The (In)Visibility of Women and Mining: The Gendering of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Sub-Saharan Africa

This book provides in-depth insight into the gender norms and contexts in which women work in the expanding informal mining sector in sub-Saharan Africa. It challenges images of women as either victimized by mining or empowered by mining livelihoods and explores how 'women materialize and are seen and unseen in the growing array of transnational interventions in this sector.

Format: Hardback
Length: 212 pages
Publication date: 29 September 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The chapters in this book delve into the intricate tapestry of gender norms and contexts that shape women's experiences in the expanding informal mining sector across Sub-Saharan Africa. Through a collective effort, the research presented here offers a nuanced portrayal of women's livelihood strategies within artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), challenging prevalent narratives that portray them as either victims of mining or empowered by their mining livelihoods, or a combination of both. The authors, drawn from diverse disciplinary backgrounds such as anthropology, economics, political science, mining engineering, and law, bring a gendered lens to their analysis of sociocultural, institutional, economic, and political relationships, practices, and arrangements that shape women's mining livelihoods. A recurring theme throughout the chapters is the examination of the physical or representational presence (and sometimes absence) of women in ASM sites, shedding light on the diverse dimensions of mining and gender. These include the gendered divisions of labor, migration patterns, land ownership, cultural norms, and gendered authority relations. Moreover, the chapters explore how women materialize and are perceived or overlooked in the growing array of transnational interventions in this sector.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Canadian Journal of African Studies, further contributing to the understanding of women's roles and challenges in the informal mining sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Weight: 550g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032157047