Les effets de l'émigration masculine sur les femmes et leur autonomie : entre maintien et transformation des rapports sociaux de sexe traditionnels au Sénégal

In this paper, we investigate the impact of male Senegalese international migration on the women who stay behind. We use in-depth interviews undertaken in 2007 with women and men of all ages in a small town where there is substantial male outmigration to Italy. We have two research questions : 1) in what ways do prolonged male absences contribute to redefining left-behind women’s position within the household ? 2) to what extent does this phenomenon contribute to influencing and transforming women’s individual personal aspirations ? Although our results show that migration reinforces some dimensions of traditional male status and domination, there are indications that the migration as a phenomenon will end up shaking up social norms with women rejecting inequalities which have been exacerbated both by migrants’ behaviour and community expectations of these migrants.