Author : Marian Shaffer
Publisher :
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 40,58 MB
Release : 2012
Category :
ISBN :
Abstract: Somali refugees arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa following apartheid's official end in 1994 and have since established a well-organized "Little Mogadishu" in Mayfair, a suburb just west of the city center, which continues to grow as Somalis migrate to the country in search of peace, security, and livelihood opportunities. The backgrounds and experiences Somalis bring to Mayfair influence gender ideologies in the community and complicate gender relations as women and men construct and negotiate new identities in South Africa. Working with Somalis in Mayfair, I used mixed methods in this ethnographic study to collect data on the dynamics of gender. Employing a "gendered geographies of power" framework, I examine how Somalis make sense of their world and the contradictions that surround gender relations for women and men as they interact with one another and the larger South African community.