Women Left Behind?: Women's Roles in Migration and Residential Arrangements

Caroline S. Archambault, Brown University

The young male migrant in search of wage labor has long been the model actor for demographic, economic, and sociological theories of migration. This male-centered focus has often characterized women as either passive followers or "left behind" wives. Scholars from several disciplines have responded to this neglect of women by emphasizing their mobility. Nevertheless, there remains a tendency to represent female rural "stayers" as an undifferentiated and non-agentive group. This village study, conducted in Northern Tanzania, investigates the constraints and opportunities that shape women's decisions to stay or go. I conclude that labeling these female rural "stayers" as "left behind" does injustice not only to the ways in which women are involved in migration and migration decisions, but also to the fact that for many women remaining in Ugweno is part of a larger strategy to live meaningful productive and domestic lives while fulfilling cultural obligations.