“In their own voices”. A Participatory Research Project with Black Zimbabwean Women in Greater Cincinnati A dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) In the School of Human Services of the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services 2014 by Florence Nyemba B.A. (Honors), Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe 2006 M.A., Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 2009 Committee Chair: Dr. Lisa Vaughn Abstract This study explored the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwean women living in the Greater Cincinnati area. The deteriorating economic and political environment in Zimbabwe has resulted in the United States becoming a favorite destination for Zimbabwean immigrant women. Tracing the history of Zimbabwe indicated that migration used to be male dominated with women remaining at home waiting for remittances from their husbands. The mid 1990s experienced a shift in the migration trend with women responding to the deteriorating political and economic climate in Zimbabwe. The study indicated a greater degree of independence among Zimbabwean immigrant women. Even those women who indicated that they migrated with their husbands, the decisions to migrate were made together as a couple. In spite of the increased Zimbabwean women population in the United States, their migration experiences have not been integrated in migration literature making this dissertation a comprehensive study about their lived experiences. Feminization of migration, two feminist theories; African Feminism and Africana Womanism, and migration concepts; Multiculturalism, Acculturation and Assimilation provided the framework to guide the study. The role of social networks was also examined to understand how Zimbabwean immigrant women successfully integrate into the United States society and also how they preserve their cultural identity. This study was conducted with a purposeful sampling of 34 women who were born in Zimbabwe and migrated to the United States. Drawing on photo group discussions, semi- structured individual interviews and women’s group meetings this study collected personal accounts of Zimbabwean women’s migration experiences in the United States. Themes derived from the study indicated that migration provided new opportunities to Zimbabwean women. Among these opportunities is the ability to work outside the home which benefited the women by becoming economically independent and not entirely rely on their husbands for financial support. Furthermore, Zimbabwean immigrant women have re-negotiated their gender roles. The women are now sharing household responsibilities with husbands. Men are helping with household chores such as cooking and cleaning, roles defined for a wife back home in Zimbabwe. For Zimbabwean immigrant women the transformation of gender role is a benefit because it provides freedom from cultural traditions that oppressed them in Zimbabwe. The study also indicated that in spite of having access to opportunities that were not available in Zimbabwe, the migration process is accompanied with broken dreams. Race and gender issues were cited as the major deterrent factors to the Zimbabwe women’s immigration goals. The women also suffer cultural shock as they experienced a lifestyle which contradicted their cultural values and beliefs. Discrimination based on race and national origin results in the exclusion of Zimbabwean women from the mainstream American society leading to isolation, stress and fear. Findings of the study indicated that Zimbabwean women face prejudice which includes working the longest hours with low wages forcing them to live in undesirable neighborhoods. The study resulted in the formation of a social networking group by the Zimbabwean women which was a major resource for the adaption process. Acknowledgement This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of 34 Zimbabwean women who had spared their time from work and family to share their migration experiences with me. I am indebted to you all for taking time off your busy schedule to participate in the photo group discussions, semi-structured individual interviews and group meetings. I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to my academic Advisor and Committee Chair, Professor Lisa Vaughn who provided an outstanding mentorship throughout my academic career at University of Cincinnati. I will always cherish her constant motivation and encouragement which inspired me to work to the best of my ability. My gratefulness also goes to all my committee members, Professor Mary Brydon-Miller, Professor Joseph Takougang and Professor Susan Watts-Taffe for their positive support and guidance. Their doors were always open and ready to help me. It has been truly an honor to be part of Professor Lisa Vaughn’s advisee group. I thank all the group members; Mojgan, Melisa, Katherine, Stephanie, Mary, Jill and Jackie, for their constructive comments and suggestions during our group meetings. In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for their love and support: my brother Sosten and my sisters Fungisai, Nyarai, Beauty and Shuvai. Special thanks go to my husband Dr. Ronnie Muvirimi and our two sons, Runako and Ronan for their unconditional love, support, patience and their belief in all my abilities. Finally, I would like to thank God for who had made this dissertation successful TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER ONE 1 Introduction 1 History of Zimbabwean migration 2 Zimbabwean labor migrations to South African mines 3 Migration of political exiles 4 Ndebele migration 6 Migration of skilled professionals 7 The Great Exodus 8 Zimbabwean population in the United States 11 Gender relations in Zimbabwe 19 History and ethnicity 19 Patriarchal system 20 Zimbabwean women and political participation 20 Zimbabwean women and economic participation 21 Zimbabwean women’s educational participation 22 Zimbabwe’s school curriculum contributing to gender disparity in schools 26 Statement of the problem 27 Research Question 28 Purpose and justification of study 28 Definition of Terms 28 Organization of the dissertation 29 CHAPTER TWO 31 Literature Review Introduction 31 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 32 Feminization of migration 34 Factors determining an increase in female migration 34 Push-pull factors 34 Dual labor market theory 36 Political instability and violence in home countries 37 Educational opportunities in destination countries 38 Feminist Theories 40 African Feminism 41 Africana Womanism 46 Authentic 47 Self namer 49 Mothering, nurturing and family centered 51 Male compatible/ in concert with men in struggle 52 Sisterhood 52 Ambition and spirituality 53 i Similarities between African Feminism and Africana Womanism 53 Modes of Incorporation 58 Multiculturalism 58 Acculturation 59 Assimilation 59 Social network/enclaves 60 Summary 61 CHAPTER THREE 62 Research Methodology Overview 62 Qualitative Research 62 Research Design 63 Rational for using Photovoice 64 Participants and setting 64 Inclusion and exclusion criteria 67 Recruitment of participants 68 Data collection 70 Photovoice process 70 Photovoice steps 72 Sharing results with the community 77 Individual semi-structured interviews 77 Minutes from the women’s group meetings 78 Data Analysis 79 Photo analysis 79 Semi-structured individual interviews 82 Grounded Theory 84 Researcher bias and positionality 86 Limitations of the Methodology 89 Trustworthiness of data 89 Summary 90 CHAPTER FOUR 91 Presentation of Findings Introduction 91 Description of sample 91 Themes from Photovoice 92 Opportunities offered by migration 95 Economic opportunities 96 Educational opportunities 100 Health opportunities 103 Freedom 104 Political freedom 104 Economic freedom 105 Freedom from oppressive cultural values 106 Shocked/unfulfilled dreams 112 ii Stress 118 Balancing time 119 Childcare predicament 122 Acculturative stress 127 Alienation/isolation/loneliness 130 Discrimination 131 Race 132 Nationality 135 Language/What is wrong with my accent? 137 Fear/anxiety 141 Domestic violence 144 Identity 146 Themes from Semi-structured Individual Interviews 150 Family and individual decisions to migrate 150 Influence of relatives and friends in the Diaspora 152 Number of years living in the United States can be insignificant 154 Lack of self confidence 155 Torn between two worlds 156 Loneliness 158 Gender discrimination 158 Themes from women’s group meetings 163 Creation of unity and community building 164 Empowering the ideal Zimbabwean woman 165 Using Biblical teachings to overcome migration challenges 166 Summary of themes 167 CHAPTER FIVE 169 Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations Overlapping themes from Photovoice and Semi-structured Individual Interviews 171 Themes from women’s group meetings 194 Theoretical implications 197 Feminization of migration 197 Feminist theories 198 Modes of incorporation 200 Limitations of the study 201 Conclusion 202 Recommendations for future studies 204 References 206 Appendices 221 Appendix A: Probing questions 221 Appendix B: Guidance for photo discussions 222 Appendix C: Adult consent form 223 Appendix D: Sample recruitment e-mail 227 Appendix E: Sample phone recruitment script 228 Appendix F: Photovoice focus group script 229 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1: Gender disparity between rural and urban secondary schools attendance 2005-06 26 Figure 2: Eighteen descriptors of Africana Womanism