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'I think a woman who travels a lot is befriending other men and that's why she travels': mobility constraints and their implications for rural women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa

Porter, Gina

'I think a woman who travels a lot is befriending other men and that's why she travels': mobility constraints and their implications for rural women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa Thumbnail


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Abstract

This article is concerned with the implications of practices, politics and meanings of mobility for women and girl children in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Women and girls commonly face severe mobility constraints which affect their livelihoods and their life chances. The article reflects on their experiences in rural areas where patriarchal institutions (including the gender division of labour, which places great emphasis on female labour contributions to household production and reproduction), and a patriarchal discourse concerning linkages between women's mobility, vulnerability and sexual appetite, shape everyday social practices and material inequalities. This compounds the physical constraints imposed by poor accessibility (to services and markets) associated with poor roads and inadequate transport in both direct and more complex ways. The article draws on field research conducted in diverse socio-cultural and agro-ecological contexts in western and southern Africa (principally southern Ghana, southern Malawi and northern and central Nigeria) to explore the impacts of relative immobility and poor service access on women and girls. Three (interconnected) issues are examined in some detail: access to markets, access to education and access to health services. Possible interventions to initiate positive change are considered.

Citation

Porter, G. (2011). 'I think a woman who travels a lot is befriending other men and that's why she travels': mobility constraints and their implications for rural women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Gender, Place and Culture, 18(1), 65-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2011.535304

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 18, 2011
Deposit Date Sep 1, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Gender, Place and Culture
Print ISSN 0966-369X
Electronic ISSN 1360-0524
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 18
Issue 1
Pages 65-81
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369x.2011.535304
Keywords Gender, Mobility, Markets, Education, Health, Promiscuity, Transport.

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Copyright Statement
This is an electronic version of an article published in Porter, Gina (2011) ''I think a woman who travels a lot is befriending other men and that's why she travels' : mobility constraints and their implications for rural women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa.', Gender, place and culture., 18 (1). pp. 65-81. Gender, place and culture is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=0966-369X&volume=18&issue=1&spage=65





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