2010. Seeking solidarity: Zimbabwean undocumented migrants in Cape Town. Journal of Southern African Studies, 36(2):433-448.
- Moyo, Z. & Perumal, J. 2018. Globalisation and the experience of Zimbabwean female migrant teachers. Journal of Educational Studies, (17)1: 76-93.
- Nkealah, N. 2016. Internal and external crises Africa‘s Feminism: learning from oral narratives. Gender and Behaviour 6(2):7364-7372.
- Pailey, R. N. 2016. Where is the ‘African’ in African Studies? Africa at the London School of Economics.
- Pasura, D. 2013. Modes of incorporation and transnational Zimbabwe migration to Britain. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36 (1):199-218.
- Penson, J. & Yonemura, A. (eds) 2012. Next steps in managing teacher migration. Papers of the sixth Commonwealth research symposium on teacher mobility, recruitment and migration. London: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
- Powell, W. & Snellman, K. 2004. “The knowledge economy”, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 30 (2004):199–220.
- Quartey, P. 2006. Migration and development: challenges and opportunities for sending countries.
- Ghana country case study. A report prepared for the Germany Marshal Fund of the USA. Washington, July 22-26 2006.
- Raghuram, P. 2009. Which migration, what development? Unsettling the edifice of migration and development. Population, Space and Place, 15(2), 103-117.
- Raghuram, P. 2010. Caring about the brain drain in a postcolonial world. Geo-forum 40: 25–33. Raghuram, P. 2013. Theorising the spaces of student migration. Population, Space and Place, 19: 138–154.
- Ranga, D. 2015a. Gender differences in the migration of Zimbabwean teachers to South Africa. Social Science Research in Eastern Africa XXX1 (1):43-62.
- Ranga, D. 2015b. The role of politics in the migration of Zimbabwean teachers to South Africa.
- Development Bank of Southern Africa, 32(2):258-273.
- Rubin, H. J. & Rubin, I. S. 2012. Qualitative Interviewing. The Art of Hearing Data.
- London: Sage.
- Rushubirwa, L., Ndimande-Hlongwa, N. & Mkhize, N. 2015. Globalisation, migration and local communities, one adverse upshot: A case review of xenophobia in eThekwini Municipality, Durban, KZN, South Africa. Journal of Social
- ment in Africa 30(1):97-120.
- Sibanda, O.& Sibanda, F. 2014. Land of opportunity and despair: Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg. Journal of Social Development, 29(1):55-84.
- Sives, A., Morgan, W. J. & Appleton, S. 2005. Teachers as community leaders: potential impact of teacher migration on education for all and the millennium development goals. International Journal of Adult and Lifelong Education, 3(1):349-354.
- Swing,W. 2011. Communicating Effectively about Migration. International Organisation for Migration (IOM), World Migration Report.
- Terry, M. 2014. Feminism, gender and women’s experiences: Research approaches to address post natal depression. International Journal of Innovative Interdisciplinary Research, 2 (1) 19-32 Tracy, S. J. 2010. ‘Qualitative quality: eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research’, Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10): 837-851.
- United Nations Development Programme. 2009. Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development.
- Human Development Report 2009. New York.
- Vourlias, C. 2015. Immigrants say persecution is part of daily life and they are forming their own groups to monitor violence. Alijazeera America, April 29, 2015 P1.
- Yin, R. K. 2011. Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. London: Guilford Press
References
Adelowo, A. Smythe, L. & Nakhid, C. 2016. Deciding to migrate: stories of African immigrant women living in New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 28(1):52-59.
Boyd, M. & Grieco, E. 2003. Women and migration: incorporating gender into international migration theory. Migration information source, 1, Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE). 2008. Land reform in South Africa: Getting back on
track. Johannesburg: CDE Chagonda, T. 2016. The other face of the Zimbabwean crisis: The black market and dealers during Zimbabwe’s decade of economic meltdown, 2000–2008. Review of African Political Economy,
(147):131-141.
Chaumba, J. 2015. Social capital and employment outcomes of Zimbabwean immigrants in the US.
Migration and Integration, 17:487-505.
Chereni, A. 2014. A methodological approach and conceptual tools for studying migrant belongings in African cities: A case of Zimbabweans in Johannesburg. Historical Social Research, 39(4):293-328.
Creswell, J. W. 2012. Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Crush, J. & Williams, V. 2010. Labour Migration Trends and Policies in Southern Africa Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP). Policy Brief 23.
Crush, J. 2000. The Dark Side of Democracy: Migration, Xenophobia and Human Rights in South Africa.
International Migration, 38 (6):103-133, International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Crush, J. & Tevera, D.S. (eds) 2010. Zimbabwe’s Exodus: Crisis, Migration and Survival.
Cape Town – Ottawa: Southern African Migration Programme – IDRC.
Crush, J., Chikanda, A. & Tawodzera, G. 2012. “The Third Wave: Mixed Migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa.” South African Migration Project, Migration No. 59, CapeTown: Bronwen MüllerEnigbokan, O., Edkins, B. & Ogundele, O. 2015. Relevance of migration theories in the identification of influencing factors for Nigerian and Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa. Paper presented at the Economic Society of South Africa (ESSA) Conference, Cape Town, 2015.
Fwangyil, G. A. 2011. A reformist-feminist approach to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.
African Research Review, 5(3):261-274.
Garatidye, S. 2014. An exploration of the experiences of Zimbabwean women informal cross-border traders at the Zimbabwe/ South Africa Beitbridge Border Post. Unpublished Masters Dissertation: University of Cape Town.
Goredema, R. 2010. African Feminism: the African woman’s struggle for identity.
African Yearbook of Rhetoric, 1(1):33-41 Gott, C. & Johnson, K. 2002. The migrant population in the UK: fiscal effects.
Development and statistics directorate occasional paper no. 77.
Hammerstad, A. 2011. Linking South Africa’s Immigration Policy and Zimbabwean diplomacy. SAIIA Policy Briefing
Hanke, S. 2008. Zimbabwe: From Hyperinflation to Growth (Washington, D.C: Cato Institute, 2008); Hanke, S. and Kwok, A. “On the Measurement of Zimbabwe’s Hyperinflation” Cato Journal 29(2) (2009): 353-64.
Hurst, E. 2017. Local villages and global networks: the language and migration experiences of African skilled migrant academics. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 15(1):50-67 Johnson, A. J. & Whitley, M. A. 2016. Girls’ Sport in Northern Uganda: A Postcolonial Feminist Exploration of Definitions and Benefits. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 24(2), 131-142.
Lazar, M. M. 2007. Feminist discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse Praxis.
Critical Discourse Analysis 4: 141–164.
Loo, S. 2011. A re-assessment of knowledge from the perspective of the knowledge economy. The International Journal of the Humanities, 9(2):111-119.
Lucas, R. E. 2005. Migration and Economic Development: A Review of Existing Evidence, Journal of African Economies 15 (suppl. 2) 337-395.
Mama A. 2007. “Is It Ethical to Study Africa? Preliminary Thoughts on Scholarship and Freedom.” African Studies Review 50: 1-26.
Manik, S. 2013. Zimbabwean Immigrant Teachers in KwaZulu-Natal Count the Cost of Going under the Hammer. Alternation: Special Edition, 20 (7): 67–87.
Manik, S. 2014. South African migrant teachers’ decision-making: levels of influence and ‘Relative deprivation’. Journal of Southern African Studies, 40(1):151-165.
McDuff, E. 2015. Women’s voices from the Zimbabwe diaspora: migration and change.
Irink″rindõ Journal of African Migration, 8(1): 1-42.
Mercier-Laurent, E. 2006. Brain Amplifier for Holistic Knowledge Management using eration of AI. ICAI, Beijing.
Mikell, G. 2010. African Feminism. The politics of survival in Sub-Saharan Africa.
University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia Mohapatra, S., Ratha, D. & Silwal, A. 2010. Outlook for Remittance Flows 2011-12. Recovery after the Crisis, but Risks Lie Ahead. New York: World Bank (Migration and Development Brief, 13).
Morreira, S. 2010. Seeking solidarity: Zimbabwean undocumented migrants in Cape Town. Journal of Southern African Studies, 36(2):433-448.
Moyo, Z. & Perumal, J. 2018. Globalisation and the experience of Zimbabwean female migrant teachers. Journal of Educational Studies, (17)1: 76-93.
Nkealah, N. 2016. Internal and external crises Africa‘s Feminism: learning from oral narratives. Gender and Behaviour 6(2):7364-7372.
Pailey, R. N. 2016. Where is the ‘African’ in African Studies? Africa at the London School of Economics.
Pasura, D. 2013. Modes of incorporation and transnational Zimbabwe migration to Britain. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36 (1):199-218.
Penson, J. & Yonemura, A. (eds) 2012. Next steps in managing teacher migration. Papers of the sixth Commonwealth research symposium on teacher mobility, recruitment and migration. London: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Powell, W. & Snellman, K. 2004. “The knowledge economy”, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 30 (2004):199–220.
Quartey, P. 2006. Migration and development: challenges and opportunities for sending countries.
Ghana country case study. A report prepared for the Germany Marshal Fund of the USA. Washington, July 22-26 2006.
Raghuram, P. 2009. Which migration, what development? Unsettling the edifice of migration and development. Population, Space and Place, 15(2), 103-117.
Raghuram, P. 2010. Caring about the brain drain in a postcolonial world. Geo-forum 40: 25–33. Raghuram, P. 2013. Theorising the spaces of student migration. Population, Space and Place, 19: 138–154.
Ranga, D. 2015a. Gender differences in the migration of Zimbabwean teachers to South Africa. Social Science Research in Eastern Africa XXX1 (1):43-62.
Ranga, D. 2015b. The role of politics in the migration of Zimbabwean teachers to South Africa.
Development Bank of Southern Africa, 32(2):258-273.
Rubin, H. J. & Rubin, I. S. 2012. Qualitative Interviewing. The Art of Hearing Data.
London: Sage.
Rushubirwa, L., Ndimande-Hlongwa, N. & Mkhize, N. 2015. Globalisation, migration and local communities, one adverse upshot: A case review of xenophobia in eThekwini Municipality, Durban, KZN, South Africa. Journal of Social
ment in Africa 30(1):97-120.
Sibanda, O.& Sibanda, F. 2014. Land of opportunity and despair: Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg. Journal of Social Development, 29(1):55-84.
Sives, A., Morgan, W. J. & Appleton, S. 2005. Teachers as community leaders: potential impact of teacher migration on education for all and the millennium development goals. International Journal of Adult and Lifelong Education, 3(1):349-354.
Swing,W. 2011. Communicating Effectively about Migration. International Organisation for Migration (IOM), World Migration Report.
Terry, M. 2014. Feminism, gender and women’s experiences: Research approaches to address post natal depression. International Journal of Innovative Interdisciplinary Research, 2 (1) 19-32 Tracy, S. J. 2010. ‘Qualitative quality: eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research’, Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10): 837-851.
United Nations Development Programme. 2009. Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development.
Human Development Report 2009. New York.
Vourlias, C. 2015. Immigrants say persecution is part of daily life and they are forming their own groups to monitor violence. Alijazeera America, April 29, 2015 P1.
Yin, R. K. 2011. Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. London: Guilford Press