“I’m Not a Good Mother Now, But I Will Be in the Future”: Sub-Saharan African Transnational Mothers in a Transit Migrant Country

Abstract

Scholars have found that transnational migrant women fulfill their role of mothers despite geographical distances. Researchers, however, focus on women in their country of destination, and thus have neglected to look at the experiences of women who get “stuck” in transit countries during their migration journeys. This chapter fills that gap in the literature by examining the experiences of Sub-Saharan African women in Morocco en route to Europe. Interviews with 20 Sub-Saharan African women show that unlike transnational mothers in their country of destination, which are mostly more affluent nations, these women neither have the financial means to provide for their children nor can maintain their relationships with them via telecommunication. Although the women acknowledge that they cannot fulfill their role of mothers in Morocco, they maintain a sense of themselves as mothers by emphasizing that they will financially provide for their children once they reach Europe.

Citation

Magallanes-Gonzalez, C. (2018), "“I’m Not a Good Mother Now, But I Will Be in the Future”: Sub-Saharan African Transnational Mothers in a Transit Migrant Country", Taylor, T. and Bloch, K. (Ed.) Marginalized Mothers, Mothering from the Margins (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 125-140. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620180000025008