" in Their Own Voices". a Participatory Research Project with Black

“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

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

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

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 47 Figure 3: Greater Cincinnati Geographic Area 66 Figure 4: Photovoice session schematic 76 Figure 5: Assisted Living Nursing Home jobs 97 Figure 6: Tsitsi’s fashion designs 99 Figure 7: Graduation cap 100 Figure 8: Medical Equipment 103 Figure 9: The right to exercise a voice in politics 104 Figure 10: Wedding flower decoration 107 Figure 11: Husbands helping with cooking in the home 110 Figure 12: Expensive car 113 Figure 13: Squalid living conditions 116 Figure 14: Consumer loans 117 Figure 15: Feeling empty 118 Figure 16: The clock is always ticking 119 Figure 17: Remittances 121 Figure 18: Children’s playgrounds 122 Figure 19: White flowers 131 Figure 20: Part-time jobs 134 Figure 21: English Language 137 Figure 22: There is a limit to what we do 142

Figure 23: Challenging domestic violence 144 Figure 24: A Zimbabwean flag printed on a T-shirt 147 Figure 25: Zimbabwean flag miniature 148 Figure 26: Overlapping of themes from photo group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews 171 Figure 27: Themes from the women’s group meetings 194

LIST OF TABLES

Table Table Table 1: Five phases of Zimbabwean migration, 1870-present 2 Table 2: Zimbabwe immigrants admitted in the United States from Fiscal year 1986-2000 12 Table 3: Zimbabwe immigrants obtaining legal permanent resident status. Fiscal years 1996-2011 14 Table 4: Zimbabweans obtaining legal permanent resident by broad class of admission. Fiscal years 1999-2011 16 Table 5: Non-immigrant Zimbabweans admitted by class of admission. Fiscal years 1999-2011 16 Table 6: Non-immigrant Zimbabweans admitted by major occupations. Fiscal years 1999-2011 17 Table 7: Zimbabwean immigrants granted Asylum affirmatively. Fiscal years 1993-2011 18 Table 8: Secondary completion rates Form 1-4 by sex and parity index. Zimbabwe 2000-2006 24 Table 9: Outline of the Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 33 Table 10: Data collection methods and number of participants 91 Table 11: Summary of descriptive statistics by education, marital status and employment record 92 Table 12: Pseudonyms used for quotations 94 Table 13: Summary of themes 168

ABBREVIATIONS

AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome CNA Certified Assistant Nurse DHS Department of Homeland Security ESL English as a Second Language FAO Food and Agricultural Organization GED General Equivalency Diploma GDP Gross Domestic Product GRE Graduate Record Examinations HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus IMF International Monetary Fund IRB Institutional Review Board IT Information Technology LPN Licensed Practitioner Nurse MDC Movement for Democratic Change MDG Millennium Development Goals RN Registered Nurse RNLB Rhodesian Native Labor Bureau STNA State Tested Nursing Assistant SAMP Southern African Migration Project SAPs Structural Adjustment Programs SAT Scholastic Assessment Test TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization vii

WIC Women, Infant and Children WNLA Witwatersrand Native Labor Association ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union

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CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Since the turn of the 21st Century, there has been a massive increase in the movement of individuals from Zimbabwe to both regional and international destinations. For decades, Black

Zimbabwean women’s migration has been constrained by cultural traditions that favored male migrants as bread winners. Zimbabwean women were raised to be subservient to their husbands, perform domestic chores such as cooking, growing vegetables and nurturing children.

Customarily, women are/were regarded as the keepers of the family who should stay behind in the village whilst their husbands went abroad to seek fortune (Madziva & Zontini, 2012).

Zimbabwe’s current political and economic crises oblige women to break cultural traditions that previously tied them to the villages to earn a living in other countries mostly South

Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Economically, Zimbabwe has been in decline since the year 2000. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 46 percent between 2000-2008 due to poor rainfalls and political violence which prevented people from working (Mudzonga & Chigwada, 2009). This resulted in severe shortages of basic commodities such as food, medicine, water and transportation. Migration to regional and international destinations became a strategy to escape Zimbabwe’s challenging economic conditions and/or political persecution (Bloch, 2008; Madziva & Zontini, 2012). Therefore, the cultural and traditional barriers that had prevented women from migrating are now becoming non-issues as women are acting independently against their cultural norms to fulfill their socio- economic and political needs rather than simply depending on their spouses (Adepoju, 2010;

Arthur, 2000; Crush & Tevera, 2010; Mlambo, 2010; Pasura, 2010a).

History of Zimbabwean Migration: The Current Statistics/Trends Referencing

Zimbabwean Immigration to the United States.

Zimbabweans have always migrated but in smaller numbers as compared to what is currently witnessed. The Zimbabwean migration history can be traced back from the 18th

Century and categorized into five different phases based on external migration to regional and international destinations (Pasura, 2012).

Table 1. Five Phases of Zimbabwean Migration, 1870- Present

Period Nature of emigrants Size of Destinations emigrants 1870-1980 Labor migrants to 75,000 South Africa S.African Mines

1960-1979 Flight of White 142, 000 South Africa, Britain, Australia, Zimbabweans Canada, New Zealand

1982-1987 Ndebele migration 5,000 Botswana, South Africa, Britain

1990-1998 Migration of skilled 200, 000 South Africa, Botswana, Britain, professionals United States, Australia

1999-present The great exodus 3-4 million South Africa, Britain, Botswana, Australia, United States, Canada, New Zealand Population sizes were estimated and the phases overlapped

Source: Pasura (2012) A Fractured Transnational Diaspora. The Case of Zimbabweans in

Britain (p.147)

a) Zimbabwean Labor Migrants to South Africa (1870-1980)

Zimbabwean migration to South African mines and plantations became popular during

White minority rule1. The opening up of diamond mines in Kimberly, South Africa in 1870 resulted in large numbers of workers from across the Southern African region flocking to the country for employment (Crush & Tevera, 2010; Hungwe, 2012). There were two major reasons why Zimbabweans migrated to the mines during White minority rule. First, Zimbabweans were crop farmers and animal herders. They practiced shift cultivation where they would abandon the land after a short period of time and move to fertile lands without any restrictions (Beach, 1983).

Beginning in 1890, White minority rule expropriated land through various legal systems that alienated the indigenous Zimbabweans from much of their land. These legal systems included the Land Apportionment Act of 1930 and Land Tenure Act of 1969 which confined indigenous

Zimbabweans to dry communal areas. Fertile land was demarcated for White owned commercial farming and forestry. Only White farmers held title deeds to commercial farm. In the communal areas, land was trusted under the authority of traditional leaders known as chiefs who would sell the land to Black farmers (Orner & Holmes, 2010). This inequitable land distribution resulted in hunger and deteriorating life style for indigenous Zimbabweans. The unfertile land in the communal areas could not promote crop and livestock production forcing men to migrate to work in South African mines and plantations.

Second, the Rhodesian Native Labor Bureau (RNLB) forced indigenous Zimbabweans to work under squalid conditions with lower wages. According to Rodney (1982), wages given to

African laborers were extremely small that it was insufficient for workers to provide for their families. Deserters from RNLB migrated to South Africa where the mining industry provided

1 Zimbabwe was originally colonized by British from 1893 until it gained independence in 1980 (Orner and Holmes, 2010) 3 better, more lucrative and labor friendly opportunities compared to the farming industry

(Munetsi, 1997). For example, agricultural labors received less than 15 shillings per month compared to mine workers who got a little more and mining experience was also an added advantage. The Witwatersrand Native Labor Association (WNLA) in South Africa offered attractive wages compared to RNLB where laborers were given as little as seven shillings per month (Crush & Tevera, 2010; Hungwe, 2012; Rodney, 1982). With time, migrating to South

African mines intensified with Black Zimbabwean men migrating temporarily throughout the year to earn money to purchase domestic animals for lobola2 , agricultural equipment and to pay imposed taxes. Between 1920 and 1990, approximately 28,566 Zimbabweans were contracted in

South African mines (Crush & Tevera, 2010; Mlambo, 2010). This number could have been higher if it was not for mobility restrictions imposed on Black people by White settlers who wanted to retain cheap labor in their plantations (Tevera, Crush, Project, & Africa, 2003).

b) Migration of Political Exiles (1960-1979)

The phase of political exiles migrating from Zimbabwe consisted of both Black

Zimbabweans and White settlers and was fueled by Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle (Crush &

Tevera, 2010; Mlambo, 2010).

i. Flight of White Settlers

Since 1890, White British settlers have migrated to what was then Rhodesia for economic purposes (Brownell, 2008). For decades, White settlers controlled fertile lands in reliable rainfall areas whilst Black natives were resettled in communal areas with poor sandy soils and unreliable rainfalls. In 1963, Black Zimbabweans began preparations for an armed opposition against White

2 Lobola or bride price- is a traditional marriage custom in Zimbabwe where the man gives valuables to the girl’s family in the form of money, cattle, property during the marriage negotiations (Bourdillon, 1976, 1998).

4 minority rule, racial discrimination and also to seek equitable land redistribution. The armed struggle was fronted by two political parties that were formed by the Zimbabwe’s two largest ethnic groups, ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union formed in 1963) led by Shona speaking leader Comrade Robert Mugabe and, ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People’s Union formed in 1961) led by the Ndebele speaking leader Comrade Joshua Nkomo (Morapedi, 2012).

During the preparatory years (1963-1966), freedom fighters were recruited and sent for military training in China, East Germany and the Soviet Union. The two political parties launched their first attack against White Rhodesian forces in 1966. In 1970, armed conflicts intensified with

ZAPU and ZANU political parties recruiting more freedom fighters who received training in independent neighboring countries such as Botswana and Mozambique (Morapedi, 2012). By

1978, a larger population of White settlers had fled the country reducing the population of White

Rhodesian forces. During the period between 1973 and 1979, an average of 13, 070 White settlers fled the country every year (Brownell, 2008). The White settler population was reduced to only about 110, 000 by 1987 which was half of the White population in 1980 (Mlambo, 2010).

ii. Flight of Black Zimbabweans (1960-1979)

The road to end White minority rule was not an easy one for indigenous Zimbabweans.

Rhodesian forces killed protesters and jailed leaders. Dozens of unarmed Black civilians were killed every night throughout the country. These attacks happened in White owned farms and rural areas. Crops and livestock were also destroyed leading to hunger and starvation (Kriger,

1992). As casualties intensified during the liberation struggle, some Black Zimbabweans fled to neighboring countries such as Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana as refugees. Even some nationalist leaders also escaped capture by going into exile. By 1976, the number of Black

Zimbabwean refugees had increased to about 70, 000. Most of these people were repatriated back to independent Zimbabwe in 1980 (Mlambo, 2010).

c) Ndebele Migration (1982-1987)

Ndebele migration between 1982 to1987 was caused by the dispute between two political parties, the Zimbabwe African National Union, (ZANU), and the Zimbabwe African

People’s Union (ZAPU), that fought side by side against White minority rule from 1966-1979.

Upon independence in 1980, both parties wanted their political leader to be the country’s new

Black president (Meldrum, 2004). However, the ZANU political party which consisted of the country’s largest population (the Shona ethnic group) wanted to absorb the smaller ZAPU to form a one party state led by Mugabe, thus emulating other African countries such as Zambia,

Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. Forming a single party state was viewed favorably and regarded as an African form of democracy. Nevertheless, the formation of a one party state in

Zimbabwe was met with resistance by the Ndebele people (Meldrum, 2004). Joshua Nkomo did not trust Mugabe and he also did not like the idea that he was never consulted when Mugabe announced his decision to absorb ZAPU. On the other hand, Mugabe perceived ZAPU to be a threat to his grip on power. That led to ethnic tensions in early 1980s resulting in ZANU controlled government deploying a special army unit, the Fifth Brigade, to kill Ndebele people claiming that they were dissidents. This period from 1982 to 1987 is commonly referred to as

Gukurahundi3. During that time, curfews were imposed in the Matebeleland regions preventing

Ndebele people from effectively farming and rearing their domestic animals. Throughout those five years of ethnic tensions, Ndebele people fled the country to seek refuge in neighboring

3 Gukurahundi- a Shona word referring to early rains that removes chaff before normal rains in spring. The name was adopted by Mugabe’s political party to kill Ndebele people.

6 countries. In 1987, Nkomo finally relented and signed the Unity Agreement that combined the two political parties as one with Robert Mugabe as President and Joshua Nkomo as Vice

President until Nkomo’s death in 1999 (Meldrum, 2004).

d) Migration of Skilled Professionals (1990-1998)

From 1990 to 1998, skilled professionals migrated due to unemployment in Zimbabwe.

Skilled professionals included teachers, doctors, nurses, university professors and engineers.

Since 1980 when the country got its independence from White minority rule up to the early

1990s, Zimbabwe’s economy was performing relatively well and the country was considered a good example of a democratic and unified nation in all of Southern Africa (Orner & Holmes,

2010). In 1990, the country experienced a major drought which affected agricultural production.

Unfortunately, the poor 1990-91 rainfall season was followed by a more devastating drought in

1992 with many parts of the country receiving less than 40 percent of their normal rainfall. This took a huge toll on Zimbabwe’s agro-based economy as the production of maize and the country’s other agricultural export products fell dramatically resulting in very low export earnings, consequently, huge budget deficits and food shortages. Poor decision making by the

Zimbabwe government worsened the situation because they exported the country’s food reserves at low prices but had to import maize for drought relief on higher commercial terms (Gibbon,

1995). To reduce budget deficits, the government of Zimbabwe agreed to conditions imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in order to get loans through Structural

Adjustment Programs.

Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) were imposed on many African economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. These programs were intended to relieve debt burdens and rebuild struggling economies (Arthur, 2009; Yewah & Togunde, 2010).

To qualify for these programs that offered low interest loans or debt rescheduling, African countries were required to take drastic measures such as removing price controls and cutting subsidies in education, health, basic commodities and public transportation among others

(Arthur, 2009; Yewah & Togunde, 2010). The most common result in nearly all African countries was a reduction in the civil service jobs and a general suffering of the public due to high prices of basic commodities. Similar effects were observed in Zimbabwe after the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programs in 1992. Workers were also retrenched even in non civil service jobs thereby increasing the country’s unemployment rate. The government could not afford to pay wages on time for those employees fortunate enough not to be laid off resulting in workers regularly striking for wages. Eventually, people started to leave the country for better employment opportunities abroad and in neighboring countries (Pasura, 2010b).

e) The Great Exodus (1999-present)

The phase from 1999 to the present is referred to as the ‘Great Exodus’ because of the large volume of Zimbabwean migrants beginning in 1999 and their varied destinations (Pasura,

2010b). In 1999 the government of Zimbabwe, still reeling from the effects of SAPS, was confronted by angry war veterans who wanted to be compensated for their sacrifices during the liberation struggle against White minority rule (Orner & Holmes, 2010). The government of

Zimbabwe compensated the war veterans with cash money and also promised them land ownership through land redistribution. Even though the government of Zimbabwe had signaled its intent to implement the 1992 Land Acquisition Act4 by publishing a list of farms to be compulsorily acquired in 1997; there was still no progress two years later with no hope of

4 Land Acquisition Act empowered the government of Zimbabwe to compulsorily buy land from the minority White commercial farmers and reapportioning it to the majority black natives.

8 anything being accomplished in the near future, hence the restlessness by the war veterans. The lack of progress was largely due to unavailability of funding and reluctance by some White commercial farmers to participate. However, the emergence of a new opposition party in 1999,

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)5, which had the backing of White Commercial farmers amongst other groups and also the ‘no vote’ in 2000 on a referendum to adopt a new constitution that was meant to empower the government of Zimbabwe to compulsorily acquire land with no compensation led the government to adopt a new land reform strategy in 2000 dubbed “Fast Track Land Reform”. According to Orner and Holmes (2010) this land reform strategy was “less about restoring racial and economic justice and more about entrenching power and enriching loyal elites” (p.18). The process was characterized by violent land seizures from

White Zimbabwean farmers by war veterans who wanted to speed up the process (Orner &

Holmes, 2010). This further diminished the already strained industrial and agricultural sectors resulting in country-wide food shortages and increased unemployment rates (Orner & Holmes,

2010). The food shortages were further exacerbated by the fact that land invasions and seizures of farms was done by people with little to no experience in large scale food production.

Consequently, hunger increased and the Zimbabwean population became even more impoverished than they were during the early years after the country’s independence in 1980

(Klaveren van, Tijdens, Hughie-Williams, & Ramos Martin, 2010).

By 2008, Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis became even worse with inflation rising above eleven million percent (Orner & Holmes, 2010). The Commonwealth, United States

5 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was formed in 1999 with Morgan Tsvangirai as the party’s leader. MDC was formed at the basis of carrying on the struggles of the people, the struggle for food and jobs, peace and democracy in response to human rights abuses by President Mugabe’s ruling party ZANU PF (MDC, 1999)

(www.mdc.co.zw).

9 and Europe imposed trade sanctions on Zimbabwe forcing multinational corporations to transfer their companies to other countries. The educational sector which used to be the most successful among all African countries collapsed as teachers regularly went on strikes leading to the closure of several schools in 2009 (Orner & Holmes, 2010). School attendance dropped to twenty percent in 2009 from eighty-five percent in 2007 with teachers leaving their jobs as they were paid in worthless Zimbabwean dollars and also harassed as they were suspected of supporting the opposition party (Orner & Holmes, 2010).

It is against this background that people began to leave the country in numbers larger than those seen before 1999 and continued to leave (Orner & Holmes, 2010). An increase in the numbers of Zimbabwean women involved in out migration, including crossing transnational boundaries, was observed. A 2001 survey conducted by Southern Africa Migration Project

(SAMP) indicated that sixty-two percent of Zimbabwean women versus fifty-four percent of men had given a great deal of thought to emigrating (Tevera et al., 2003). These migration trends indicate the relationship between poverty and migration with women assuming the role of main bread winners instead of just caregivers (Everett, 2010). Poverty, low quality of life and hardships were the main reasons forcing women to migrate with the expectation of finding employment and educational opportunities in neighboring countries and abroad. Klaveren et al.

(2010) indicated that the majority of Zimbabwean women migrated alone and they made the decisions themselves instead of waiting for the husband or male relative’s approval. A woman interviewed by Everett (2010) stated that, “you can find a job, work for yourself, manage to bring up your family; you can do everything that you want” (p.271).

Zimbabwean Population in the United States

Whilst there is evidence that Zimbabweans are migrating to the United States in large numbers, it is still difficult to get the exact current population figures. Some Zimbabwean immigrants are not documented and others have changed their citizenship status and are counted as Americans. Therefore, there are conflicting unofficial figures about the population of

Zimbabweans in the United States. For instance, in 2005, a small community of between 80-100

Zimbabweans was living in the metropolitan area of Chicago. This population consisted mostly of former university students who did not return to Zimbabwe upon completion of their studies

(Steffes, 2005) 6. Large populations of Zimbabwean immigrants are concentrated in large cities such as New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and California, whilst small groups are scattered in the

South (Firger, 2008). Overall, these statistics from different sources do not provide conclusive figures about the total population of Zimbabwean immigrants in the United States. Despite the above mentioned concerns, statistics published by the United States Department of Homeland

Security and Immigration Statistics are presented below. These statistics are only for documented Zimbabwean immigrants with active immigration status.

6 In 2008 ,the Association of Zimbabweans Abroad puts the population of Zimbabweans in the United

States at about 45,000 but still making up just a small part of the Zimbabwean diaspora as compared to those migrating to South Africa and the United Kingdom (www.irinnews.org/report/2009-04-18)

Table 2. Zimbabwe Immigrants Admitted In the United States from Fiscal Year 1986-2000

Year Population 1986 221 1987 252 1988 216 1989 230 1990 272 1991 261 1992 296 1993 308 1994 246 1995 299 1996 385 1997 274 1998 186 1999 184 2000 323 Total 3953 Source: 1997-2000 DHS Yearbooks of U.S Immigration Statistics

A total of 3,953 Zimbabwean immigrants were legally admitted to the United States between the years 1986 and 2000.7 In years prior to 1990 Zimbabwean migration was mostly regional i.e. very few crossed transnational boundaries. The statistics in Table 2 indicate that very few Zimbabweans migrated to the United States before 1990 (DHS, 1997-2010). The low migration rates may be due to the fact that after gaining independence in 1980, the new

Zimbabwe’s stable economy, peace and prosperity offered a lot of hope. Beginning the year

1990, the number of Zimbabwean immigrants admitted to the United States began to increase.

7 The DHS figures do not identify race of the Zimbabwean migrants. 12

This is the period the country began to experience droughts and economic declines due to reduced crop production and increasing debts from International Monetary Fund and the World

Bank (Crush & Tevera, 2010). However, the number of Zimbabweans migrating to the United

States decreased from 1997 to 1999. This may have been due to the 1997 publication of a list of

1,471 farmlands to be acquired by the government of Zimbabwe for redistribution to the Black majority which demonstrated the government’s serious commitment to implementing the 1992

Land Acquisition Act as described in previous sections. Therefore, Black Zimbabweans began to hope that they could have their own farms and change their fortunes and also turning around the country’s struggling economy. However, the land redistribution program was accompanied by political violence forcing a larger Zimbabwean population to flee the country beginning the year

2000. Zimbabweans had hoped that the proposed Land Act was to benefit the majority population but they began to realize that the land program benefitted war veterans more than the general population (Potts, 2010).

Table 3. Zimbabwe Immigrants Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status. Fiscal year

1996 -2011

Year Population 1996 385 1997 274 1998 186 1999 184 2000 322 2001 475 2002 484 2003 358 2004 628 2005 923 2006 1049 2007 1057 2008 953 2009 983 2010 1274 2011 1016 Total 2951 Source: 2011 Department of Homeland Security Yearbook of United States Immigration Statistics

Table 3 indicates the total population of Zimbabweans who adjusted their immigration visa status to permanent residence in the United States. In 2011, only 1,016 Zimbabweans adjusted their visa status to permanent residence status which was a decrease of 258 people from

2010 (DHS, 2011). This adjustment of resident status indicated the number of Zimbabweans who decided to settle permanently in the United States instead of returning to their home country.

Before the year 2000, only a few Zimbabweans adjusted their immigration status because the

14 number of Zimbabweans migrating to the United States was small due to the reasons mentioned in the previous section. However, there is a significant increase beginning in 2003 when large numbers of Zimbabwean immigrants adjusted their immigration status to permanent residence as they feared returning to Zimbabwe. In 2003, the Zimbabwean economy had completely declined with the majority population experiencing high rates of unemployment and starvation. In addition, political violence intensified with the ruling government facing opposition from the newly formed party, the Movement for Democratic Change (Crush & Tevera, 2010; Mlambo,

2010). Therefore, the United States offered refugee status to those afraid to return to Zimbabwe.

Table 4. Zimbabweans obtaining legal Permanent Resident by Broad Class of Admission.

Fiscal Years 1999-2011

Class 1999 2000 2005 2010 2011 Family Sponsored 34 19 19 24 54 Employment based 45 90 462 209 130 Immediate relative to U.S Citizens(Spouse, 82 165 383 429 410 children, parents) Diversity 22 47 46 58 88 Refugees and Asylums 0 2 N/A 547 318 IRCA legalization 0 0 N/A 0 Cancellation of removal 1 0 N/A 0 Other 0 0 N/A 7 16 Total 184 323 923 1274 1016 N/A data withheld Source: Department of Homeland Security United States Immigration Statistics 1999-2011

Table 5. Non-immigrant Zimbabweans Admitted by Class of Admission 1999-2011

Class 1999 2000 2005 2010 2011 Tourists and business 24 6975 5693 5011 5688 Students 16 1303 992 944 1059 Temporary workers and family 22 577 600 520 591 Exchange visitors 2 151 0 0 257 Diplomats and government officials 0 126 407 616 717 Company transfers 9 5 155 43 73 Unknown 27 0 108 255 40 Total 101 10048 7955 7383 8425 Source: Department of Homeland Security United States Immigration Statistics 1999-2011

Table 6. Nonimmigrant Zimbabweans Admitted by Major Occupations 1999-2011

Occupation 1999 2000 2005 2010 2011 Workers in specialty (H-1B) 147 196 250 295 290 Seasonal workers( H-2A, H-2B) 0 7 7 3 24 Workers with extra ordinary ability (Q-1,Q-2) 2 0 16 12 591 Athletes, Artists and entertainers (P-1, P-3) 0 0 9 17 42 Other Occupations 207 665 258 46 159 Total 497 868 600 373 1106 Source: Department of Homeland Security United States Immigration Statistics 1999-2011

Tables 4, 5 and 6 indicate the different visas Zimbabweans use to enter the United States.

There are different immigrant visa types such as the H-B1 for immigrant workers in medical fields, highly technical industries and executive managerial positions. Others also migrate as seasonal immigrant workers in the agricultural and forestry sectors. The F-1 and J-1visa types are granted to those migrating for educational purposes. A considerable number of Zimbabwean immigrants join their families who are already permanent residents in the United States.

Education, business and tourism dominate the visa types Zimbabweans use to gain entry into the

United States. In 2011 a total of 5,613 Zimbabweans were admitted as non immigrants or I-94

(1999-2011 DHS United States Yearbooks of Statistics).

Table 7. Zimbabwean Immigrants Granted Asylum Affirmatively 1993-2011

Year Population

1993 0 1994 2 1995 10 1996 0 1997 1 1998 0 1999 3 2000 8 2001 42 2002 95 2003 193 2004 239 2005 204 2006 141 2007 160 2008 194 2009 153 2010 61 2011 79 Total 1585 Source: 2011 Department of Homeland Security United States Yearbooks of Statistics

From 2001 to 2011 many Zimbabweans were admitted to the United States as refugees.

Whereas the number of asylum applications is not included in this report, it is evident from table

7 that more Zimbabweans were granted asylum from 2003 to 2009. The statistics above also indicate that before the year 2000, few Zimbabwean immigrants were granted asylum in the

United States. This could be due to a lower number of Zimbabwean immigrants applying for asylum.

Summary

The statistics indicate that the history of Zimbabwean migration has been complex, and migration to the United States is relatively recent as evidenced by the small amount of data before 1980. Regional migration dominated Zimbabwe between 1870-1980 when people left the country to work in South African mines and returned home regularly. Facing the country’s economic, political and educational declines one decade after independence, the statistics indicate that current migration is no longer regional but consists of highly qualified professionals such as doctors and professors with special immigration visa types. Overall, there is a major difference in the composition, numbers, and geographical preferences of Zimbabwean immigration which now includes international destinations such as the United States.

Furthermore, the trends also indicate an increased volume of Zimbabwean female migrants.

Gender Relations in Zimbabwe

History and Ethnicity

Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia until its attainment of independence in 1980 from nine decades of British and White minority rule. The country was named after Great Zimbabwe, a stone capital that was built by the Rozvi Shona people between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. The name ‘Zimbabwe’ was derived from ‘dzimbadzamabwe’ which means ‘house of stones’ because the towers and enclosures were built from granite rocks without mortar (Beach, 1994; Nyamayaro Mufuka, Muzvidzwa, & Nemerai, 1983). The Shona ethnic group which consists of sub-cultural dialects namely Manyika, Zezuru, Karanga,

Korekore and Ndau comprise approximately eighty-two percent of the Zimbabwean population.

The Ndebele ethnic group is the second largest and constitutes only about fourteen percent of the total population. The remaining four percent consists of smaller ethnic groups such as Tonga,

Venda, Colored and Indians (Bourdillon, 1985). Ndebele and Shona are the only two indigenous official languages used alongside the English language in Zimbabwe. Current census population statistics reported by World Fact Book (2012) put the population of Zimbabwean women at

50.70 percent of the country’s thirteen million total population (CIA, 2012).

Patriarchal System

Kambarami (2006) defined patriarchy as, a social system where men hold all power and

“keep women in subordinate positions” (p.1). The patriarchal system limits women to restricted social roles as wives, daughters and mothers forcing women to develop a dependence syndrome which forces them to depend heavily on men for support (Charvet, 1982; Kambarami, 2006;

Mungwini, 2007). In Zimbabwe, once a girl reaches puberty all teachings are directed toward pleasing the husband and being a respectable obedient wife (Kambarami, 2006; Mangena, 2013).

The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe was quoted stating that women should not be treated as adults since men make all decisions in the house (Adepoju, 2010). Zimbabwean male children are preferred in the family, and they automatically become heads of households shouldering the responsibility of protecting the family (Kambarami, 2006). Marriage systems among the Shona,

Ndebele and other small indigenous groups discriminate against the female child with the expectation that she will leave the family and joins her husband’s family which will benefit from her labor production (Kambarami, 2006).

a) Zimbabwean Women and Political Participation

Men prevail in Zimbabwean politics as government officials, from cabinets to the village ministers and chiefs while women constitute a smaller fraction of government positions

(Kambarami, 2006). For example, women only won 32 out of the 214 contested seats in the

House of Assembly during Zimbabwe’s 2008 country elections (Klaveren van et al., 2010).

Zimbabwean men believe that women lack those qualities needed to participate in politics.

Women’s political participation is further limited because even though women are legally allowed to vote, men prevent women from voting their choice of candidates especially in the rural areas where their husbands force them to vote for their favorite candidates (Klaveren van et al., 2010).

b) Zimbabwean Women and Economic Participation

A patriarchal system in Zimbabwe ensures that men acquire all property rights during marriage or upon divorce which includes the guardianship of children (Gaidzanwa, 1992).

Furthermore, men control all economic production in the family. In rural areas, both men and women engage in subsistence farming. However, women do not own land but work in their husbands’ farms (Gaidzanwa, 1992; Kambarami, 2006). In some cases, the husband would allocate a small piece of land to his wife and keep the rest for himself for more extensive farming

(Gaidzanwa, 1992; Kambarami, 2006). Therefore, Zimbabwean women living in the rural areas survive on subsistence farming yet they do not have access to land ownership (Kraveren et al.

2010). In Zimbabwe, the custom of lobola or bride price is blamed for treating women as men’s property justifying that “a man who has ‘bought’ his wife thinks he can treat her as he pleases”(Kraveren et al., 2010, p. 24).

A patriarchal system also dominates in the Zimbabwean corporate world where only a few women are employed in peripheral positions including clerical and secretarial levels. It is therefore rare for women to occupy what are considered to be challenging positions such as managers, chief executive officers and company directors. To occupy such positions, women

21 have to do more to demonstrate their capability to perform the expected job functions. Even in situations where women have higher educational credentials, they are still not considered as equal to their male peers (Kambarami, 2006). It is against this background that the majority of

Zimbabwean women are not employed and live in the rural areas where they work on land they do not own. Furthermore, they do not have control over the crops they produce and upon divorce, they can be sent back to their parents empty handed (Kambarami, 2006).

Non Governmental Organizations in Zimbabwe report that women suffer economic discrimination which includes not having access to loans, credit cards or even owning businesses

(Klaveren van et al., 2010). In 2009, Zimbabwe was ranked number 96 out of 134 countries by

Gender Gap Index8 of the World Economic Forum with a lower percentage of women participating in the economic sector (Klaveren van et al., 2010).

c) Zimbabwean Women’s Educational Participation

In 1980, the government of Zimbabwe celebrated its independence from White minority rule by engaging in massive expansion of primary and secondary school, declaring that education is a human right (Klaveren et al, 2010). This was an attempt to remove racial segregation imposed by White settlers who had denied quality education to Black people, considering it a dangerous tool in the hands of Africans (Gordon, 1994). The government also abolished tuition fees in primary schools and made it compulsory for all children to at least have primary education. Tuition was introduced starting at the secondary school level up to college and universities.

8 The Gender gap Index identifies a country’s gender gap in various areas such as economy, political and education to bring about awareness on the challenges women face.

Although the government of Zimbabwe declared education for all, women’s access to education lagged behind that of men. Women’s educational enrollments followed a bottle neck structure where there is a higher enrollment of women in primary education, but the numbers decrease as they progress to high school and colleges. For example, there is an equal enrollment for boys and girls at primary level education, but the number of female students’ decreases by fifth grade. A lower percentage of girls proceed to secondary school level (Shabaya & Konadu-

Agyemang, 2004). Data compiled by UNESCO in Table 8 for Zimbabwe secondary school completion rates from 2000 to 2004 indicate that more male students graduate from high school than females(UNESCO, 2005). However, the 2012 United Nations Millennium Development

Goals Progress Report for Zimbabwe indicated that by 2009 the gender disparity index was greater than one i.e. there were more female than male students completing secondary school.

This indicated that the society was now more accepting towards educating the girl child.

Table 8. Secondary School Completion Rates Form 1 to 4 by Sex and Parity Index.

Zimbabwe 2000-2004.

Period Female Male Total 1997-2000 73.69 82.09 78.07 1998-2001 74.42 82.16 78.44 1999-2002 70.96 83.43 77.27 2000-2003 67.47 71.96 69.80 2001-2004 70.66 75.27 73.05 Source: Zimbabwe National Strategic Plan for the Education of Girls, Orphans and other Vulnerable Children 2005-2010

Despite this progress at primary and secondary school levels, very few women in

Zimbabwe proceed to higher institutions of learning such as colleges and universities. In 1990, the Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe embarked on an affirmative program aimed to increase the enrollment of female students in universities. It was noted that female students only comprised 20 percent of the total student population in the country’s universities in 1980 and that number had not increased since then (Shabaya & Konadu-Agyemang, 2004). Some measures such as reducing entrance requirements for female students were put in place by the Ministry of

Education in Zimbabwe in order to increase their enrollment. For example, whereas the male student needed to pass Advanced Level with 14 points to study Law, the female student only required 11 points. However, the proposed measures failed because efforts to empower women did not take effect in either the household or private sphere. As a result, female student enrollment in colleges did not increase even with reduced entrance requirements (Gudhlanga,

Chirimuuta, & Bhukuvhani, 2012; Pasura, 2008). Men continued to maintain the status quo by controlling women’s labor and sexuality within the family (Batezat & Mwalo, 1989). Therefore, the government of Zimbabwe only managed to address issues of racism in education which was

24 previously controlled by White settlers but still has to fully address issues of sexism (Gordon,

1996). The United Nations Millennium Development Goal report (2012) indicated that female university enrollment increased from 23 percent in 2006 to 41 percent in 2011 therefore gender parity may be achieved soon.

There are three primary reasons that cause gender disparity in Zimbabwean schools. First, there are more girls than boys who fail qualifying exams for proceeding to the next educational level. Girls do not have enough time to concentrate on their studies as they are required to help their mothers with cooking and washing dishes (Gordon, 1994). Secondly, in cases where financial challenges occur in the family; it is the girl child that is forced to drop out of school or never attend secondary school at all (Klaveren van et al., 2010). This is a clear illustration of a patriarchal system where fathers believe that educating girls is a waste of resources since they leave the family upon marriage. Sons are seen as a future economic investment because they do not leave the family upon marriage (Gordon, 1994).

Thirdly, sexual abuse also forces female students to drop out of school. In a study of abuse and harassment in Zimbabwean schools (Gordon, 1994) discovered that there was a higher rate of female student abuse by male teachers and male students leading to teenage pregnancies. Even in current day Zimbabwe, pregnant girls are expelled from school instead of being granted maternity leave. Male students have the unfair advantage of continuing with their studies whilst the mothers of their children are expected to remain at home (Gordon, 1994).

Figure 1. Gender Disparity between rural and urban secondary schools attendance 2005-06

70 64.4

60.1 60 52.4 49.5 50 46.3 43.1 40.9 39.5 40

30 25 25.1 Male Female 20

10 Net attendence rate by gender rate byattendence Net

0 Total Urban Rural Richest Poorest Regional disparity and economic status

Source: (Shabaya & Konadu-Agyemang, 2004)

Poverty is a problem in Zimbabwe and this leads to educational disparities between women living in rural areas and those in urban areas. Although women living in Zimbabwe’s urban areas and core regions are educationally disadvantaged compared to men, they are better off than women living in the rural areas and small cities of the country (Shabaya & Konadu-

Agyemang, 2004). There are more educational resources in urban areas than in rural areas and small cities. Figure 1 indicates net attendance rates of children in secondary education in urban and rural areas as well as their family’s economic status. Data from the table indicate that urban based and rich girls are still better off than the rural and poor girls.

d) Zimbabwe’s School curriculum contributing to gender disparity in schools

Kambarami (2006) observed that the Zimbabwean educational curriculum system is structured in a way that reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. The school curriculum is often blamed for emphasizing the role of boys as more important than girls who are portrayed as soft and not very intelligent (Kambarami, 2006). In addition, Zimbabwe’s school textbooks have

26 been blamed for further stereotyping women (Gaidzanwa, 1992). The graphics in the books that children read portray women as nurses, housewives and teachers, whilst men as doctors and scientists. The textbooks written in the English language are said to have been written for a male perspectives because the messages and graphics in those books expressed male supremacy which trivialize women (Gudhlanga et al., 2012).

In conclusion, Zimbabwe is generally a patriarchal society where women are prevented from fully participating in all areas of their lives. In the educational sector for example, men’s literacy is generally higher than that of women. Gender inequality contributes to higher school dropout rates for girls leading to economic dependence on men. Employment participation is also higher in men of all age groups. The majority of women are involved in communal farming on land owned by men. In politics men prevail with wives being forced to support their husbands’ preferred candidates. However, there have been efforts to improve women’s participation even though at a slower rate. As a result some women are emerging from this disadvantaged economic position and making individual decisions on issues such as migration.

Statement of the Problem

Regardless of the increased population of women in the migratory patterns, the presence of African immigrant women in the United States has not received enough attention over the past years. African immigrant women’s experiences have been overshadowed by their African male counterparts as well as other immigrant groups (Arthur, 2009). The Zimbabwean migration trends also suggest that more Zimbabwean women are immigrating to the United States, yet their experiences have not been captured. These are women born out of an oppressive patriarchal system with women born before 1980 when Zimbabwe was still under White minority rule had the added disadvantage of facing racism and colonialism. Therefore, the question we need to ask

27 ourselves is: do these women really make it in the Diaspora? This question is difficult to answer because as mentioned earlier, there is little existing literature that examines the position of Black

African female immigrants, especially those from Zimbabwe. The specific objective of this study is to examine the immigration experiences of Black Zimbabwean women living in the

Greater Cincinnati Area, particularly how they overcome challenges associated with settling in a new cultural system whilst trying to maintain/reinvent a new identity as well as negotiate their gender responsibilities.

The primary research question of this study is: What are the individual and collective immigration experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women living in the Greater

Cincinnati region?

Purpose and Justification of the Study

The rationale for this study is that there is a significant population of Zimbabwean immigrant women in the United States, yet there is no existing research on their immigration experiences. Therefore, this work will help to fill a gap in literature related to the migration of

Black African women. In particular, the work gives an insight on the migration decision making process and also the motivating factors behind the immigration trends of Black Zimbabwean women. We will better understand how the Zimbabwean woman adjusts and survives in a new cultural system because this work is narrated through her own voice and seen through her own eyes.

Definition of Terms

Gender: The socially constructed roles that men and women play in the society (Chirimuuta,

2006).

Ndebele: The second large ethnic in Zimbabwe. They are located in Western region called

Matebeleland

Participatory research: A research method where participants are active negotiators for community change instead of passive supplies of opinions (Borg, Karlsson, Kim, & McCormack,

2012).

Photovoice: A participatory action research where participants create photographs to bring about personal and community change (Wang, 1999).

Traditional culture: The core of a people’s whole way of life. The beliefs and cultural practices are passed from one generation to another.

Transnational: A concept whereby contemporary migrants maintain ties to their homelands at the same time they are incorporated into their host countries (Pasura, 2012).

Shona: The largest ethnic group in Zimbabwe. The Shona people speak five dialects; Karanga,

Korekore, Ndau, Manyika and Zezuru.

Organization of the dissertation

Chapter One has introduced the study and outlined the research objectives, justification and the research problem. The chapter also provided a historical background of Zimbabwean migration and the population of Zimbabwean migrants in the United States.

Chapter Two presents the theoretical and conceptual frameworks related to the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwean women.

Chapter Three describes the methodology of the study. Data collection methods namely; photographs, semi-structured individual interviews and minutes from the women’s group meetings were described. It also described how the data was analyzed. The chapter concludes by presenting research positionality and ethical considerations.

Chapter Four presents the results from photovoice group discussions, semi-structured individual interviews and women’s group meetings. Themes from each data collection method are presented separately.

Chapter Five presents the discussion of findings by linking themes to literature. It concludes by discussing theoretical implications, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research.

CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

Introduction

The concept of gender has been sidelined in research studies focusing on international migration yet gender influences migration. For example, notions of power and sexual discrimination are almost never discussed in immigration research (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2000).

Although Ravenstein noted as early as 1885 that “woman is a greater migrant than man,” (Pessar

th & Mahler, p. 814) early 20 century research studies on international migration exclusively focused on the experiences of male immigrants. Interviews, surveys and other data collection procedures have been conducted with immigrant men even in situations that concern women. For example, men have traditionally been interviewed to speak for their female relatives including their wives, mothers and daughters, indicating passive roles for women in the immigration process (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2000; Pessar & Mahler, 2003).

What these immigration studies fail to establish are the social, economic and cultural processes that African immigrant women experience which give meaning to their Diaspora experiences (Arthur, 2009; Pessar, 1999). The current reality is that women are no longer waiting for their husbands and male family members to decide on migration for them. They are now actively involved in migration as they are responding to the same political, economic and social issues affecting every member of their communities (Arthur, 2009). For that reason, there is the need to incorporate theories that help women create robust meanings about their immigration experiences.

This chapter discusses five theoretical and conceptual frameworks to understand the experiences of Zimbabwean immigrant women in the United States. The concept of

Feminization of Migration is used to describe the increased population of female immigrants across the globe. African Feminism and Africana Womanism are used side by side as two feminist theories to highlight the lived experiences of African immigrant women. Modes of

Incorporation and the concept of Social Networks explain how immigrant women have coped when they left their country of origin. These five theories and concepts seek to challenge male biased studies by recognizing women as generators of knowledge based on their experiences.

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

Table 9. Outline of the Theoretical and Conceptual Framework.

Theory/Concept Topic(s) Key Literature Cuban (2010)

*Increase in female migration Crush & Tevera (2010)

*Push-pull factors Roxas and Roy (2012)

*Dual labor market theory Dodoo and Takyi (2007)

Feminization of Migration *Political instability and Butcher (1994)

violence in home countries Palmary (2009)

*Educational opportunities in Yewah & Togunde (2010)

destination countries Chidimma, Offoh. (2003).

Corra & Kimuna (2009

Hudson-Weems (1997)

Feminist Theories *Women’s freedom from and Mikell (1997)

African Feminism attention to racial, sexual, Steady (1996)

Africana Womanism cultural and class oppression Terborg-Penn & Rushing

(1996)

*Multiculturalism Alba and Nee, (1997) Modes of Incorporation *Assimilation Nawyn (2000) *Acculturation

*Support groups (religious, Yeboah (2008) Social Networks cultural, family) Wen and Yung (1986)

Feminization of Migration

Feminization of Migration is not a theory but a term that describes the increased volume of international female migration relative to male migration. The term was coined by a board of feminist scholars focused on exposing gender biased immigration studies (Crush & Tevera,

2010). Feminization of Migration is used to explain that increased populations of women are independently crossing international boundaries as both permanent and temporary immigrants.

This migration process is referred to as a “circular migration cycle” (Cuban, 2010, p.180) where women migrants maintain strong ties with their families and regularly return home. The increase in female migration is also benefiting Third World countries through remittance flows.

Immigrant women work and send money home to their families and relatives which in turn helps solve economic crises in Third world countries (Cuban, 2010).

Factors Determining an Increase in Female Migration

a) Push-Pull Factors

Takyi (2002) explains that, “migration is a response to two key processes; push and pull forces. Behind the push-pull paradigm is the notion that unfavorable conditions in the source country or region cause people to move to their new locations which by virtue of their attractions pull in new residents” (p.14). The scarcity of resources in one country pushes people away, whilst the availability of the same resources in another country attracts them. The push-pull factors explain the different reasons why African women migrate to the United States.

The decisions for an individual to migrate to a certain host country are based in part on the immigration laws and policies of the intended destinations. Immigration laws in some countries are favorable to immigrants whilst others are very strict; as a result, they limit the number of migrants who choose those countries as their permanent destinations. Therefore, it is

34 important for immigrants to familiarize themselves with the immigration policies during their departure preparation to prepare themselves for the barriers they might face in the future (Arthur,

2009). In the case of African immigrant women, pull factors such as changes in the United States immigration laws which increased the number of visa entries into the United States have contributed to women’s migration (Adepoju, 2010; Arthur, 2000, 2009; Yeboah, 2008; Yewah &

Togunde, 2010). In 1924, the United States mandated their first Immigration Act referred to as the ‘quota system’ based on national origin which imposed limitations on the population of immigrants to the United States (Tichenor, 1994). Relatives and spouses of United States citizens and permanent residents were supposed to meet certain criteria to join their relatives. During the period before 1965, the United States was not a favorable destination for many immigrants who could not meet the criteria required to get a visa. It was even more difficult for married women to join their husbands who had migrated to the United States (Tichenor, 1994)

Such strict immigration laws in the United States were abolished in 1965 leading to the current 1990 Immigration Act in place today. The abolishment of strict immigration laws affected the female migration to the United States in that the new laws allow wives, mothers, daughters and female relatives to join their male relatives who had migrated to the United States

(Pearce, Clifford, & Tando, 2011). Today, African immigrant women migrate to the United

States under different visa statuses such as Diversity Visa Lotteries9, H-B110 ,F111 , Asylum and

Refugee12.

9 Diversity Visa Lottery (a program established in the Immigration Act of 1990 to diversify the immigration population in the United States particularly those with low immigration rates. Every year individuals whose countries are eligible will apply for a ‘green card” to work in the United States (Taylor & Tuch, 2007).

10 H-1B (an employment based , non-immigrant visa granted to immigrants for temporary work in the United States)

Push factors are those unfavorable conditions that force people to leave their countries for another. Such factors include social, political and economic instability due to poor governance, unemployment and hunger (Adepoju, 2010). In Africa, widespread poverty, disease, diminishing educational resources, and economic and political instability are motivating women to migrate, thereby taking the responsibility of providing for their families (Dodson et al., 2008). Extreme poverty pushes women out of their traditional roles in favor of work and educational opportunities outside the home (Ross-Sheriff, 2011). African women’s motivations to migrate are shaped by their expectations for better earnings, high chances of securing employment and educational opportunities, and overall aspirations to start a new life in the country of destination

(Adepoju, 2010; Arthur, 2009; Crush & Tevera, 2010; Hondagneu-Sotelo, 2000; Ross-Sheriff,

2011).

b) Dual Labor Market Theory

The dual labor market theory is used to explain the economic reasons why African immigrant women make the decision to migrate to the United States with the hopes of finding employment opportunities. Massey (1993) described the dual labor market theory as an outcome of industrialized nations’ demand for cheap labor provided by immigrants. Immigrants take low wage jobs which perpetuates the labor force structure of the United States and other developed nations. Industries in developed nations make huge profits whilst paying less for the labor.

Immigrants are quick to take any type of employment they can get. The majority of African

11 F-4 ( a visa status granted to students enrolled for full time studies at colleges and universities in the United

States)

12 Asylum and refugee status is granted to individuals that have been persecuted or fear they may be persecuted on account of race, religion, membership of a social group or a political organization.

36 immigrants work in low income jobs such as cab drivers, parking lot attendants, cooks and waiters. Although these jobs pay less, their availability makes it easier for immigrants to settle quickly and begin a new life (Takougang, 2003). These low status jobs in the United States are referred to as ‘immigrant jobs’ and the stigma attached with such jobs discourages native-born

Americans from applying for them. This in turn, perpetuates a labor demand that can only be filled by immigrants (Massey et al., 1993).

c) Political Instability and Violence in Home Countries

Political instability, in the form of military dictatorship, coups, civil conflicts and the lack of democratic institutions in the home countries also contributes to the migration of African women (Takyi, 2002). During war times, women and children suffer the most from displacement and violence; they often get injured and killed by landmines as they perform their household responsibilities (Arthur, 2009). Women are exploited and raped during armed conflicts forcing them to travel at night fleeing for their lives.

The majority of Zimbabwean women fled the country beginning the year 2000 as a result of increased political violence between the ruling ZANU PF and the opposition party MDC.

Zimbabwean women were raped either because they were members of the opposition party or closely related to members of the opposition party. In some instances, women were forced to watch their mothers and daughters raped (Matambanadzo, 2011). Therefore, Zimbabwean women explained that they were drawn to the United States by the freedom and protection the country provides to victims of political violence. Refugee women in the United States have received assistance in the form of social services including housing, financial support which covers medical and transportation costs (Arthur, 2009; Pearce et al., 2011).

d) Educational Opportunities in Destination Countries

Takyi (2002) postulates that, “discussions about African immigrants in the United States cannot be complete without reference to the role of higher education serving as a ‘push’ factor”

(p.34). The deterioration of the educational sectors in many African countries forces people to migrate to the United States for better educational opportunities. Therefore, the pursuit of a better lifestyle through the acquisition of educational advancement is a primary reason why African women migrate to the United States. Compared to European nations, the United States offers more educational opportunities to international students through the provision of scholarships and other form of educational financial aid (Ogbu, 1990; Takyi, 2002). Applying for an international student visa which includes the categories of F-1 (college and university) and J-1

(visitor with specific knowledge and skills) to study in the United States is not difficult to obtain compared to non-educational visa categories (Vickerman, 2002)

The Feminization of Migration concept is very applicable to this study because it explains the increased population of Zimbabwean immigrant women to the United States and the reasons why they have migrated. The concept helps explain that the current Zimbabwean migration is no-longer male oriented like during the pre-1990s where males migrated to work in

South African mines. Data compiled by SAMP in 2010 indicates that Zimbabwe is currently experiencing more female outmigration compared to other countries from the Southern African region(Crush & Tevera, 2010; Dodson et al., 2008). This increase suggests that Zimbabwean women are transforming their position in the family and their communities, challenging male domination and other cultural values that had previously impacted their socio-economic development (Kihato, 2007; Ross-Sheriff, 2011).

Although the Feminization of Migration concept provides evidence of women’s increase in the migration process and challenges the notion that the only immigrant is male; using the concept alone is not adequate because it does not explain the experiences of women in the host country. The Feminization of Migration concept focuses too much on why women migrate, but fails to address how migration affects various aspects of their life in the destination country (e.g., economic stability, education, family, etc.). For example, there is the general assumption that migrating means progress for women in that, once they reach an advanced economy their economic needs will be taken care of in the destination country which is supposed to have greater opportunities (Cuban, 2010). However, what the concept fails to explain is how immigrant women survive in the gendered labor market where women are employed in low paying jobs. In this case, the Feminization of Migration only provides data to indicate that women are participating in employment, but there is no analysis on the types of jobs available for them and progress in the labor market.

Furthermore, the Feminization of Migration is criticized for focusing too much on remittance flows and how immigrant women contribute to the economic development of their nations and their households in the home country (Palmary, 2009). Kihato (2007) argues that,

“the growing interests in the Feminization of Migration sometimes unwittingly reproduce perceptions of women’s passivity like earlier analysis of women in migration” (p.91). As long as immigrant women’s voices are silent, the challenges Zimbabwean immigrant women encounter as they try to balance the burden of financially supporting their households in the Diaspora and in their home countries will never be understood. What is needed is a focus on immigrant women’s experiences from their own viewpoints as they struggle to start a new life in the

Diaspora.

The current study went beyond the focus on numbers by examining how Zimbabwean immigrant women define themselves simultaneously as African, Black, and women in a society with different cultural expectations from their birth country. African immigrants face a multitude of challenges upon arrival to the United States. These challenges include culture shock, language barriers, and racial discrimination and the availability of low status jobs for immigrants. Some job fields do not recognize the education earned by immigrants in their home countries which in turn forces educated African immigrants to take low-wage, menial jobs (Yewah & Togunde,

2010). As Steady (1996) points out, African women both in Africa and in the Diaspora provide cheap labor in the industries in which they work. Coming from a country that is politically, economically and socially unstable, how do Zimbabwean women balance between being concerned about the state of their nation and, at the same time, fighting to affirm their own identities, transforming societal notions of gender and familial roles? Arthur (2000) argues that,

“the immigrant woman is confronted with several problems in her roles as mother-wife in a different cultural system. The process of integrating her new role as an immigrant and a mother with her minority status is complex and filled with stress” (p.112). Overall, African immigrants are burdened by preserving their old identity at the same time acquiring a new identity (Steady,

1996; Yewah & Togunde, 2010).

Feminist Theories

Since the Feminization of Migration concept alone cannot fully articulate the voices of immigrant women; two Feminist theories, African Feminism and Africana Womanism, were also used to provide a framework for understanding the experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women in the United States. African Feminism and Africana Womanism were created by different African scholars, but they both have striking similarities in their principles.

a) African Feminism

The notion that African women are finding their voices to challenge the social, personal, economic and educational challenges in their lives is the basis for African Feminism (Mikell,

1997). African Feminism emphasizes women’s freedom from racial, sexual, cultural and class oppression and that they should participate fully in the politics, economics and social being of their communities. Because of this focus on gender, class and racism, African Feminism is an inclusive form of feminism that respects women as human beings rather than as sexual objects

(Steady, 1996).

Mikell (1997) defines African Feminism as, “heterosexual, prenatal and concerned with many ‘bread’ ‘butter’ culture and power issues” (p.4). By ‘heterosexual’, Mikell means that

African Feminism does not examine women’s experiences independent of men, but rather views men and women as equal partners in fighting oppression. African men are not viewed as antagonistic in this theory, but they should be aware of those cultural aspects that subjugate women (Mekgwe, 2007; Mikell, 1997). ‘Prenatal’ means that African Feminism is founded upon the principles of African values that respect the reproductive and nurturing roles of women in the society which are important for the continuation of human life. ‘Bread’ and ‘butter’ means that

African Feminism is a solid and practical theory that focuses on serious gender, class, racial and cultural matters affecting African women.

African Feminism opposes other feminist approaches that were used to study Black women’s history from the early 1960’s to the early 1980’s that failed to address the needs of

African women (Terborg-Penn & Rushing, 1996). African Feminism is therefore unique to

African women because it applies African standards for understanding cultures, values and activities from an African perspective without incorporating any Western ideas about gender

41 relations (Terborg-Penn & Rushing, 1996). For example, (Mekgwe, 2007) argues that when fighting for her freedom, the African woman should not forget her own African customs and traditions. Neither should she overlook her important role of mothering and nurturing. She should not regard her reproductive role as an impediment to participation in the public sphere, rather she should demonstrate that she is strong and is an active agent of development in both the public and private spheres.

African Feminism was shaped by African women’s resistance to Western domination and its legacy within African culture. After realizing that early feminist theories focused only on

White middle class women, African women decided to move away from those approaches because they negated the experiences of African women. African Feminism theory urges the

African woman to recognize that she is not only a Black woman, but also an African and a Third

World person. Those three qualities together affect the experiences of African immigrant women

(Mekgwe, 2007). The focus of African Feminism is the retention of the African identity, while at the same time fighting women’s oppression. This agrees with Yewah and Togunde’s (2010) notion that African immigrants understand that living outside Africa does not imply that they should give up African culture, but should maintain their identity as well as their African heritage.

According to proponents of African Feminism theory, the status of African women should not only be blamed on the harshness of African traditional cultures. A critical examination of the historical component of White minority rule helps to trace the root cause of women’s oppression on the African continent in order to understand their current experiences. In this way, African Feminism theory provides an improved understanding of the challenges that

African immigrant women face today: “For the majority of Black women, liberation from sexual

42 oppression has always been fused with liberation from other forms of oppression, such as racial and class oppression, as well as liberation from slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism and imperialism” (Steady, 1996, p. 17). African immigrant women not only fight gender oppression but other forms of oppressions too.

The infiltration of alien cultures such as colonialism, slavery, Islamic religion and imperialism exacerbated the oppression of women in Africa (Mekgwe, 2007; Steady, 1996;

Terborg-Penn & Rushing, 1996). These external forces completely transformed the lives of the

African women on the African continent, and at the same time disturbed the traditional system of production that had exemplified the life history of the African people for a long time (Meena,

1992; Mekgwe, 2007; Steady, 1996; Terborg-Penn & Rushing, 1996).

In pre-colonial African societies, the phenomenon of feminism rarely entered everyday conversations even though women were oppressed. Women focused more on raising their children and the well-being of their communities and hardly ever discussed issues of female oppression. African women did not view themselves as secondary citizens to their male counterparts, as there were no boundaries between the private and public sphere. The cultural tradition of women working in the household, with men working outside hunting, was never considered to represent women’s oppression until the infiltration of Western ideologies that misinterpreted African gender relationships. There was a complementary relationship between men and women (Gaidzanwa, 1992; Meena, 1992; Mikell, 1997; Steady, 1996). African women were great farmers, just like their husbands and were involved in trading and migration. African women enjoyed both the public and private domain without any restrictions (Steady, 1996;

Sudarkasa, 1996). Women could hold higher political positions such as village chiefs and queen mothers and contributed in the development of their communities (Gaidzanwa, 1992; Mikell,

1997; Steady, 1996; Sudarkasa, 1996). Economic activities such as farming, fishing, hunting and gathering were geared toward subsistence so access to vital resources, including land, was determined primarily by rules of common property rather private ownership. This communal ownership of land and property gave women the opportunity to own and have full control over their production and output (Gaidzanwa, 1992; Mikell, 1997; Steady, 1996; Sudarkasa, 1996).

Unfortunately, the reciprocal relationship between men and women completely changed with the introduction of White minority rule. The colonial administration relegated African women to roles in the household; while men were employed by White settlers on commercial farms and industries (Hungwe, 2012). Women were not allowed to live with their husbands in towns because Black male workers were provided bachelor accommodation in order to cut costs on housing for African workers. Furthermore, keeping women and children in the rural areas was a way to pay lower wages rather than salaries to support their families (Gaidzanwa, 1992;

Mikell, 1997; Steady, 1996; Sudarkasa, 1996).

Mikell (1997) explained that in terms of marriage, Christianity rejected polygamous marriages in favor of monogamy which domesticated and subordinated women. Polygamous marriages contributed to the African economic system, as they promoted communal and economic well being of the family. Co-wives helped share the burden of child rearing leaving them with enough time to engage in agricultural production activities (Steady, 1996).

Another factor that affected gender relations was the introduction of a formal education system that favored men over women. Gordon (1994) points out that the, “educational policies of the colonial state served the interests of the White male-dominated colonial socio-economic order by ensuring that Blacks remained uneducated and unskilled ensuring a plentiful supply of

44 cheap unskilled labor” (p.132). Women were mostly affected since their manual labor did not require any form of education.

Overall, White minority rule supported patriarchal domination that benefitted the economic needs of the colonizers during African colonial rule (Gordon, 1994; Mikell, 1997). The introduction of urbanization separated the labor production between men and women. Male labor began to shift from the traditional communal agriculture to commercial farming and industries, leaving women without any land for subsistence farming (Gordon, 1994; Mikell, 1997).

Industries in urban areas only required male labor and women were not allowed to live with or visit their husbands. The few women that managed to migrate to urban areas could not find employment, or where employed, were paid less than men, forcing them to live in rural areas or in urban squatter settlements under squalid conditions (Steady, 1996).

African states were colonized for many years, and independence did not benefit women

(Steady, 1996). Some African states, upon independence, promised to revert back to the pre- colonial state of social equality and involvement, but much was at stake (Mekgwe, 2010; Mikell,

1997; Steady, 1996). As Mikell (1997) points out,

The new independent countries turned their backs on the original corporate model

derived from traditional society fearing that ethnic conflict might results. They resorted

to a single political party. In doing so, most of them rejected or ignored traditional

chieftainship as well as traditional public roles of women (p.23).

The minimal participation of African women today in politics, education and the economic sector is clear evidence of the influence of colonialism, Islamic and foreign cultures on the domestication of women and gender constructions among the African communities (Mekgwe,

2007).

b) Africana Womanism

Africana Womanism was coined by Clenora Hudson-Weems in the late 1980’s in her efforts to come up with a special name for Black African women’s feminist movement devoid of

White feminist ideas. Hudson’s argument was that feminist studies and movements, which were dominated by White women’s voices, misrepresented African women experiences and also failed to address issues of racism that affect African women more than gender. Therefore, the theory not only examines gender concerns but also race and class factors (Hudson-Weems, 2004; Ntiri,

2001; Steady, 1996). As such, Africana Womanism provides a useful lens to understand

Zimbabwean immigrant women’s experiences in the Diaspora. Africana Womanism uses eighteen descriptors to explain that women of African descent are strong and interact together with men to fight race and gender oppressions as well as for the development of their communities (Hudson-Weems, 2004).

Figure 2. Eighteen Descriptors of Africana Womanism

Source: Hudson-Weems, 2004

i. Authentic

The theory of Africana Womanism is authentic because it is grounded in African culture and focuses on the unique experiences, struggles, needs and desires of African women (Hudson-

Weems, 1997, 2001a, 2001b, 2004). The theory reminds us that even though immigrants assimilate to the host culture, they still maintain cultural traits that distinguish them from other groups of immigrants. The theory suggests that there is a connection between a people’s culture and their world view and those cultural traits should not be overlooked when examining their immigration experiences. Therefore, Africana Womanism calls for African scholars to preserve their culture and their people. In order to make their theories culturally correct, African scholars should use theories that reflect on the cultural realities of African people including those living in the Diaspora. 47

The focus on cultural traits and ethnicity is substantial because it is important to understand the background of the people under discussion. There is the need to understand who

African women are and how their experiences are different from other immigrant women groups in the United States. Asantewa (2001) summarizes Hudson’s arguments by saying that emphasis on ethnicity or cultural connection with Africa explains how African women’s gender experiences are linked with their cultural/ethnicity connection to the African continent

(Asantewa, 2001). Concepts of identity and ethnicity when examining African immigrant women are important because immigrants bring their cultural and religious practices with them to their new countries. What is important is how these practices are interpreted by their host cultures once they migrate (Wing, 2000). Yewah and Togunde (2010) posit that, “Africans are treated as the ‘complete other’ because of a culture which is in opposition to the cultural elements of the host communities” (p.69). Therefore, using inappropriate theories may result in the failure to completely capture this negative reception of alien cultures by host societies.

At the center of Africana Womanism theory is the issue of racism, with gender issues coming later. For that reason, Africana Womanism dismisses other feminist approaches such as radical and liberal feminism as not authentic because they fail to articulate racial discrimination as a true reality for African women in the Diaspora. As long as African women have Black skin and are from a developing nation their problems will persevere (Ntiri, 2001). Therefore, Hudson-

Weems (1997) rejects the idea of duplicating theories created by others that are not authentic in the sense that they do not address legitimate challenges confronted by African women. There is a need to focus more on how to end racial discrimination and achieve autonomy among different racial groups. Hudson-Weems (1997) argues that issues of racism need to be addressed before female subjugation, because even if gender issues are resolved the Blackness cannot be:

Needless to say, when the feminist has realized that all her demands when she is at the

top, the Black woman will still be Black, poor and at the bottom. It becomes extremely

impossible for Black African women to enjoy the luxury accorded by women

empowerment when they live in a racist society. She will then find herself trying to re-

enter her community to rejoin her people in the struggle for race (Hudson-Weems, 1997,

p.84).

Sexism is regarded as a secondary problem because it arises out of racism, class and economic prejudice. Being Black outwardly makes the African woman a target for discrimination and marginalization (Hudson-Weems, 1997; Ntiri, 2001). It is this manipulation of race that negatively affects Black people, particularly Black women, not just sexism (Hudson-

Weems, 2004).

ii. Self Namer/Self Definer

Another important characteristic of Africana Womanism is that of self namer or self definer. Before coming up with a suitable name for their feminist movement, it is important for

African women and African scholars to understand who they are as well as the importance of their cultural background. Therefore, Africana Womanism puts the African continent at the center of its approach. Hudson-Weems (1997) argues that, “It is clear that we need to operate from the start with Africa at the center of all analysis concerning Africana life and thought, thereby eliminating futile efforts in appropriating outside constructs” (p.84). What Hudson-

Weems (1997) clarifies is that we need to understand African immigrant women’s experiences not as those of isolated individuals, but as members of a larger African society. Hudson justifies the reason for choosing the term “Africana Womanism” over “Black Feminism” or any other term because she considered that the term more appropriately fits the African woman who is

“both self namer and self definer” (Hudson-Weems, 1997, p.83). The term “Africana” acknowledges the presence of African women in the Diaspora. Their presence should not be ignored as if they are invisible. This supports the Feminization of Migration theory, which focuses on the increased population of female immigrants. Hudson-Weems (1997) claims that using the term “Africana” reminds us that we are dealing with the African continent as well as the African diaspora. African immigrant women in the Diaspora, regardless of geographical locations, are tied by one identity, their Africaness (Ntiri, 2001).

In emphasizing the idea of using a name that distinguishes African women’s experiences from those of White middle class women, Hudson-Weems (2001) suggests that African women should be given the opportunity to name and identify themselves, an opportunity they had been denied for a long time. Such women need to be given the opportunity to find a separate name for

Africana women and their feminist movement more accurately than former feminist approaches did(Asantewa, 2001; Hudson-Weems, 1997, 2001a). For Hudson-Weems, the theory of Africana

Womanism gives African women the opportunity to examine their own situations rather than allowing those with different cultural identities to articulate their problems for them. African women can use the Africana Womanism theory to examine how an African identity exposes them to discrimination. For example, they can examine how their identity of African nationality, while not an issue in their home country, is now central to their experiences in a different environment (Wing, 2000). In naming themselves, African women have the ability to understand themselves and the world around them, and to understand how their everyday interactions with the environment influence their self actualization. It is against this background of ‘self namer and self identifier’ that Africana Womanism is unique and diverges from other feminist approaches.

The primary goal is to empower African women to evaluate their own lived experiences

(Hudson-Weems, 1997, 2001a). iii. Mothering, nurturing and family centered

Mothering, nurturing and family centered are descriptors of Africana Womanism that describe the experiences of African women in Africa and the African Diaspora. Africana

Womanism describes African women as family centered because they are more concerned about the wellbeing of the whole family instead of solely focusing on themselves. As a result, the

African woman struggles with her problems of being a woman as well as a community partner in fighting racial oppression for her people (Hudson-Weems, 2004).

The importance of family and community compel African women to value the roles of mothering and nurturing. These roles are very important among African cultures and women take it upon themselves to care for children who are the family and community’s next generations.

Therefore, when addressing issues concerning Black women of African origin, it is important to understand their primary roles in the community, which include rearing and nurturing children.

These roles demonstrate an inextricable relationship between a Black woman and her community

(Hudson-Weems, 1997; Ntiri, 2001; Pellerin, 2012). Africana Womanism posits that African men should value and appreciate women’s important roles as mothers, culture bearers and caregivers. This reciprocal relationship will help them focus exclusively on addressing racial issues which is a bigger problem in their communities than gender oppression (Hudson-Weems,

2004).

iv. Male Compatible/In Concert with Men in Struggle

Africana Womanism posits that positive male and female relationships among African people can help solve racial issues. Both Black African men and women are equally oppressed by racism indicating that issues of gender are not the primary concern (Hudson-Weems, 2004).

However, Hudson-Weems (2004) cautioned that sexism does exist among African communities but African people should understand that racism affects their life experiences more sternly than gender issues. For that reason, Africana Womanism suggests that men and women should be equal partners in the fight against racism, and it is therefore useless to spend their energy fighting each other (Hudson-Weems, 2001b; Ntiri, 2001). Hudson-Weems (2004) postulates that,

“Africana Womanism embraces the concept of collectivism for the entire family in its overall liberation struggle for survival” (p.44). Africana Womanism strives to unite African men and women by breaking gender barriers between them thereby creating a positive Africana family and community.

v. Sisterhood

It is the focus on family and community responsibility that urges African women to help each other in times of trouble. Through community relationships, African women are able to understand each other’s experiences (Hudson-Weems, 2004). They rely upon their strong female social networking for survival. It is these characteristics that can help Africana women address issues of racism and gender. As sisters, they consult each other on all matters of importance before making decisions. By believing in sisterhood, African women consider that it is impossible for a single woman to fight all problems she encounters but she needs the unity and support from other women in the community to overcome those challenges. Africana Womanism supports the old Shona proverb, “Chara chimwe hachitswanyi inda” (one finger cannot kill lice)

52 meaning to say that one person cannot do all things alone” (Fortune, 1984, p.32). This Shona proverb encourages working together as a team and listening to each other’s voices (Fortune,

1984).

vi. Ambition and Spirituality

African women are very ambitious and they rely upon their religious spirituality to fulfill those ambitions. African women are taught from early childhood the importance of self- sufficiency and ingenuity which is very important in the future for the well being of their families and community (Hudson-Weems, 2004). As a result, young girls grow up with the aspiration to completely acquire qualities essential to create a complete African woman. These ambitions are achieved through the guidance of their religious spirits. African people believe in the co-existence between the physical and the spiritual world (Hudson-Weems, 2004). Therefore,

Africana Womanism claims that African women are strong, ambitious and possess a strong spirituality background and all these are important elements for fighting racial and gender oppression.

Similarities between African Feminism and Africana Womanism

The first similarity is that the African identity or ‘Africaness’ is at the center of African

Feminism and Africana Womanism hence they speak only for women of African descent. The argument is that having an African identity means that African immigrant women have a history of their own which affects their immigration experiences. The focus on national identity of immigrants is very important when examining their challenges because immigrants are often treated differently based on their nationality rather than the categories of refugees, asylum and other immigration status. Some immigrant groups may live a better lifestyle in the Diaspora because of their identity whilst other groups may be castigated because their identity is

53 considered inferior by the host society. As a result, the focus on national identity was very crucial in explaining that Black Zimbabwean immigrant women do not share a common identity with immigrant women from China, Latin America or India even though they all identify gender specific issues and recognize women’s position as one of a second class. Findings of this study indicated that participants were discriminated against because of their African identity. As a result, some Zimbabwe women work in low income jobs even though they qualify for better positions within the organizations they work for.

The second similarity is that both African Feminism and Africana Womanism emphasize a strong relationship between men and women instead of dividing them as enemies. For example, marriage is stressed as a social institution which strengthens collectivism, and being a mother is not expected to put women in inferior position. To promote collectivism the two theories condemn all forms of patriarchy which dehumanizes women. In this case the theories recognize that some aspects of African traditions and customs impinge on women’s development and that should be changed. If the marriage institution becomes oppressive, women should advocate for it to be corrected instead of separating the husband and wife. African Feminism and Africana

Womanism challenge African women to fight patriarchy whilst living in the context of their culture. The challenges African women face can only be solved if men and women work together as a team because gender equality should be accompanied by love and peace between both sexes in the home. The question that then needs to be addressed is how far would the alliance with men be necessary to overcome gender injustice and who should take the initiative to form the alliance?

For Black Zimbabwean immigrant women, forming connections with men is possible because they can incorporate several communication tools in their culture to initiate the alliance.

Proverbs, idioms and riddles are all available to start such conversations. The Shona people of

Zimbabwe use the proverb, “Munhu munhu nekuda kwevanhu” (A person is a person because of other people). Samkange and Samkange (1980) interpreted this proverb as, “To be human is to affirm one’s humanity by recognizing the humanity of others, and on that basis, establish human relations with them” (p.106). This proverb is used in daily conversations to emphasize a strong reciprocal relationship among individuals in the community. The proverb is used to strengthen the relationship between men and women as a way to address gender inequality (Samkange &

Samkange, 1980). Therefore the idea of community is very powerful for Zimbabwean immigrant women. They grew up in a society that emphasized community participation. They grew up being taught that a human being does not exist alone but as part of the society in which he /she is born or grows into. The individual is born out of and into the community, therefore will always be part of the community. Collectivism emphasizes that people always depend on each other.

Okere (2005) argued that,

Man is not just an individual, an island, left to himself and sufficient to himself, on his

own. Man is essentially community. No one ever came to being as a bolt from the blues,

like an oil bean seed falling from the sky, as our proverb says, ‘I am always we’. We in

the nuclear family, us in the extended family, us in the village and town etc. (p.3).

The third similarity is that both African Feminism and Africana Womanism underline that African cultures are not the only problem when looking at gender inequality. The subjugations suffered by African women are numerous. African women have experienced colonialism, racism and imperialism all of which intersect and subordinate them. This makes

African women’s experiences different from White African women in the United States and

55 elsewhere who only experienced patriarchy (Hudson-Weems, 2001b; Ntiri, 2001; Pellerin,

2012).

The current study therefore acknowledges that the oppression Zimbabwean women face today is a consequence of factors such as White settler rule, imperialism and globalization.

Zimbabwe gained its independence only three decades ago, which means that many Zimbabwean women in their early thirties were affected by colonial gender ideologies that were carried over to post-colonial Zimbabwean society. White settler rule introduced a new culture through formal education, White collar jobs and the money driven economy which relegated Zimbabwean women down the ladder. The education provided only served the interests of White children, who had access to free high quality education. The colonial settler’s agenda was to keep Black

African women as peasant farmers providing cheap labor (Gordon, 1994). Therefore,

Zimbabwean immigrant women came out of colonialism as secondary citizens. The minimal participation of Zimbabwean women in contemporary political institutions as opposed to their complementary participation in pre-colonial traditional Zimbabwean society is another example of the continuity of western domination. In post-independence Zimbabwe, the problems created by White settler rule are still intact and even more exploitative and they are among the reasons why Zimbabwean women make the decision to migrate to the United States (Gordon, 1994).

The Zimbabwean immigrant woman is faced with the double challenge of fighting those colonial remnants of patriarchal forces (introduced to her society by colonialism) and racism.

The question such women need to answer is how do they address these challenges side by side, and which should be the first priority? Is it possible for Zimbabwean women to fight patriarchal domination and revert back to the pre-colonial gender relations they had enjoyed before? At the same time, the two theories help us understand how Zimbabwean women can fight gender

56 hierarchies without upsetting the African way of survival, which encourages communal participation.

The final similarity is that African Feminism and Africana Womanism theories address issues of racial discrimination as another major challenge experienced by African immigrant women. Gender is not the only experience affecting African women. Black immigrant women are marginalized by virtue of their membership in a historically subordinated racial group.

Therefore, they are treated as members of national minorities which are located at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. Because of their race, Black immigrant women face a lot of challenges that make it difficult for them to escape poverty and discrimination. Trent (2000) points out that, “What good would it do a new immigrant from Mali to have her own work papers if employers refuse to hire anyone from Africa?”(p.152). The reality is that African immigrant women of color fare much worse than White women. Despite patriarchal domination,

White women are privileged by their White skin color. Therefore, African immigrant women need liberation from both gender and racial discrimination.

The issue of racism helped Black Zimbabwean immigrant women to understand that whilst they aspire to bring about gender equality, they should not overlook racial oppression as another challenge in their lives. The majority of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women who were born during the late 1980s when Zimbabwe obtained its independence from White settler rule did not experience racial discrimination as those that were born before 1980. Racial discrimination in

Zimbabwe ended with the attainment of independence but gender discrimination continued. The

Black middle class men that took over from British minority rule stepped right into what was left by colonialism and continued with oppression but this time by people sharing the same skin color. Therefore, racial discrimination in the United States is a new experience for some Black

Zimbabwean immigrant women who were born after 1980. Race coupled with ethnic subordination devalues and makes Zimbabwean women invisible in the American society

Modes of Incorporation

Portes and Rumbaut (1996) define modes of incorporation as, “a series of common characteristics of socio-economic origin and reasons for departure that tend to be associated with different courses of adaptation once in the United States” (as cited in Cornfield, 2004, p. 159).

The acquisition of the host country’s language, an understanding of its laws, familiarity with its customs and other basic steps should be attained by immigrants in order to endure life in foreign lands. However, the rate of incorporation depends upon the type of entry into the host country.

For immigrants that migrate as political refugees their adaptation may be different from those immigrants that migrated for economic and educational reasons who may decide to go back home any time after completing their studies or once they have acquired enough money to establish businesses. Political refugees may need more time to heal first which might take longer before they can adjust to the economic status of native born Americans. Therefore, three modes of incorporation, namely multiculturalism, acculturation and assimilation explain how

Zimbabwean immigrant women adapt to the new life in the United States.

a) Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism describes the integration by a diverse group of cultures within one society. The state of the host society is required to implement policies that promote and protect the rights of minority cultures and accommodate their special requirements (Koopmans, 2006;

Modood, 2013). There are two key principles that describe multiculturalism. The first one is that governments should allow equal rights for immigrants to participate in all developmental spheres of life such as the labor market and education among others. Secondly, the government should

58 permit immigrants to have the rights to maintain their languages and cultures as well as establishing their own communities for social and cultural support (Vista, 2007). If multiculturalism permits immigrants to exercise their rights it is important to find out if

Zimbabwean immigrant women have the same access to resources available to other immigrants living in the United States like their male counterparts.

b) Acculturation

Acculturation is the process whereby immigrants adjust to a new cultural environment.

Acculturation does not result in new cultures completely replacing old indigenous ones.

Immigrants can select what elements of their culture they wish to surrender and what cultural elements they want to incorporate from the new culture (Padilla & Perez, 2003). As a result, immigrants may choose to maintain some of their cultural traits such as language, religion and cultural traditions including music and dance (Padilla & Perez, 2003).

c) Assimilation

Assimilation is a process whereby immigrants change their cultural patterns to suit those of the host society in order to develop a sense of peoplehood based on the host society

(Gordon, 1964). Some immigrants would desire to assimilate completely to the host society by abandoning all their cultural traits. As far as gender and immigration are concerned, understanding the assimilation process of African immigrant women offers a better understanding on how they integrate into the American society upon arrival and what advantages assimilation contributes to their experiences as immigrant women.

d) Social Network/Enclaves

Social networks are associations created by immigrant groups who are linked by family, culture, religious and ethnic background (Yeboah, 2008). Immigrants create social groups that would enable them to preserve some of their cultural values. They re-root their social networks in the new society thereby transplanting their lives from their homelands to the United States

(Owusu, 2003; Wei-Wei, 2010). There are several advantages for forming social networks.

Immigrants networking together help each other in times of economic difficulties. Ethnic support groups help immigrants cope with the stress that is associated with refugee life. More so, community groups of African immigrants assist new immigrants and refugees with immigration issues and refer them to appropriate legal counseling (Koranyi, 1981; Osirim, 2008; Portes,

2005; Yeboah, 2008). Likewise, they help each other improve their access to resources such as healthcare, education and employment. Social networking helps immigrants with settlement patterns upon arrival to the United States. It is easier for newly arriving immigrants to settle in areas that already have other immigrant groups from their countries. Even though they might not have known each other before, immigrants establish new relationships based on their similar background experiences (Yeboah, 2008).

Despite the integral role played by social networks/enclaves in sustaining the lifestyle of immigrants, there is not much available literature about social networks and their impact on

African immigrant women. This is a large gap in the literature because social networks provide an understanding of the survival strategies employed by immigrant women.

Summary

This section revealed that women are making the central decision to migrate not as dependent immigrants, but as individuals with the goal of fulfilling their educational and economic needs. The Feminization of migration calls for an attention to the increasing population of African immigrant women in the United States. The argument raised is that women are migrating alone yet their presents are neglected in immigration literature. Various reasons for immigration were also articulated with economic and political destabilization being the major reasons why Africans are forced to separate with their families as they migrate to the United

States.

The two feminist theories African Feminism and Africana Womanism provide an insight into the gendered experiences of Zimbabwean women. African Feminism advocates for African women to be free from patriarchal oppression and to have equal access and ownership to resources. Proponents of African Feminism also argue that positive aspects of African culture should be used in a liberating and nurturing way for the benefit of women. Africana Womanism theory is used to explain that women of African descent should refuse labels that conceal issues of racism as their major challenge. The theory puts more emphasis on racial discrimination than gender inequality. Finally, this section also examined the models of incorporation such as multiculturalism, acculturation, assimilation and social networks to explain how immigrants fit into the American society. The following chapter introduces readers to the methodology used in the study.

CHAPTER THREE

Research Methodology

Overview

This chapter gives an overview of the methodology used in the current study. The description of participants, geographical delimitation, recruitment strategies, and data collection protocol and data analysis are discussed.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research techniques are typically used to understand phenomena in-depth from the participants’ perspectives (Freeman, deMarrais, Preissle, Roulston, & St. Pierre, 2007;

Myers, 1997; Preissle, 2008). Through the use of verbal, visual, photographic, film, and narrative methods, participants’ thoughts, behaviors and feelings are explored as they occur in their natural settings (Chesebro & Borisoff, 2007).

Participatory methods are used to conduct research with individuals directly affected by the situation. The emphasis is on ‘participation’ which describes the collaboration by the researcher and participants in the research process. Participation offers individuals the right to speak out and make their own choices (Bergold & Thomas 2012; Campbell 2002; Cornwall,

2000). One of the assumptions of participatory methods is the idea that, “knowledge is embedded in the lives of the individuals and that knowledge is developed only through a cooperative process between researchers and experiencing individuals” (Borg, Karlsson, Kim and

McCormack, 2012, p.1). Both researcher sand participants learn together as they treat each other as colleagues, thereby, eliminating power dynamics within the research process. The researcher is not an expert but takes the role of a co-producer of learning (Bergold & Thomas 2012; Borg et al., 2012).

Participatory methods are suitable for carrying out research with marginalized groups of people whose voices are hardly ever heard. These marginalized individuals lack the opportunity to communicate their issues and concerns. Therefore, by providing a voice, participatory methods empower marginalized groups in the community to bring about change (Bergold &

Thomas 2012).

Given the invisibility and misrepresentation of the Zimbabwean immigrant women in immigration literature, a qualitative, in-depth and participatory approach is needed to understand their perspectives and positions in the Diaspora. In order to generate rich information about the experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women in the United States, the current study employs a qualitative and participatory method called Photovoice.

Research Design

Photovoice Overview

Photovoice as a qualitative and participatory methodology is defined as “a process by which people can identify, represent, and enhance their community through a specific photographic technique” (Wang, 1999, p.185). Photovoice puts cameras in the hands of those individuals that are usually excluded from decision-making processes. This provides individuals with the opportunity to use digital cameras to capture realities about their life experiences

(Wang, 1999). The main objective of Photovoice is to provide an outlet for typically silenced voices and for individuals to examine their own situations. Photovoice engages people to tell their own stories through photographs, to call for community engagement and to bring about change (Wang & Buris, 1997). Using the photos they collect, Zimbabwean immigrant women are able to share their experiences with each other. The positive aspect of using this method is

63 that the women are able to identify a commonality in their experiences which will make it easier to come up with solutions collectively.

Rationale for Using Photovoice

Photovoice is a qualitative research method that aims to initiate participatory engagement among marginalized groups. As a result, Photovoice enables participants to use a visual tool to explain their experiences (Wang, 1999). Since photo group discussions and interviews are guided by photographs that participants take, the collaboration process begins with participants defining and discussing issues with the researcher. Participants would then explain their pictures, hence empowering participants both individually and collectively. A primary goal of the current study was to empower Black Zimbabwean women to exercise their voice as individuals and as a community with emphasis on solving the challenges they face. Individually, Photovoice allows participants to have voice through the act of taking photographs themselves and engaging in the reflective process by journaling. Collectively, participants are empowered through interacting in the photo group discussions (Novek, Morris-Oswald, & Menec, 2012). Participants are given the opportunity to take part in determining which problems to investigate through photographs. For

Black Zimbabwean immigrant women who were participants in this study, taking photos and describing them provided the opportunity to articulate their experiences using their own voices.

This participation is very important because women have the right to knowledge production and to own that knowledge (Meena, 1992). Using Photovoice gave Black Zimbabwean women the power to produce and own knowledge about their experiences.

Participants and Setting

Participants/Sample: Thirty four Black Zimbabwean immigrant women from the

Greater Cincinnati Area were recruited to participate in this study. Nineteen women joined the

64 group from the first session and were active in taking of photos. The remaining fifteen women joined the group later. These women used pictures taken by other women in order to participate in photo group discussions. Fourteen of the women agreed to do a one on one semi-structured interview with the researcher as a follow up to the photo discussions. Wang (1999) recommended that a sample of seven to ten participants is suitable for Photovoice in order to encourage in-depth group conversations. Initially, the researcher recruited ten participants but more participants became interested in the study. Therefore, the researcher expanded the study in order to allow interested individuals to participate. Participants were all of the African origin,

Black, born and bred in Zimbabwe and then migrated to the United States. The idea was to create a better understanding of their lived experiences both in Zimbabwe and as Black African women immigrants currently residing in the Diaspora.

Figure 3. Geographic area for Greater Cincinnati that was covered for this study

Source: www.googlemaps.com

Setting

In order to have a manageable sample, participants were recruited from the Greater

Cincinnati Area (see Figure 3). The Greater Cincinnati area is a metropolitan area that includes

15 counties in the United States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana around the city of Cincinnati, which is located in the southwestern corner of Ohio. Venues were decided in collaboration with participants. The main criterion used in venue selection was convenience and comfort for the participants, for example, some participants offered to use their homes for some of the meetings.

Using participants’ homes as venues was convenient during the early sessions of the study as it

66 allowed privacy and easy access of technological equipment that was used during some of the meetings.

However, in the last stages of the study, Mt. Airy Park Forest was used for meetings after the formation of a Zimbabwean Women’s Group. Mt. Airy Park Forest is located in Cincinnati along Colerain Avenue. The venue was convenient because it is available free of charge. All that was required was for the researcher to reserve a free lot before it was occupied by other people.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Gender: This study aims to understand the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwean women using their own voices; therefore, only female participants were recruited. Men were excluded from this study in order to allow women to speak for themselves.

Age: A total of 34 Zimbabwean women whose ages ranged between 18 and 65 years were recruited for this study. Participants were required to be at least 18 years old. Females below the age of 18 migrated together with their parents; therefore the decision to migrate was not theirs.

Race/Ethnicity: Zimbabwe is made up of different ethnic groups with Shona and

Ndebele as the major ones. The goal was to have a fair representation of these two ethnic groups.

As a result, Black Zimbabwean immigrant women from these two ethnic groups were invited to participate in the study. The researcher used participants’ family names to identify their ethnic groups. Both Shona and Ndebele people have distinct family names which makes it easier to identify their ethnic groups. However, the sample was dominated by women from the Shona ethnic group which has a larger population in Zimbabwe compared to the Ndebele ethnic group.

The emphasis on race was important in this study because it was assumed that White

Zimbabwean immigrant women may not face the same serious problems faced by Black

Zimbabwean women. White Zimbabwean women have often lived a privileged life which means that their circumstances are already different from Black Zimbabwean immigrant women.

Further, their race may position them with advantages when they migrate as opposed to Black

Zimbabwean women immigrants. Therefore, all participants for the study were Black.

Language: Although Black Zimbabwean immigrant women speak Shona or Ndebele as their first language, all participants were comfortable with English as a second or third language.

Therefore, all participants recruited for this study were able to speak and carry out conversations using the English language. As such, it was not necessary to translate any documents (i.e., consent forms) for the study.

Recruitment of Participants

Participants were recruited through both formal and informal means. Because Photovoice is used with marginalized populations, sometimes it is difficult to gain access if you are an outsider (Wang, 1999). However, since the researcher doing this study shared the same ethnic background with participants, it was easy to gain access to the population and invite them to participate. Using her existing relationships with Zimbabwean women in the Greater Cincinnati area, a snowball sampling technique was also used to recruit participants. In snowball sampling, participants contacted first were asked to use their social networks to refer the researcher to other people who may be interested in participating in the study. In this way the sample accumulated like a snowball (Lucas, 2012). A large number of women were recruited verbally during functions such as baby showers and graduation parties. The researcher attended several of the social functions for a chance to meet more Zimbabwean women. She collected phone numbers and later called the women to discuss the project. Some potential participants were visited at their homes after initial phone conversations where the researcher discussed the aims of the

68 research. Formal recruitment strategies included the use of face book friend lists and phone calls to contact participants. A message describing the study was sent out to selected female face book friends and their email accounts. The researcher’s contact details (email address and phone numbers) were included so that interested participants could respond if interested. The recruited participants were then invited to attend in person group meetings to sign consent forms.

However, not all the recruits attended, therefore, the researcher had to make house visits for some to sign consent forms. The researcher insisted that all participants, including those recruited over the phone, signs the consent forms before they shared their photos and/or participated in discussions or interviews.

Ethical Considerations

Researchers are entrusted with the responsibility to conduct research in an ethical manner in order to respect participants and their knowledge. Researchers are required to understand what it means to be “a responsible member of society” (Brydon-Miller, 2012, p. 158).

This study followed the basic ethical guidelines for conducting research. All ethical issues such as honesty and privacy were considered throughout the research process. Following ethical considerations protected participants from any harm during the research process.

The first ethical step was to obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at University of Cincinnati. This board is responsible for monitoring research involving human subjects (Brydon-Miller, 2012). Approval to conduct research was obtained in February, 2013 before recruitment of participants. During the recruiting stage, the researcher clearly communicated to prospective participants the aim of the study, the duration and what they were expected to do if they consented to participate. The consent form which was prepared following

IRB guidelines informed the participants during orientation (initial meeting) about their rights.

The researcher fully explained the consent protocol to interested participants which included the right to stop participating at any point during the study. Confidentiality and protection of privacy were explained to participants before data collection. All participants signed consent forms without coercion.

Ethical issues were also followed concerning the collection of digital data. The researcher had a full understanding of all the ethical considerations regarding photovoice. According to

Brydon-Miller (2012), ethical issues usually arise regarding what participants should photograph and how to the images to bring about change without violating participants’ rights. In order to be in line with IRB which insisted that photographs should not include recognizable faces, participants in this study were required to take photographs of objects. Since photovoice involves sharing and discussion of photos, participants were advised to respect confidentiality with the understanding that what they discussed during photo sharing should remain private to the group.

In the presentation of findings, confidentiality of participants was maintained throughout the study. Participant names were changed and pseudonyms were provided for excerpts from photo group discussions and semi-structured interviews.

Data Collection

Photovoice was the primary data collection method used but was supplemented by semi- structured interviews and researcher’s journal notes.

Photovoice Process

This study conformed to most of the Photovoice steps suggested by Wang (1999) but with some modifications when necessary. These modifications were driven by some challenges the researcher encountered during data collection. Some of these modifications included:

1. A total of 34 participants were recruited instead of a maximum of seven or ten participants as suggested for Photovoice by Wang (1999). This recruitment process opened more access to participants who were interested in the study.

2. The use of individual semi-structured interviews as follow ups to the Photovoice discussions to allow those participants who were not comfortable sharing all their experiences during group discussions to participate. The interview used the same probing questions that were used during photo discussions. However, the individual discussions were to give the individual participant an opportunity to tell some of her stories in great detail without worrying about what the other women would think of her.

3. A conference call instead of a physical meeting was used to disseminate final results. This was the most convenient method of bringing all the participants together.

4. Another modification was that the researcher, with the approval from participants, used some photographs from the pilot study the researcher did in 2012 with the same participants. This was done because participants thought it was not necessary to retake new photos to share the same experiences reflected in the pilot study. These pictures were all shared with participants that did not participate in the pilot study.

5. Each stage of the Photovoice process was conducted three times since it was difficult to bring all women together. Also, both individual and group discussions of photos were used. In situations where a participant could not attend either of the scheduled meetings for the session, the researcher would arrange a one on one meeting to discuss their photos and those meetings generally took place at the participant’s house.

6. There were some participants who joined the photo group discussions after the recruitment sessions had been completed and therefore could not take pictures. However, with

71 permission from other participants, the researcher allowed the new participants to identify their own experiences using photos taken by others. These new participants were also required to sign consent forms before they could participate in the photo group discussions.

7. During each photo group discussion the researcher would present data from the previous session in order to confirm and validate the accuracy of the collected information.

Photovoice Steps

Step One

The first step served as an introduction of the Photovoice project. After recruitment, orientation meetings were set up to introduce the study to participants. Due to the high number of participants, three meetings were conducted on different occasions. This was done because the participants could not meet all at once due to conflicting schedules. Therefore, the researcher scheduled different dates and participants chose a date that was most convenient for them. The researcher also had to conduct individual meetings with the few participants that could not attend any of the group meetings. Even though the meetings were held on different occasions, they all followed the same format. Meetings started with introductions. The introductions were simple and only included saying names and where they live. This promoted openness and helped participants to become comfortable with each other. The researcher then explained the purpose of the study and handed out consent forms. The researcher read and explained the consent forms to participants and answered all the questions they asked for clarification.

To help participants understand the Photovoice process, the researcher handed out copies of a power point presentation from a previous Photovoice project. Whilst the presentation was not new to participants who participated in the 2012 pilot study, it helped new participants to learn how to use photographs and storytelling to convey their experiences. The researcher

72 described in detail what type of photos participants could take. All photos had to be physically taken by the women themselves. Participants did not require training on how to take pictures and decided to use their own cameras. To make the process convenient because of participants’ busy schedules, there was no specific number of photographs participants were required to take. The emphasis was to take photos that explicitly explained their migration experiences. To help participants understand specific aspects of their assignment, participants were asked to do a brief discussion of the experiences faced by immigrant women in general even though they may not have been connected to their individual experiences. Participants were also required to understand that these ‘immigration experiences’ should be looked at as either contributing positively or negatively to their well-being. This brain storming exercise was a plan to help participants determine what type of experiences they should capture in their photographs.

Step Two

Step two included the photograph taking process and data collection. The participants were given a list of guiding questions (Appendix A) to consider as they took their photos.

Participants were initially given two weeks to individually take photographs and send them to the researcher electronically and physically for processing and storage. The time frame was increased to two months after some participants failed to submit all their photos before the deadline. The participants were advised to take enough photos before they attended any one of the scheduled photo group discussion meetings. The researcher also met with individual participants whenever it was possible during data collection to find out if they needed any help and also to upload the photos onto a computer. Each photo the researcher uploaded was also printed and the participant name written at the back for easy identification during photo

73 discussions. A brief discussion of the themes identified with the photo was also recorded at the back of each picture during the photo group discussions by participants.

Step Three

The third step involved photo selection and data analysis. Since Photovoice is a participatory method, participants were included in the data analysis. Therefore, after taking photos, participants engaged in a photo group discussion to share their photographs and interpret the meanings behind them. The aim was to allow participants to interpret the photos they had taken and determine for themselves how the photos were related to their life experiences. For photo selection and dialogue, an adapted version of the SHOWeD, model of questioning was used (Wang, 1999). The SHOWeD acronym stands for, “What do we See here? What is really happening here? How does this relate to Our lives? Why does this situation, concern or strength

Exist? What can we Do about it?” (Wang, 1999, p. 188). This structured technique prompted participants to select and analyze the content of their photographs and relate them to their personal realities. The technique also enabled participants to identify different themes emerging from the photos. The researcher also used probing questions during the photo group discussions to obtain more specific or in depth information.

The photo group discussions began with the researcher taking the lead to open the conversations. Prior to the meeting, the participants were asked to choose one or two pictures to share which the researcher would locate on a power point to guide the photo group discussions.

Some participants only took one photo so there was no need for them to make the selection. The owner of the photograph was asked to explain the meaning of her photo. After one participant told her story, all participants were given the opportunity to contribute to the story. To eliminate repetition, participants also identified if they had a photo that conveyed the same or similar idea.

During the discussions, the researcher used an audio recorder and note taking as two resources to document the proceedings. In situations where recording was impossible, notes were taken by the researcher. Some participants attended several group meetings of this third step to discuss their experiences. During each group meeting, photos that were shared from previous group meetings were presented first. Interestingly, a lot of the women related their experiences to the photos taken by others, indicating a similarity of their experiences.

Step 4

A conference call and two physical group meetings were conducted for results dissemination. The participants were also encouraged to mobilize and create change based on what they have learnt about themselves during the photo group discussions. The researcher and some of the participants presented the results at a summit and a local museum.

The photovoice steps used in the project are summarized in figure 4.

Figure 4. Photovoice Session Schematic

Participants were recruited through phone calls and face to face. After recruitment, three orientation meetings were organized with participants to; Recruitment and  Sign consent forms Training Workshop Step 1 (March-April)  Introduce participants to the project’s goals and objectives

 Discuss the Photovoice methodology  Instruct participants on what kind of photos to take and also to follow ethical considerations for photograph taking .  Participants took pictures over a 2 months period

 Each participant took between 1-3 pictures

 During data collection, the researcher contacted Photography participants using phone for feedback Step 2 Assignment (April-June)  Occasionally, the researcher met with individual

participants to find out if they needed help and to upload pictures to a lap top computer

 Four meetings with different participants were organized to discuss the photographs. Data Analysis:  First, participants were put into groups depending Photograph selection on attendance. In the event of poor attendance, Contextualization the discussions were done with all participants Step 3 without dividing them into groups Codification of Themes  Participants shared their photographs and told (June-October) stories related to their immigration experiences.

 Participants identified themes and coded photographs according to the themes.

 Presentation of findings to the public Reach others to create Step 4 change.  Participant action to initiate change

Sharing results with the community

The researcher and a few participants attended an African Summit at Xavier University organized by Africa Foundation-USA to present some of the concerns raised by participants during data collection. The feedback from the summit was shared with the other participants during a feedback meeting.

A power point presentation of the photos was exhibited at Cincinnati Museum during the

January 2014 Culture Week. One of the participants works at Cincinnati Museum and she assisted with the exhibition of the results. The photos were used to accompany the Film

“Alaskaland” which is about the experiences of African immigrants. After showcasing the film, the researcher presented the photos to the audience which was comprised of influential local leaders and immigrants from other African countries.

Individual Semi- Structured Interviews

Using semi-structured interviews was a Photovoice modification used by the researcher for data collection. Initially, there was no intention to use semi-structured interviews with participants as the researcher thought all the data was to be collected using only photo group discussions. However, during the photo group discussions the researcher noticed that some participants did not contribute much or not talk at all except agreeing to what the other women were saying. To give everyone an opportunity to express her viewpoints, the researcher contacted individuals for a one on one meeting to give all participants a chance to tell their stories. Participants were told that any information shared in the interviews would remain anonymous if shared with other group participants. This method worked well and enabled the researcher to get extra information that was not revealed in photo group discussions. The

77 researcher did not come up with any new interview questions, but instead used the same probing questions that were used during the photo group discussions.

Researcher journal notes

During photo group discussions and semi-structured interviews, the researcher interacted with participants to capture their thinking and wrote journal notes about thoughts and reflections on the research process. Journaling allows the researcher to record important observations and thoughts about the research process and topic as the research progresses. Research journals provide a researcher with records and help researchers to reflect about what is happening as well as their feelings as they carry out the research (Eisenhardt, 1989; Hatch, 2002). Hatch (2002) notes that journals are “places to ‘talk to yourself’ about how things are going, about your fears, frustrations and small victories” (p.88). Therefore, for this research study, journal entries allowed the researcher to keep track of the discussions in order to avoid repetitions and also maintain similar formats for meetings conducted on different dates. The notes also helped the researcher to evoke more probing questions for the group discussions and were a good reminder of important talking points for future meetings. Challenges encountered during the project were also documented through the journaling process.

Minutes from the group meetings after the formation of the group

Minutes from group meetings provided an additional form of data used later in the process after the formation of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Zimbabwean Women’s

Group in July. The group was formed based on the suggestions that emerged from the

Photovoice and semi-structured interviews. The group agreed to meet every Saturday of each month. Group members wanted minutes to be recorded and shared with everyone including those that could not attend the meeting during that month due to different circumstances. The

78 researcher was chosen to be the secretary of the group and was tasked to record minutes which she would share with everyone. The minutes documented all the areas of need identified by the women and the actions for change.

Data Analyses

Hatch (2002) describes data analysis as “a systematic search of meanings” (p.148). After collecting qualitative data, researchers are tasked with the process of organizing and interrogating their data to identify themes, relationships and generating theories.

Photo analysis

The data collected though Photovoice were analyzed on the basis of the techniques suggested by Wang and Burris (1997). Descriptive coding and thematic analysis were employed to convert photographs and participants descriptions into a range of themes.

a) Selecting Photographs

Participants engaged in photo selection. The number of photos to be discussed was decided by participants. Participants were shown their own photographs one at a time and asked where each picture was taken, why it was taken, and what it meant to them.

b) Contextualizing

Participants interpreted and told stories to describe the photographs. They discussed what the photographs meant to them as they shared their life experiences. This process involved using SHOWeD questions, explained in the method section, to critically analyze the content of the photographs.

c) Codifying

Photos were identified and sorted into categories by participants in order to identify emerging themes and issues (Palibroda, B., Murdock, & Havelock, 2009; Wang & Buris, 1997).

Descriptive coding and thematic analysis of the data were used in this stage to identify emerging themes. In qualitative research, thematic analysis involves the identification, analysis and reporting of the hidden patterns (themes) within the data set. It helps in the organization and description of the data in great detail (Braun & Clark, 2006). Thematic analysis reports participants’ experiences, meanings and the reality as reflected by their stories (Braun & Clark,

2006). A step by step approach is required to conduct thematic analysis. In this study, participants with help from the researcher used the suggested steps to develop themes during the analysis stage.

Phase- 1: Familiarizing with the data

Braun and Clarke (2006) suggested that the first step of analysis is becoming familiar with the data. This involves reading the data repeatedly as you actively search for meanings and patterns. Reading through the data should be done at least once before the researcher begins the coding process. It is at this stage the researcher should begin sketching out ideas for the codes that will be used (Braun & Clark, 2006). In the current study, after participants had selected their photos, they began to describe details with the researcher sharing the meanings behind their photographs. The researcher compiled the journal notes she took during data collection and photo group discussions. The audio recordings from the photo group meetings were also transcribed into written form in preparation for coding. Riessman (1993) argues that transcribing, though time consuming, and helps the researcher to become familiar with the data.

Phase-2: Generating initial codes

After reading and becoming familiar with the data, the next step involves generating initial codes from the data. These codes are used to identify interesting features of the data

(Braun & Clark, 2006). Whereas there are various options to code the data that include the use of

80 software programs, data for this study were coded manually. Codes were written at the back of the printed pictures and also on a power point document on the researcher’s computer. During this coding process, all pictures were reviewed and using the descriptions provided by participants, codes were assigned to each photo. The same process was also used for researcher’s journal notes. A highlighter, notepads and flip charts were used to record potential patterns from the data. Photos with similar codes were then collated together as suggested by Braun & Clarke

(2006).

Phase-3: Searching for themes

After coding and collating the data, the next stage involves sorting the codes into potential themes. Braun & Clarke (2006) suggested that the researcher begins to analyze the codes and combine them to form overarching themes. During this process, photos were grouped together according to the identified codes to examine the relationships between them. The process enabled the identification of main and sub themes. Every emerging theme was noted to avoid abandoning relevant information. According to Braun & Clarke (2006), it is difficult at this stage to decide which themes will stay and which ones will be abandoned.

Phase -4: Reviewing themes

Phase 4 involved the refinement of themes. Themes without enough data to support or address the research objectives were abandoned. Similar themes relevant to the study were collated into one whilst some were broken down into separate themes (Braun & Clark, 2006). All the themes written at the back of the photos were reviewed to identify relevant themes to the study. It is during phase four that some photos were discarded especially the ones that participants could not clearly link to their experiences. At the end of this phase, final themes were chosen and recorded on flip charts.

Phase -5: Defining and naming themes

Stage 5 involved identifying the underlying meaning of each theme. Themes are named as the researcher identifies the story each theme tells and how it is related to the research question. These themes begin to tell stories about the experiences of participants (Braun & Clark,

2006). During this stage, participants with help from the researcher, proposed different names for each theme.

Phase-6: Providing the report

Stage 6 involved a write up of the identified themes from the photo group discussions

(Braun & Clark, 2006). The write up process was completed by the researcher as she began to put together the women’s stories about their immigration experiences. Evidence in the form of photos and verbal extracts from participants were included in the findings section.

Semi structured Interview Analysis

Semi-structured interviews are a common type of interviewing in qualitative research where the researcher uses predetermined questions for clarification (Doody & Noonan, 2013).

For the current research study, semi-structured interviews were conducted by the researcher to supplement the Photovoice group discussions. Fifteen individual semi-structured interviews lasting between 10 to 60 minutes were conducted with 15 Zimbabwean women who had also participated in the photo group discussions. The interviews were an extension of the photo discussions but in this case carried out with individuals instead of a group. The researcher arrived with the same copies of photos provided by participants in the photo group discussions. The idea was to provide participants with enough privacy to share uncomfortable experiences exclusively with the researcher.

Of the 15 women interviewed, four refused to be audio recorded because of personal confidentiality. Their interviews were documented by the researcher taking notes. Six of the 15 interviews were conducted by phone with those that could not schedule physical meetings. The remaining nine interviews were conducted face to face at participants’ homes. Interview participants were chosen based on the observations made by the researcher during photo group discussions. For example, the researcher targeted those participants who did not have enough time to say all that they wanted to say due to limited time as all participants needed equal chances to speak. Participants that were hesitant to share or were holding back some sensitive information they did not feel comfortable sharing with everyone were also targeted. Some of the participants interviewed were those that could not attend more than one photo group discussion meeting. Participants for the individual interviews were contacted after the photo group discussions and invited to participate in an individual interview.

The interview questions were the same as those used in the photo discussions. No new interview guide was proposed because the interviews were meant to be a continuation of the photo discussions but with individuals instead of a group. The one on one interviews allowed the researcher to gather specific individual sensitive information of each participant. The individual interviews also permitted the researcher to observe the body language and tone of voice that helped in data analysis. From these interviews, the researcher was able to gather more personal information from the women.

All the audio recorded interviews were transcribed by the researcher. There were two reasons why the researcher decided to do the transcriptions instead of paying someone to do so.

First, even though the interviews were conducted in English, sometimes participants would utter a Shona word which the researcher would then translate into English during transcriptions. A

83 paid non-Shona speaking transcriber would not have been able to understand and translate the words and phrases into English. Second, transcribing allowed the researcher to “add context, non verbal information, and bracket notations from notes and memory as the interview is typed up”

(Hatch, 2002, p.113).

Grounded Theory

Grounded theory is the “discovery of data systematically obtained from social research”

(Glaser &Strauss, 1967, p. 2). Grounded theory helps researchers to understand people’s behaviors in different social settings such as groups, organizations and communities. It focuses on the meanings of events and things in people’s everyday lives. It answers how people define things, events and reality in their personal lives.

Using grounded theory to analyze the semi-structured individual interviews was appropriate because this was an exploratory study and its purpose was to generate precise themes that reflected the lived experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women. Eisenhardt (1989) argues that producing theories /themes that closely mirror reality is one of the strengths of grounded theory. Therefore, by using grounded theory, the themes that emerge are expected to clearly reflect the true life experiences of Zimbabwean immigrant women as they try to navigate a new lifestyle in the Diaspora. Further, using grounded theory was appropriate because literature on African gender and migration is very limited. As discussed in Chapter 1, theories/themes related to migration are gender biased in that they were based solely on the experiences of male immigrants. Using grounded theory allows the themes to emerge from the people directly affected (i.e. a first-hand account of their experiences).

Strauss and Corbin (1998) outline several steps for conducting research using grounded theory. However, this study only used grounded theory for the analysis of the individual interviews so the emphasis was on the use of open coding and axial coding.

a) Open coding

Open coding is the, “process through which concepts are identified and their properties and dimensions are discovered in data” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 101).An open coding process allows the researcher to study the data closely to understand it better. To engage in open coding, the recorded interviews were first transcribed into a word document. Each participant’s interview was put on a separate document in order to compare the commonality in participants’ experiences. Once transcriptions were completed, open coding began by reading the textual material several times .This included reading the interviews sentence by sentence to identify similarities and differences in order to assign the right codes—termed constant comparison

(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Constant comparison was used throughout the analysis process of the individual interviews and researcher journal notes and was helpful because it enabled the researcher to compare each statement with other statements within the same interview transcript and also with other interviews in order to assign universal codes to emerging themes.

b) Axial coding

After identifying themes, the next phase was to use axial coding which is the “process of relating categories to their subcategories. Axial coding involves the reassembling of data that were fractured during open coding” (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p.124). During axial coding, the researcher began to group themes together based on how they were related to each other.

Common themes were identified and grouped together under the same higher level descriptive concept (the same general theme). To help organize the emerging themes, the identified themes

85 were written at the end of each sentence or paragraph. This resulted in main categories and subcategories that helped to explain the phenomenon in greater detail. The axial coding process resulted in the identification of dominant themes that describe the challenges encountered by

Zimbabwean immigrant women living in the United States.

Researcher Bias and Positionality

This section describes the outsider and insider status of the researcher and how this status presented opportunities and challenges during the data collection process. The role of the researcher or positionality in research remains very important in qualitative research methods

(Hopkins, 2007; Mohammad, 2001). England (1994) pointed out that the researcher is a human being with feelings and moods that can influence the outcomes of the study. The researcher’s cultures, identities, language and background have an influence on data collection. These characteristics can either facilitate or hinder access to data. It is therefore important for researchers to be aware of those similarities and differences between themselves and the research participants (England, 1994; Hopkins, 2007; Mohammad, 2001). There were several instances where my position as an insider was an advantage: a) Throughout this research project with Zimbabwean women as participants, I perceived myself to be an insider because I shared the same identity as the respondents. I came to the

United States in 2007 during the time the majority of Zimbabwean women were also leaving the country due to economic and political hardships facing Zimbabwe. I therefore, could relate to some of the participants experiences before they left Zimbabwe. Such a shared identity was an advantage for me to gain acceptance by participants. It created a bond of sisterhood which was ideal for the research.

86 b) Sharing the same linguistic background helped in the facilitation of the project.

Participants spoke my native language Shona which made it possible to switch back and forth with English where necessary to overcome barriers associated with communicating in English as a second language. Speaking the same languages with participants was a great asset as it enabled me to understand both their verbal and non verbal responses. Being close to participants enables the researcher to gain inaccessible information such as hidden behaviors, intimacy and interpersonal feelings and emotions (Adler & Brenner, 1992). c) Being a female migrant too made me an insider. We shared a common experience relating to gender inequalities and oppression. The bond created based on these similar experiences helped in deconstructing the power hierarchy between myself as the researcher and participants. Participants saw me as a women affected by gender inequality like themselves.

However, in spite of the advantages of being an insider, there were still some challenges.

For example, a) Being an insider, it was easy to make erroneous assumptions based on my own experiences. At certain times I had to control myself in order to prevent steering the topic under discussion in certain direction based on my prior knowledge. Since the purpose of this study was to allow participants to tell their stories I was required to limit personal sharing and suppress my own bias. As a researcher, I had to set aside what I already knew about Black Zimbabwean immigrant women’s experiences and allow myself to hear it from the voices of the participants. b) Even though I shared the same identity with participants, I also felt like an outsider especially regarding power relations between myself and the participants. I have been fortunate to receive formal education and am currently in a Ph.D. program which was different than many of the participants in this study. Therefore, participants may have perceived a class and/or

87 educational divide with me even though we shared similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

However, my goal was to maintain a trusted and respectful relationship by engaging in collaboration with the women throughout the study. c) Another dilemma was duality of my role as a researcher and as an ordinary immigrant woman. Before I started collecting my data, participants perceived me as one of them. I interacted with some of the women on a daily basis and even shared some of the migration challenges. After I had introduced my study to the women, they began to perceive me differently, not just as one of them but as a researcher. Therefore, in order to maintain trust and make sure that the aims of the research were met, I had to clearly express to participants that even though I had the researcher’s position, I was also seeking knowledge. d) In conducting research, it is possible for the researcher to gain access to sensitive information. How to handle that information is very important in order to maintain privacy and anonymity of the individual participants (Unluer, 2012). During the data collection, some of the participants shared some sensitive information during the semi-structured individual interviews.

They did not reveal that information during the photo group discussions. Participants trusted me with information that could negatively impact on their migration experiences. During the dissemination of results, I had to be cautious on what to reveal in order to protect participants. e) Finally, another disadvantage of being an insider was that participants tended to assume that I already knew some of their experiences. Three of the women were my friends and we interacted on a daily basis. I was aware of some their experiences based on my observations and also my conversations with them. During the photo group discussions, I realized that those participants I interact with the most outside the research would sometimes not share everything assuming that it was not necessary to repeat what I already knew. Some of that information was

88 really important to share with other participants but I could not reveal it myself or remind those women to share because the whole idea was to empower them to speak for themselves.

Furthermore, I had to follow ethical considerations in that participants had the right to chose what they felt comfortable sharing.

Limitations of the Methodology

The Photovoice technique brings out the voices of the marginalized and encourages their participation in knowledge production. While such exploration could not be possible with other methodologies such as questionnaires and surveys, there are some methodological weaknesses associated with Photovoice. First, the technique requires participants to be able to interpret the photographs they take. Without participant commentary and stories, it becomes difficult to interpret the meanings behind the photography (Novek et al., 2012). The Photovoice process also requires significant amounts of time, and scheduling meetings for a large group is challenging. It was difficult to come up with a schedule that fit every participant’s calendar.

Trustworthiness of Data

Qualitative data is generally trustworthy because it relies on the informants’ construction of reality, but its quality and reliability can be improved by performing validation exercises

(Guion 2002). In the current study, two approaches were used to test the credibility of the data: triangulation and member checking. The concept of triangulation involves the use of multiple informants and/or multiple methods of data collection (Guion 2002). In this study, triangulation occurred by using individual interviews and researcher journal notes to supplement the

Photovoice focus group discussions. Member checking is a validation exercise which involves sharing the findings with participants to confirm their contributions thus making the data more credible (McConnell-Henry, Chapman, & Francis, 2011). Member checking was performed each

89 time the researcher interacted with participants during both the Photovoice process and individual interviews.

Summary

This chapter introduced readers to the methodological aspects of this study. It provided a detailed account of study setting, sample, data collection procedures and analysis. The method used for this study was participatory in order to gain deeper understanding of the migration experiences of Zimbabwean women. Data collection was accomplished through photographs, semi-structured individual interviews and minutes from the women’s group meetings.

Photographs were analyzed using thematic analysis. Grounded Theory was used to analyze data collected from semi-structured individual interviews and minutes from group meetings.

Researcher positionality and trustworthiness of the data were also discussed in this chapter. The following chapter introduces readers to the research findings.

CHAPTER FOUR

Presentation of Findings

Introduction

The presentation of findings chapter is divided into four sections. The first section briefly describes the study population of the participants involved in this research. The second section presents themes from photovoice discussion groups. Section three presents the findings from the semi-structured individual interviews and section four presents themes from women’s group meetings. Themes identified from the three data collection methods are presented separately and then summarized in Chapter 5 to compare and contrast the information obtained across all the data collection methods.

Description of sample

The 34 participants for this study were all adult Black Zimbabwean women aged between

18 - 65 years. Table 7 indicates the total number of women who participated in each of the three data collection methods. 7.

Table 10. Data collection methods and number of participants

Data Collection Methods Total

1. Photo group discussions 19

2. Participants that agreed to do semi-structured individual 14 interviews after participating in photo group discussions 3. Participants that attended the women’s group meetings without 15 participating in photo group discussions and semi-structured interviews Note: n=34

Table 8 below presents the demographic structure of participants in relationship to their highest level of education, marital status and employment record. 91

Table 11. Summary of descriptive statistics by education, marital status and employment record

Category Sub-category Total

Education High school diploma only 8

College/University diploma 20

Unknown 6

Marital status Married 15

Single 4

Widowed 3

Divorced 3

Unknown 9

Employment Work in health sector 10

Other organizations 6

Not employed 6

Unknown 12

Note: n=34

The demographic summary indicates that 20 participants have college or university diplomas as their highest level of education. Included in this category are those participants that are currently pursuing their education either in graduate school or two year colleges. The health sector was an especially popular field of study for the women currently in school. Eight women have high school diplomas only and have not furthered their education. The remaining six

92 participants did not reveal their educational levels. The marital status of participants encompassed all categories from single to widow as indicated in Table 8. The largest category included 15 participants that were currently married. Fourteen of the married women were living with their husbands and one participant’s husband lives in Zimbabwe. Self reported information regarding employment status indicates that 16 women were currently employed with more than half of that number employed in the health sector. Twelve participants did not share their employment history.

Table 12. Pseudonyms used for quotations

Pseudonyms Age College Married Single Divorced Widowed Employed /University 18-28 Tariro    Davidzo    Tendai   29-38 Nyemwererai    Mazvita   Sharai   Nyaradzo    Tsitsi  Tarisai   Ratidzo   Nyasha    39-48 Kundai    Farirai   Miriro  49-58 Chido   59-65 Marwei   Paidamoyo    Note: Check mark indicates a yes

Photovoice Discussion Groups

Seven primary themes emerged from the Photovoice discussion groups: 1) Opportunities offered by migration; 2) Shocked/unfulfilled dreams; 3) Stress; 4) Discrimination; 5)

Fear/Anxiety; 6) Domestic violence; 7) Identity.

1. Opportunities offered by migration

The first theme identified from the photo group discussions was opportunities offered by migration. All participants in the study reported that the availability of the following opportunities: a) economic; b) education; c) health; and d) freedom were the primary reasons they migrated to the United States. The women complained that life had become difficult in

Zimbabwe and the United States became a safe haven for them. For example, Tsitsi, one of the participants, stated that she could no longer endure the difficult life in Zimbabwe and saw the

United States as an opportunity to improve her life. She said;

It’s a big difference, America and Zimbabwe are different. America is a well-established

country, just even resources it has a lot of things, there are so many opportunities here

that we didn’t have back home. Even in terms of working wise there are jobs for

everybody, like for the educated or not educated you can still work and make a living

unlike back home. Even if you are educated back home you can still struggle to, you

know, make ends meet. Here there are equal opportunities for everybody. I’m driving. I

came here not even know how to drive but I can drive now you know things like that. So

the United States provided those opportunities not offered home.

Even those participants who said that they had better lifestyles compared to the majority of

Zimbabwean women felt they could no longer live in Zimbabwe. Those participants explained that they grew up in financially stable families but they still felt that there were better

95 opportunities in the Diaspora. For example, Tarisai and her husband both migrated to the United

States in 2010. They are educated and both had teaching jobs in Zimbabwe. In sharing her story she said;

According to African standards we had a good life style. In Africa if you have a car it

doesn’t matter what style it is. Your life is good. We had a three bed room house and a

cottage where we lived, so we had a very comfortable life compared to African standards.

Although Tarisai and her husband were fortunate enough to have jobs, their salaries could not provide all they needed, that is why they decided to migrate. She further stated, “We however had bigger dreams. Not necessarily the lifestyle we saw on television but something better. You know that there is something better out there. We can now afford things we couldn’t afford back home in Africa.” With their educational backgrounds, Tarisai and her husband presumed the

United States would offer better opportunities to improve their lifestyle.

1a) Economic opportunities

From the above excerpts, it is clear that the dream to improve their economic prospects was the driving force behind Zimbabwean women’s migration to the United States. Participants explained that the economic situation in Zimbabwe deteriorated to the extent that even those individuals that once lived luxury lifestyles by operating businesses or enjoying high paying jobs were affected. With many companies closing, unemployment rates soared and the very educated ones could not get jobs. It became a challenge to find even low paying jobs like temporary teaching, janitorial or secretarial positions among others. The women argued that with so much corruption, you have to know somebody that worked at that company before submitting an application, a situation they have never experienced here in the United States. Chido stated,

“Lack of stability of our country you know, that you can’t find a job, especially the economy, you

96 know, the corruption that you can’t succeed even with education.” Participants said that there is a variety of employment opportunities in the United States-- not high paying jobs but at least jobs where they can earn an income.

Figure 5. Assisted Living nursing home jobs

Participants described that even though they are not happy with their salaries, several companies and employment agents provide easy employment with no stringent educational background required. The health sector in the form of Assisted Living in nursing homes as shown in Figure 5, a photo taken by Marwei is one of the easiest available jobs immigrants get before they fully settle in the new environment. Marwei stated that finding a job in a home care facility was not strenuous, “As long as you have the GED and you are able to qualify for that job, they take you because it’s general labor. They don’t care in the health as long as you qualify.” With a Diploma in Teaching, Marwei was a school teacher in Zimbabwe. Upon migrating to the United States, she applied for a teaching position in elementary schools to 97 continue with her teaching career but could not find a job. She said the reason she could not get employed as a school teacher is because of the curriculum differences between Zimbabwe and the United States. Another Zimbabwean friend advised Marwei to apply in Assisted Living nursing homes. Within a week of putting the application, she was called to an interview which involved asking her if she had completed her GED. She was then registered to do the 30 day training for State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA). Since then, Marwei have been working in a

Nursing home care for the past fifteen years.

Participants indicated that whilst the STNA certificate cannot land them in big hospital jobs, Assisted Living homes employ them more. However, with time and after establishing stability, those certificates help women further their studies to become Registered Nurses and increase their chances to work in larger hospitals. One participant stated that it took her several years to accomplish her dream of becoming a Registered Nurse (RN). Now that she holds a

Registered Nursing Diploma, she is looking forward to upgrade herself from working in a nursing home to a hospital job.

The stable economy of the United States in comparison to Zimbabwe also enables immigrants to improve economically through the formation of small businesses. One participant provided a good example of how a country’s steady economy can transform individuals not necessarily by getting a high-paying job but through exploring their interests. Tsitsi worked in a nursing home for a long time before she decided to pursue her fashion career. She said that at first, she was not aware how this country’s economy could help her explore her fashion talent and earn a better living through designing clothes.

Figure 6. Tsitsi’s fashion designs

Tsitsi took this photograph to show some of her fashion designs. She took this photo during one of the fashion shows she attended in Rhode Island. In sharing her story of success,

Tsitsi explained how living in the United States helped improve her economic well-being as a small business woman operating a small fashion industry. She said;

Fashion designing is accepted here. People understand it different from the way people

understand back home. Back home it’s probably for like if you tell somebody that I am a

fashion designer they wouldn’t take it as if you are a fashion designer. They think you are

a tailor you know somebody who can just go for three months training and learn how to

sew and go. Normally it’s for people who don’t finish high school and don’t even have a

talent in designing they just want to know how to sew. And you come here and you tell

somebody that you are a fashion designer they understand that because they have schools

where people go for fashion designing for five years. You know it’s a recognized

profession. I feel the difference on how it is taken back home and how it is taken here.

This lack of economic resources and social support made it difficult for Tsitsi to fulfill her dreams. Tsitsi studied Fashion and Design in Zimbabwe and graduated with a diploma but that qualification had not been economically contributing to her well-being until she migrated to the

United States. Tsitsi said that she is now enjoying her profession and as such, has decided not to work long hours in the nursing home industry anymore.

1b) Educational opportunities

Figure 7. Graduation Cap

The women explained that educational opportunity is another reason they migrated to the

United States. Their dream is to graduate as represented by a photo taken by Nyemwererai of a graduating cap in Figure 7. Nyemwererai had always imagined herself graduating from college.

She explained that the graduation cap is a representation of endless educational possibilities.

100

“You know, education is considered the gateway to success. In Zimbabwe you need to be well educated in order to get a job,” explained Nyemwererai.

Eight participants indicated that they earned their bachelor’s degrees back home but the limited number of universities and stern competition with men makes it hard for women to progress their education to Graduate school. According to Nyemwererai, “there were two universities, University of Zimbabwe and National University of Science and Technology and it was very competitive. It was really very hard to get in. I was a good student, I didn’t blow my advanced level but it was not enough to get to do what I wanted to.” Nyemwererai stated that, the University of Zimbabwe which is the only university offering Masters degrees and PhD programs does not offer scholarships and requires students to be responsible for their full tuition.

This absence of financial sponsorship limits the number of women enrolling for graduate school especially if they do not have good salaries to sustain both their education and families. On the other hand, participants explained that some colleges and universities in the United States offer scholarships to prospective international students, paving a way for them to pursue their studies.

Moreover, some women who initially did not migrate purely for educational opportunities are now filled with the desire to continue their education after identifying the available opportunities in the United States. For example, Sharai stated, “I just started school doing Licensed Practitioner Nursing certificate (LPN). I see education as important and have the potential to improve my salary.” Sharai further explained that in Zimbabwe, it is very hard and competitive to get enrolled in universities and colleges including nursing school where there is only one institution offering the nursing program. Furthermore, to be enrolled in college, prospective students are required to have passed with five or more of their Ordinary Levels subjects including Math and English. Therefore, here in the United States, participants

101 discovered that there are many institutions offering nursing programs with flexible qualifying exams.

Comparing their educational levels now, participants said that they could have been stay at home moms taking care of children and exclusively depending on the husband’s salaries. For example, Farirai argues that, on the positive side, women have more access to education here as long you can afford to pay fees. Furthermore, husbands and parents do not refuse their daughters the opportunity to go to school like back home. In sharing her own experience, she said;

I am continuing with my studies in Bachelor of Science Nursing. You know they always

tell you that you need to have experience first when applying to big hospitals as a

registered nurse. So with the experience I already have working in nursing homes I hope

with an increased education it will not take me long to get a well paying nursing job in

the hospital.

Farirai further explained that the Diaspora is changing the perceptions of the girl child in

Zimbabwe. Parents whose daughters are in the Diaspora are realizing that they are benefitting more from the girl child. She said, “You know when women come to the Diaspora we do not forget our parents no matter how much we are struggling so parents are now supporting the girl child so she can go to Diaspora and help them.”

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1c) Health Opportunities

Figure 8. Medical equipment

Whilst participants did not directly mention health opportunities as the reason for migration, greater access to health care resources not adequately available in Zimbabwe helped them make the decision to settle permanently in the United States. Chido took this photo of hospital equipment in Figure 8, to explain how fortunate she is to have enough access to medical supplies for her terminal illness. She further explained that, she is very positive that with her present health condition, she would have died by now if she had remained in Zimbabwe (Chido’s health condition is not revealed for confidentiality purposes). In support of Chido’s argument, participants also explained that sometimes they help their sick relatives to travel to other countries within Africa for major operations. One of the participants was even considering sending for her mother who has been struggling with heart problems for a long time. The healthcare system in Zimbabwe does not have enough resources for patients with heart problem who are required to travel to South Africa and even the United States for major heart surgeries.

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1d) Freedom

Freedom as an opportunity for migrating to the United States is divided into the following sub- themes, i) political; ii) economic; and iii) oppressive cultural traditions. The women perceived the United States as the land of freedom where individuals have the free will to express their views, exercise their rights and do as they please. In support of this notion, Farirai stated, “Women have freedom here because they make their own money and make decisions on how to use it. I do what I want.” Therefore, participants explained that this freedom to do what they want is another reason for them to choose the United States as their destination as they run away from the cultural, economic and political problems currently facing Zimbabwe. i. Political freedom

Figure 9. The right to exercise a voice in politics

This photo was taken by Marwei to explain the freedom women have to participate in politics. Marwei indicated that she sees several of these signs plugged on people’s yards to

104 represent their political choices. She is considering putting one of these signs on her front porch to indicate her newly found freedom to participate in politics. Participants agreed with Marwei that they are now free to join political parties of their choice without abuse perpetrated by political leaders, a predicament women encountered in Zimbabwe. Participants reiterated that they can comment about the United States government without any fear of being reprimanded.

In addition, women like Marwei who applied for United States citizenship can vote Participants explained that they can choose for themselves political organizations and candidates to support.

They do not have to vote for the husband’s favorite candidate like they do in Zimbabwe. ii. Economic freedom

Participants also added that they have economic freedom because they find jobs and work and their spouses understand that they both need to work in order to balance their financial needs. Working outside the home makes women feel that they have the freedom to contribute economically in the household. Farirai said, “A woman can have a paycheck of her own which makes a difference in every woman’s life. Knowing that we have money in our pockets is good.

In Zimbabwe, women hang on to abusive marriages because they don’t work.” To support

Farirai’s argument, Tsitsi reiterated that in Zimbabwe; some men would not allow their wives to work as they would want them to go to the villages to live with their mothers in-laws helping out in the fields. “A wife would be beaten if she refuses to go to the husband’s rural areas,” she explained. Some husbands once the first child is born would stop their wives from working and make them concentrate on having more babies. The women explained that a man’s status among the Shona or Ndebele people of Zimbabwe is measured by the number of children he has. In the

United States working outside the home helps women decide the number of children they want to have.

105

iii. Freedom from oppressive cultural values

One thing that stood out during the photovoice discussions is that participants are grateful to be free from the stringent cultural values that stereotyped them in Zimbabwe. As pointed out by Tarisai;

There is a little bit of freedom from our rigid culture because back home you worry about

what you wear. You say, what people would think. But when you come here you will have

freedom from people. Back home we live for the society where you are worried about

what your husband’s relatives will say about you.

Tarisai further explained that everything they do is expected to be culturally appropriate including dressing,

I cannot wear such a boxer short like the one I am wearing right now. Back home, there

are clothes you knew you would never wear them but here wear what you feel

comfortable with. If it’s hot you wear light clothes and it does not matter who you meet or

what someone would say.

Participants stated that in Zimbabwe, women are oppressed because of their gender.

Wives do what the husbands tell them; there is so much expected from a woman whether married, young or single. Not delivering those expectations would result in consequences. As a result, participants reiterated that there is prevalent domestic violence among couples in

Zimbabwe. Relatives are not allowed to intervene in marriage matters. Even the law does not consider domestic violence a serious issue because it is expected that the husband should discipline his wife if she becomes rebellious. Participants indicated that they constantly observed incidents of domestic violence in Zimbabwe involving family members or neighbors. However,

106 the women reported that they understand that the law in the United States protects women against domestic violence. If a husband becomes violent, it is just a matter of calling the police for him to get arrested. More so, their husbands are afraid of breaking the law as this may impact negatively on their immigration status. Husbands try as much as possible to keep their criminal records clean. As a result, participants agreed that as long as they continue to live in the United

States, they are less likely to be exposed to domestic violence.

Figure 10. Wedding flower decoration

Nyaradzo took this photograph of a wedding decoration to explain the significance of the marriage system in Zimbabwe. She said, “Living here in the United States, I am not worried to live as a single mother.” Nyaradzo is a single mother raising twin boys that are five years old.

She filed for a divorce three years ago but never regretted leaving her abusive husband. Her situation could have been different if she was back in Zimbabwe. She and other participants

107 explained that in Zimbabwe, every woman is expected to be properly married when she reaches the right age for marriage. Having children outside marriage or being divorced may negatively affect a woman’s life. The majority of single mothers in Zimbabwe struggle to make ends meet because the society castigates them. As a result, adults try to caution girls from engaging in premarital sex. Before marriage there are behaviors girls should abide by and it is the duty of the elders to monitor young girls. For example, participants stated that there are idioms associated with not having sex before marriage (umhandara idambakamwe/ you can only be virgin once in your lifetime, so preserve it) and upon marriage the prospective husband expects the girl to be a virgin in order to pay full bride price. Virginity testing is very common and if a girl is not a virgin upon marriage, the prospective husband pays less bride price and this is a disgrace to the girl’s family. In Zimbabwe there is a stereotype associated with being impregnated and not able to live with the father of the children. Therefore, girls that get impregnated are castigated by the society and parents do not like their sons to marry a woman that had a child with another man.

Participants commented that such qualities are not observed here in the United States where a boy and girl can elope/ or start living together before they even consider marriage. Participants are grateful that having a child out of wedlock is not an embarrassment in the United States.

Nyaradzo shared;

One thing I know for sure is I feel like me being a single mom I’m very certain if I was in

Zimbabwe I would be a lot more judged than I do here were I do my own things. I can

say to my mom that some of my aunts saying what is she doing with the kids by herself so

I tell them like my kids are fine and they are the happiest kids. So I’m so happy about that

if it was in Zimbabwe that would have been hard for me.

108

Participants observed that men here are not worried that the woman they are marrying had a child with another man. “People are very accepting of situations like single mothers. Guys even take the responsibility to care for their wives other children” Nyaradzo further explained.

Participants also stated that single mothers do not always rely on their estranged husband’s to provide for the children as they can apply for government assistance. The government offers food stamps to poor families to buy food and public schools are also free so it is easy here to raise your children without help from the man who impregnated you. More so, jobs are available even though they pay less. Those who are well educated and working better jobs like Nyaradzo do not even need to apply for government assistance. Nyaradzo is one of the few women in the group that has good job with a higher salary. She bought a house to live in with her two children, her mother and two siblings who joined them from Zimbabwe.

Also staying away from their in-laws is a relief to married Zimbabwean women. Tarisai shared that there is always a strained relationship between the mother in-law and daughter in-law among the Shona/Ndebele people of Zimbabwe. Some mother in-laws tend to be controlling, expecting the daughter in-law to abide by her rules (vakadzi vaviri havabike choto chimwe/ two women cannot share the same stove). Tarisai stipulated that, “We are far from our in-laws and we are not living in a society where people judge each other. Where they say, ‘oh do you see what she is wearing, and do you see how much make-up she put on her face’ you know.” To support Tarisai’s argument, other participants commented that sometimes mother in-laws would demand the daughter in-law to leave her husband in town and come to live with her in the rural areas helping with field work. According to one participant, “mother in-laws over work their daughters, thanking their sons for bringing in extra help in the house.” As a result, married

109 women feel that their in-laws’ selfish demands take away a chunk of precious time they should be spending with their husbands. Tarisai stated;

Back home, we had the lifestyle where your husband on weekends go out whilst the wife

stays at home. Even if she works she still has to spend more time with the kids. Back

home you can only go out when you are visiting the husband’s relatives mostly on

weekends. But here we do girls night out at the club if you want. We can go to clubs, we

go to baby showers and we are not afraid if we finish at midnight because our husbands

won’t complain. There is freedom to do what you want.

All the women agreed that the most important aspect that really changed for them is how men spend a lot of time with their spouses and children. Men help with food preparation as indicated by a picture of a cooking pot taken by Paidamoyo in Figure 11.

Figure 11. Husbands helping with cooking in the home

Paidamoyo took this photo to explain the dramatic change in household expectations among

Zimbabweans in the United States. She and other participants reiterated that in Zimbabwe, it is a

110 taboo for men to help with food preparation which is regarded as a woman’s responsibility.

Instead, men are expected to hang out with other men in bars and clubs. The kitchen is considered the woman’s place; men feel uncomfortable spending more time there. Participants explained that this contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe where men spend much of their time befriending prostitutes in bars rather than spending time with their families. Here in the United States, participants claimed that the migration challenges they encounter force men to understand that they have to contribute in the household not just by providing money for food and clothes but also helping with nurturing children and household chores. Paidamoyo stated;

So here women do not do all the work. As a result it is helping our men to know how to

cook. Now they are good cooks our boys who are here in America .They know how to

take care of the children and they entertain children, they go and play with the children.

But back home they would prefer going to bars with their friends and this was very

irritating. Spending more time with their friends, now they are spending more time with

their families, they play with their children and they bond so well. We appreciate that me

being an elder I am happy to see men helping with cooking. When they start moving here

it was hard for them to start cooking, a pill to swallow to have them help, and a pill to

swallow to help with laundry and bath the kids.

More so, participants argued some families work different shifts to balance out between work and family. For example, the husband works during the day whilst the wife takes care of children, and then the wife works at night whilst the husband takes care of children. It is this balance of responsibilities that some participants like Tsitsi are grateful about. As a Christian,

Tsitsi explained that she read it in the Bible that even though the man is considered head of the household, he is required to support the wife who is considered as the neck, so the two balance

111 each other. “Because without the neck the head cannot exist and without the head the neck cannot exist” she explained. It is this balance of responsibilities that help husbands in the

Diaspora to bond more with their children as they learn to change diapers when the wife is at work, “Obviously, there is no way you gonna feed the baby without changing the diaper so they learn a lot. I feel like this is a learning process for the men because it changed them even with us.” Tsitsi also felt that spending more time helping with chores in the house also brings them closer as husband and wife. She stated;

Even with us husband and wife I feel like it even made us grow closer to each other

because back home its I’m going out with my friends um, probably we stay with more

family , so there is never this us time, but here is like from work and you come here

together. So it’s like what do we do with our time, you know everything we are doing

together.

2. Shocked /unfulfilled dreams

Unfulfilled dreams were an overarching theme that participants identified with their overall immigration experiences. Participants explained how they always dreamt of a sweet life in America before they migrated. According to one participant, the question they constantly ask themselves is, “where is the sweet life I dreamt of?” This participant further explained that she spends countless times debating with other immigrants at her work place what it means to be

American and what the American dream means to them. Every individual in those debates would generally explain that they associate their immigration dreams with better lifestyle opportunities without any struggles. But is that true for all? It came out of the group discussions that the majority of the women had good dreams but has been shocked by the lifestyle they initially had upon arrival to the United States. As one participant stated, “One thing no one tells you when

112 you are coming to America is how much you are going to work. Not to thrive, but just to survive a mostly meager existence, let alone the grand ambitions most immigrants come with.”

Figure 12. Expensive car

Sharai took this photo of a big expensive vehicle in Figure 12, to explain how she realized that life is not at all what she had imagined. The photo indicates the type of car she thought she would be driving which is a complete opposite of the battered car she currently drives. She explained that driving a battered car is not what she had expected in America, the land of honey and plenty of opportunities. During her pre-departure preparations, like other participants, Sharai said that she was moved by the beautiful images she saw on televisions and read in magazines. She used to admire the beautiful houses and cars she saw on soap opera television shows. All these beautiful images intensified the dream to improve her life. She thought that once she arrived in the United States she would start driving a nice big car, live in a big house and resemble African American celebrities she used to see on television. “It seemed

113 like everyone had money. The Black Americans we saw on television were very rich. To be honest, I was really shocked because the America I had in my mind was the one I saw on television” said Sharai. She and other participants realized that whatever they saw on television was unreachable to immigrants and even to ordinary African Americans. It was only the life on television not the reality in the neighborhoods in which they were living. Sharai said;

They never show us the ghetto where my husband was living. I found out that the

furniture he had in the house was picked off the street. You know how students throw

away furniture when they leave, so that was the furniture my husband picked up and put

in his two bedroom apartment. I tell people back home that when they decide to come

here they should understand that people in America have to work hard.

The women discussed that as soon as they arrived, there were a lot of obstacles they were not aware of before they left Zimbabwe. For example, one participant explained that unless if you come here with a worker’s immigrant visa sponsored by a company, it takes a lot of time and paperwork to get employment. First you have to be an immigrant approved to work. The first thing you will have to do is to apply for a work permit which takes at least ninety days to be approved. There is a lot of paperwork to be filed and cannot be processed overnight. She further stated that for those women who migrate as students, even with a full scholarship, their lives do not change overnight. It takes a considerable amount of time to finish school and then look for employment. Things may be just a little bit better for those that already had relatives and friends here who would help until they could stand on their own feet.

To indicate some of the challenges women encounter, Nyemwererai shared her story about the struggles she encountered during her initial years in the United States. Nyemwererai came from a middle class family in Zimbabwe. She did a step wise migration process where she

114 first migrated to London with the intention to pursue her educational goals. Even though her family led a better lifestyle she imagined that her life would improve even more in the Diaspora.

“I actually had a good life and I thought I was really going to make it much better.” In London she never had any problems as her uncle who was already living there was helping out. She also stayed at a college campus so life for her was easy. However, when she decided to migrate to the

United States, there was no one to meet her and she had to rely on the little financial resources she had brought with her from London. Without financial assistance from relatives, life became tough for her so that she missed the life she left home. Nyemwererai said, “I cried a lot you know because I thought this was the biggest mistake I made for my life. With school it was not easy you know.” Eventually things got better for Nyemwererai but after several years of struggling. She is now married to a Zimbabwean man and is living in a nice house. She is also studying for a PhD in neuroscience. However, Nyemwererai concluded by saying;

The dreams we dreamt of in Zimbabwe take a lot of struggle to be achieved. They do not

come over night or as soon as you land at the airport. They are accompanied with a lot of

tears, frustrations and some people can never achieve them and the only reason they

cannot give up and go back home is because life is currently not positive in Zimbabwe.

Some of the participants also explained that they faced similar situations upon their arrival to the

United States. They all shared the same sentiment that going back to Zimbabwe is not the best solution. They cannot compare the challenges they are facing here to those they would face if they were to return to Zimbabwe.

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Figure 13. Squalid living conditions

Farirai took this photo of a residence to explain how she too was shocked to find her husband living in a small apartment that was not enough to accommodate a family of four people. Farirai had always dreamt that she was going to live in a much bigger house than the one she had in Zimbabwe. She explained that her husband used to send her money which she would change to Zimbabwean dollar currency which was a lot of money back then. Even though her husband was honest enough to share with her the financial struggles he was facing, Farirai did not fully believe him because she thought her husband was already doing well considering that he started sending money as soon as he landed in the United States. She stated;

When I joined my husband, my life changed to the worst during the first years he was in

school and I was not working. I do not want to brag I can tell you that during those days,

I missed the lifestyle I left in Zimbabwe. I know things were really tight for everyone and

the economy was very bad but I had a seven roomed house and a maid which I could not

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afford here in the United States. I was shocked to realize that my husband was staying in

a crammed two bed roomed apartment in the worst neighborhood. Of course he had told

me about his living conditions but I did not expect it to be worse than I had imagined.

Luck enough our two girls could share a bedroom but you could see that they missed

running around the yard playing ball like they used to do at our house back in Zimbabwe.

Like the majority of participants Farirai could not believe how much debt her husband was already in by the time she joined him. Her husband was relying on pay day loans from loan sharks such as Check Smart to make ends meet, as indicated by the photo of a consumer loan business she took in Figure 13 below.

Figure 14. Consumer loans

Farirai explained that it took them several years to pay off some of the credit cards he had accumulated. To support Farirai’s argument, Nyaradzo noted that, “most immigrants are reeling in debt within two years of coming here, and in five years, their credit is damaged beyond repair.

It takes about 10 years to get back into the good graces of the American system.”

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3. Stress

Several circumstances contributing to stress came out during the discussions. Among these include: a) balancing time; b) childcare problems; c) isolation; and d) the process of acculturation.

Figure 15. Feeling empty

This photo of an old chair was taken by Miriro to explain how she is sometimes stressed to the extent of feeling hopeless. She explained that when she is much stressed, she feels empty like an old chair that everyone avoids to sit on. During the discussions, she and other participants described stress as suffering from headaches all the time as they think and worry about the numerous problems that pile up every day in their lives. The majority of participants revealed that they were stressed at one point in their lives upon arriving in the United States even though they did not end up in the hospital. This stress does not completely go away but keeps coming

118 back whenever life gets tough. The option to go back home is always out of the question because even though some of these women said that they enjoyed a few luxuries back home, they could not go back because of the country’s changed economy which makes it harder to recreate the lifestyle they had enjoyed before. For example, in sharing her experiences Nyemwererai stated;

Now obviously my life is good. But when I got here, it was not like the life that my parents

had given me. I feel that had things not changed back in Zimbabwe it would have been

ideal to go back because the lifestyle is not really stressful like here. Because you are

always like, ‘oh my God, I have to do this and that, I have to pick up my kids.

Figure 16. The clock is always ticking.

3a) Balancing time

Time was an overarching sub-theme that resonated with all participants. Mazvita took this photo of a clock in Figure 16, to explain how she is always stressed because of the amount of

119 time she spends working. She and nine other participants explained that they are employed in the health sector where they at most work 12 hour shifts a day. Therefore, they linked stress with working long hours without enough time to rest between shifts. “I never expected to work like crazy” complained Mazvita. The need to make more money forces participants to compete with time. Participants claimed that time rules in the capitalist nature of the American society.

Everything is about time and money. Therefore time becomes a valuable commodity that should not be wasted and participants understand that they have to manage time well to make good use of it. One of the participants said;

I am a mother of two kids, a 7 year old son and a 5 months old daughter. I am also a wife

and a career lady. The challenge I am facing to continue my education is time, going to

work in 9 to 10 hour shift for five days a week and taking care of my family is time

consuming. I have a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and I have been trying to go for

my Masters which I hope to achieve this year.

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Figure 17. Remittances

Davidzo took this photo of money to explain the importance of supporting family back in

Zimbabwe through remittances. Davidzo and all participants explained that they make use of every minute to earn extra money in order to support their families back home through remittances in the form of money. Tarisai stated, “Some of us have responsibilities back home compared to people here who don’t take care of their parents and their siblings. Each man is for himself. Some of us we come from Africa where the whole family depends upon you.”

Participants stated that helping families back home is a tough responsibility and they cannot ask for money from their husbands to help their families. They shared that the Shona and Ndebele culture requires that once a woman is married she is expected to focus on her husband’s family and forget hers. Only the male child is expected to care for his parents and siblings even after he marries. However, the women indicated that they still find ways to help their families surreptitiously so that the husband does not become aware of it which may result in domestic

121 violence. One of the participants explained that as the first born child in her family she has to help her siblings and parents back home. Her husband does not send money to her family so she has to work extra hours to make enough money for her family here and back in Zimbabwe. As a result, the women work more hours to maintain their families in both places of settlement.

3b) Childcare predicament

Figure 18. Children’s Playgrounds

Kundai took this photo of children’s playgrounds to explain how raising families and maintaining her career also contribute to stress. Kundai is a mother of three children. Two of the children are in school, kindergarten and grade two, and the youngest is six months old. She explained that adults can take care of themselves but the situation is different for children.

Kundai echoed;

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Right now I shop around for daycares and they are very expensive I cannot afford them

in school. I can work as many hours as I would want, but I need to take care of my grown

up children so it is a challenge. We just, I don’t even know how I am gonna do it.

She further explained that she is afraid of strict laws in the United States that protect children from abuse. She and other women expressed that any suspicions of child abuse including leaving children under the age of 12 years without a caregiver may result in parents losing their children to child protection agencies. Participants stated that they even accompany their children to playgrounds to watch them playing with other kids. Nyemwererai explained that she always compares the way she was raised where she could go play outside with other kids; where everybody knew each other and when it was time for dinner her mom would look for her. She said;

But here it’s different because I have to watch my kids every moment. If my kids want to

go outside I have to go out with them. I have to stop whatever I am doing so I can go

outside to hang out with my kids. They can’t play by themselves.

Since childcare problems are new experiences to them, participants explained that childcare even affects all decisions they make for their lives. These include reducing the number of children they can have whilst living here in the Diaspora. Before the women make any decisions, the first question they need to think about is who is going to help them with child care when they enroll in college? Participants argued that they appreciate the advantages of giving birth in the United States because of the availability of healthcare resources not accessible in

Zimbabwe. However, in spite of these maternal luxuries offered by pre-natal care hospitals, problems are encountered when the women are discharged from the hospital. They argued that the charge for childcare is very expensive and cannot afford to send their children to day care

123 centers. Because immigrants cannot afford to lose the earnings of one spouse, participants said that they cannot be full-time housewives but have to schedule for work shifts that enable them to swap child caring roles with their spouses. Even though her son is now in college, Chido shared her childcare experiences:

When my son was young, I used to work 3 to 11pm but when I was alone and even with

my husband then, one of us worked 7am to 3pm and 3 to 11pm so one has to have the

child at home. So it is a challenge because these things are expensive. Also I realize that

even if you go to work extra hours the entire money end up going to daycare. So I had to

change my shift so I can be working when my son is in school, that way I can be home

when he is there. Even if I wanted to get extra money you have to pay someone so you

could be at work.

Participants explained that in Zimbabwe, once a woman is married family members expect her to become pregnant as soon as possible and this is not a dilemma as there are relatives to provide childcare. During the first three to four weeks after giving birth, the woman’s mother, aunts and mother in-law pampers her including helping with household responsibilities. When it is time for her to go back to work or school, she is given one of her younger sisters or sisters’ in- laws to help out with childcare. “If you have kids back home, I know you would have a maid, moms, sisters nearby, you know cousins, the whole family circle or friends that live next door” said one participant. In extreme cases where a nanny is not affordable and there are no young siblings to help out, it is very common to send their children to live with their grandparents. The reality is, there is always a relative to help out and having two or three children is not a barrier for a woman to work outside the home or attend school unless if it is a decision forced upon her by the husband.

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Asked how they are copying with this dilemma since childcare is not affordable here in the United States, some women argued that they send for their relatives from Zimbabwe to come and help for at most six months. Mothers and mother in-laws are among the relatives that are asked to come and provide childcare. Elderly female relatives are preferred for child caring. One of the participants stated that it is easy for elderly women to be granted temporary visas to visit because they usually go back home to their husbands. Young people do not return once they set foot in the United States. More so, elderly women are reliable because when they come here, they only concentrate on caring for their new grandchildren whereas younger relatives would take it as an opportunity to start a new life. Young relatives would begin to look for jobs, education and changing their immigration status to permanent residency. Once they succeed young relatives would start focusing on their own lives instead of providing childcare to the person that sponsored their migration. More so, mothers and mother in-laws are not tied down with things like employment or education. Most of them have already retired and are free to travel anytime and can afford to leave their homes for longer periods. This help provided by relatives is very much appreciated by single mothers who cannot get help from their ex-spouses.

One participant said, “Had it not been for my mother I would have been forced to stay in a dysfunctional relationship with my children’s father.”

Whilst sending for a relative is a viable solution, it came out that the majority of women could not rely on this solution due to factors such as strict immigration laws and economic status.

Participants complained that buying tickets and paying for temporary visas is expensive.

Moreover, if the individual’s application for a green card or asylum is still pending, it is difficult to invite a relative from Zimbabwe to visit. As a result, participants sometimes rely on each other for childcare. They prefer to live in the same neighborhoods where they can trade their schedules

125 so that the person that is free during the day can babysit for others including picking up children from kindergarten and school.

In extreme cases, some women explained that they are left with no choice but to quit their jobs and postpone their educational enrollment to take care of their children until they start kindergarten and affordable public schools. Nyemwererai explained that at one point she was forced to quit her job and postponed her education to care for her children. She said;

As for childcare, I was luck for both my kids because the first one my mom came and

stayed with us for six months. And after she left, I actually quit my job and stayed home

so that was not a big deal. By the time she went to day care she was old enough. Then the

second baby my mother in-law came and stayed with us for six months as well. My

husband works from home actually so we just juggle you know. I also work two days a

week, I do most of my classes on line. So the two days that I go to work my husband is

working from home. But you know it’s always something you stress about when you have

kids at home because come summer what do you do. I also do not have anybody that

could come here and stay two years. Sometimes when I get home I can’t do anything

because the baby is so need and my husband also falls behind on his work. We still need

to pay bills.

An elderly lady among the participants explained that she came to the United States after her daughter gave birth. Her daughter had a job but the salary was not sufficient to send the baby for child care. This participant left her husband in Zimbabwe. She also quit her elementary teacher job because she realized that her daughter in the United States needed her help more than she needed to keep her teaching job. For fourteen years, she has been babysitting her grandson.

She also helps other Zimbabwean women even though she does not charge them. She is

126 considering opening a childcare center using her elementary teaching certificate as evidence for her teaching skills.

3c) Acculturative stress

Participants also explained that their stress is contributed by culture shock. Participants emphasized that they are stressed because of the clash of cultural expectations. They found a completely different culture than the one they had been exposed to in Zimbabwe. For example, one participant said;

Like back home you know we are family oriented but here their families are like muddled.

You know like a mother would live alone and a child would say my mother stole my $5,so

she was beaten up or daughter in-law was beaten up by mother in-law because she stole

$5.or mother should pay rent because she is living with me in my apartment. I have never

heard that in my life.

The family disorder where parents and children fail to treat each other with respect is the complete opposite of participants’ cultural expectations. The women explained that each time they are exposed to such a situation, they do not know how to react.

Participants indicated that, upon migrating to the United States, they would be able to identify themselves with African Americans since they share the same skin color. Therefore, upon migrating, participants stated that they tried to integrate into the American community.

Nevertheless, participants quickly realized that they cannot fit in culturally because they have different cultural values that are conflicting. One participant said;

I have got a few friends you know, I have trouble with making friends with African

Americans because I don’t understand them, who they are. With African Americans we

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only share skin color but that’s where it stops. The way they are, their value systems. This

is where I realized that I relate better with White people than African Americans.

Whilst adult women can navigate through certain cultural obstacles, much stress is created by how they can raise their children the way they were raised themselves. Participants said that they want their children to embrace their Zimbabwean culture which is not provided by the society they are born and grow up in. This has resulted in a cultural clash between parents and children. Parents struggle to keep what is really valued to them and to their cultural community, while at the same time trying to facilitate their children's integration into the

American society. As a result, participants argued that they live in two different countries where one foot is in their country of origin, and one foot in the United States. “We are really stuck between two worlds that we are trying to make sense of for our kids. But the bigger thing that came out of this is that do not deny your kids to know your African heritage” claimed one participant. Their children are young and they acculturate quickly into the American society as they spend much of their time in school with other American children. They end up understanding the American culture much better than their parents which sometimes makes their parents feel insufficient, which in the end, results in conflict between parents and children.

Parents are the ones that are mostly stressed because they feel that it is their responsibility to raise their children in a culture they accept as true. Nyemwererai said;

As immigrant women, we are especially challenged by raising our children. So I have

twin boys aged 5. They speak English. They understand Shona, they know that mummy is

angry when the Shona words start coming. So why is it that they only recognize our

language when the bad things come out? You know in my house we really struggle

because we use English all the time. So it just came to me that we need to teach our

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children Shona. They may not really understand everything but at least they need to

recognize the language. Also thinking about what type of culture do you want them to

grow up knowing and embracing and that reiterates my second point of embracing your

heritage. Do we want them to embrace only the American culture?

Nyemwererai is not alone in her struggle to raise her twin boys the way she was raised herself.

Some participants shared her experience and explained that their grown up children do not want to be called with their Shona names anymore just because they think it is embarrassing. “They do not want us to speak with them because they think their moms speak funny. They do not want the food we prepare when their friends visit.” Some participants have given up teaching their children to embrace their native culture claiming that it is not an easy task and are now afraid of what they children would think about them, “We fear to sit down with our children to teach them all about their culture, our unique history and heritage.”

Other cultural adjustment problems pointed out by participants include the conflicting marriage systems. Having children before marriage is not culturally acceptable among the

Zimbabwean cultures. Therefore, when faced with such a situation, the women explained how they find it difficult to convince their adult children to refrain from having premarital sex/eloping without upsetting them or denying their rights. They also find it difficult to allow their children to move out of their parents’ house after graduating from college. They view this as forcing children to become adults at a tender age. Marwei complained;

You know this is wrong in your culture but not in the American culture where your child

is growing up in. In terms of culture there is a lot of differences, especially kids talking

back to parents, people moving in together when they are not married, that is like a taboo

back home in our culture. A person can stay at home as long as she wants to.

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3d) Alienation/isolation/loneliness

Participants stated that they are stressed because they feel isolated from everything. First, participants complained that they are stressed because they feel that no matter how much they try to assimilate, they are still estranged by the American society. Participants protested that it is stressful to live as an outsider. They can drive nice cars, live in beautiful houses but they still cannot fit into the new society. Some Americans do not trust them. For example, Sharai explained that even at her workplace, patients try to distance themselves from African nurses,

“When I started working in the nursing homes, I discovered that old people at first do not want to be attended by Africans in nursing homes. It takes time for them to start trusting them.”

Another participant explained that she had lived in the United States for fourteen years and yet she still does not feel fully integrated into the American society. She said that no matter how much she tries, “the endless assumptions from random people that she is illegal, stupid or weird because she pronounces words differently does not let her forget that to some Americans, she is not a first class citizenship.”

Second, participants feel isolated because they lack socialization among themselves as

Zimbabweans. Participants stated that as immigrants, circumstances force them to work long hours and some participants do not have benefits such as paid vacations or personal holidays.

Even in the household, sometimes it is hard for some families to spend more time together because of different working schedules. Who do you share your problems with? For those without families, they live a lonely life. They even say it is hard to find men to date because they do not meet regularly. Some unmarried women feel that they are getting older without dating anyone not because they do not want to but because they do not have time to meet with other single men. Tendai stated;

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For me personally, I just feel like we don’t have that opportunity to interact. People in

Zimbabwe, maybe it’s because I grew up in Zimbabwe with lots of friends and their

friendships, probably that the reason why I feel like my social life changed. And also

generally in America there isn’t that, people don’t socialize that much, we have a spirit of

individualism. You do your own things, I do my own things, and you do your own things.

So socially, it didn’t change for the better.

4. Discrimination

Participants complained that they suffer from discrimination because they are Black, they come from Africa and they speak the English language with a different accent and lastly they are women. Sharai said, “There is discrimination that you are Black and then discrimination that you are African because they do not think we know anything.”

Figure 19.White flowers

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4a) Race

Nyemwererai took this photo of a White flower to explain the racial experiences participants encounter. She said that the White flower is very clean, and represents the majority

White population which is considered intelligent. That White flower is very visible among flowers of other colors. Participants agreed that since their skin color is not visible like the White flower, they are the minority that is always oppressed. Participants explained that they were not affected by racial discrimination in Zimbabwe today since Black people are the majority.

Unfortunately, when they migrated to the United States, they become part of the minority Black population as they are automatically associated with African Americans regardless of the cultural differences between the two groups. Nyemwererai said;

You know, I think it’s kind of hard you know, because unfortunately especially in this

country, as much as we don’t like it we are automatically classified as African

Americans. African Americans have already set precedents where they are already

discriminated in any way. Other people discriminate because of race, others because of

their past experiences with African Americans. So when someone is applying for a job for

example, the interviewer is a White person, ‘they are like umm we are not even sure if

this person is going to be trustworthy or whatever’. The reason why people think like that

is because of their racism. People tend to hire people they really like. So it’s easier to

hire people based on skin.

To support, Nyemwererai’s argument, participants explained that they have to work three times to prove their competence because Americans think Black people from Africa are not intelligent.

One participant said;

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I remember in my math class I was the only brilliant student there and my professor

would send other students to me for help. That is when the other Americans students

started to respect me because they thought they were more intelligent than me. If it was

not that the professor referred them to me for assistance I would have graduated without

them appreciating me. At work we are paid less. They provide cheap labor. The boss for

a company I worked for was paying me less. So the new boss was very nice and she

increased my salary and the other employees including the supervisors were not happy

about it.

Tendai who is pursuing a Bachelors Degree also explained that when she took a summer job as a waitress at a small hotel, her supervisor was reluctant to let her serve customers. She was hired as a waitress but she found herself working in the backroom, cleaning dishes and scrubbing floors. “When they hired me they told me I was going to be a waitress, yet they were putting me in the kitchen.” A first, she thought her situation had to do with experience, which was more confusing because she thought she worked as hard just like the other two White girls that got hired at the same time with her. She also observed that the other three African American men that worked the same shift with her were also not allowed to wait on customers. It became clear to her that they were being discriminated against. “They put me behind and put the White employees upfront. It was the three of us Blacks and we were put behind. If it was just me maybe

I wouldn’t have realized that it was racial discrimination.”

Ratidzo also shared that she had lost many job opportunities because of racism. She explained that she had countless over the phone and face to face interviews that were never successful. “Once you hear the interviewer starting to ask questions about your accent and where you are originally from, 99 percent of the time you know you are not getting the job.”

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From the testimonials above it is clear that racial discrimination is most prevalent at the work place because this is a venue where participants interact with White people. Some participants explained that interacting on a daily basis with an individual that does not appreciate them is a torment. Unfortunately they have to endure the humiliation to keep their jobs.

Figure 20. Part-time jobs

One of the participants that took this photograph of a sign indicating the availability of a temporary job argued that she came to the United States already with a Bachelors Degree in

Information and Technology (IT) but could never find stable employment. With her education, this woman never thought she would have trouble finding employment. She has been living in the United States for almost three years and had put a lot of applications for IT jobs but has not received any responses yet. She concluded that the reason she is not getting a job in the IT industry is because of her race. The only jobs available to her have been temporary manual jobs.

She stated that these type of jobs abuse immigrants by paying them low wages without any long

134 term benefits. Employees are not paid based on their qualifications or performance. There are no benefits offered such as health care, retirement or bonuses packages. People usually look for these jobs when they are desperate and would move on when they get a better job. Participants said that sometimes they are not worried about the benefits associated with the jobs. All they are more concerned about is getting a pay slip to cover their bills. With the hardships encountered in finding jobs due to racial discrimination a larger number of women have put aside their qualifications and decided to stay at home.

4b) Nationality

Participants stated that Africans are believed to be dull and lack civility. As a result, their contributions are not worthy and are less appreciated by Americans. Tsitsi said, “The moment I say I’m from Africa reactions I get from people are different. They thought they need to explain further for me to understand because they thought that people from Africa probably they are illiterate or something.” She said as Africans they work extra hard to be appreciated. “You have to convince them that you can do it for Americans to start appreciating them.”

Participants also complained that no matter how much education they have, the fact that they got it from Africa means it is inferior to American education. Americans do not trust African education and some professions even require Africans to take extra courses to supplement those degrees earned back home. Also when, they apply to further their studies, they are required to take TOEFL and other entrance exams which are difficult for nearly all participants. According to Tarisai;

Sometimes even if you show people that you have a degree you brought with back home, I

have a degree in computer science, sometimes they don’t see its value because you did it

in Africa yet we have a better educational system back home. But our education is looked

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down upon you know. People tend to associate Africa with poorness and think they rely

on donations, so they don’t expect that you know better than some people here. So even at

work, if your qualifications were not obtained in America it does not matter. And it takes

time for them to give attention to your input and it makes you feel you are always behind

in everything somehow.

Nyemwererai also explained that she was shocked by the discrimination she faced based on her being African. Her good educational background did not spare her from discrimination.

In some ways like when I first came here and just graduated from college and I was a

blue collar job I used to see just a lot of discrimination purely based on me being African.

Not that I was not good enough. Black Americans are worst. I actually had more

confrontations with Black people than with White people.

Her experience indicated that even African Americans are not appreciative of the success that recent African immigrants bring with them from Africa.

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4c) Language/What is wrong with my accent?

Figure 21. English language

Paidamoyo took this photo of a title of a book about languages to explain that she feels discriminated against by Americans because of her language, particularly the way she pronounces American English. Paidamoyo does not regard herself as failing to speak English because she understands the language pretty well. However, her challenge together with other participants is that they speak English with an African accent which Americans find difficult to understand. Participants argued that because they cannot enunciate the American English accent, they are considered dull and Americans feel that it is their responsibility to explain everything to them even simple things like the difference between shampoo and conditioner. Paidamoyo started her first job in a nursing home; her task included cleaning the elderly. Her supervisor did not comprehend that she speaks and understands the English language and took it upon herself to

137 explain everything to her including how to use shampoo on patients’ hair. What amount of shampoo to put and that she had to shampoo the hair first before she can apply conditioner.

“The way we pronounce words they think we don’t know so they always want to correct

us. The way we pronounce words they think we don’t know so they always want to

correct us, for example, the word semi truck is semi` and we say semi~.”

Paidamoyo explained that she feels degraded each time her boss repeats the same words she had said as a way to teach her to pronounce it with an American accent.

Tsitsi also shared the same sentiment that in the fashion industry where she is currently a fashion designer, other designers and sponsors avoid talking to her because of her accent. She attended several fashion shows. She said that before the runaways, fashion designers usually would stand around chatting with spectators, potential donors and fashion editors attending the show. She said each time people approach to ask about her designs; they quickly leave and move on to the next fashion designer after realizing that she speaks with an accent. She said she usually gets to the show on Fridays when showcasing Saturday night. During the period before the showcase, she spends most of her time mingling with other designers and the press. However, when they hear her accent they would ask questions like, “so where are you from?’I say, ‘I’m from Zimbabwe and they say, ‘oh okay’ and they move on to the next person. Oh I’m from

California they get more attention you know and they start chatting.” As a result, Tsitsi always finds herself standing alone whilst American designers are crowded with people asking questions about their designs. People usually start giving her respect after they had seen her designs on the runaway and would become interested in interviewing her. “It’s always after our showcase that I start getting attention. They start wanting to know. ‘Oh, where did you learn this? I’m like I went to fashion school in Africa. And they are like, ‘Oh they have this in Africa?” She feels that as an

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African immigrant fashion designer, she has to prove extra hard that she is really good at what she does since she speaks English with an accent.

Nyaradzo also noted that at her work place, her supervisor thinks that it is her responsibility to edit everything she writes. Nyaradzo studied journalism and has experience in writing but she does not have confidence in everything she writes. Even when giving orders to employees that work under her, they always want to hear it from another American. They pretend as if they are having trouble understanding her. She said;

At work I feel accepted but people just tend to doubt you. They doubt even your decisions.

I have this vivid memory of me being asked by this subordinate where something needed

to go and I was like put it over there. Five minutes later another manager showed up and

she asked the same questions.

Nyaradzo also explained that during her days in college, she sold hot dogs and American students also selling hot dogs thought she had a weird accent and they would just disappear and would not partner with her. She complained that all this prevents her from doing her job with confidence. Each time she opens her mouth at work she is worried about the reaction she will get from people. At some point, she considered taking some American accent courses but is still not sure if that will help get rid of the African accent.

Mazvita complained that she applied for several jobs including in the retail industry. She thinks she is even over qualified for some of the jobs she applied for but has never been called to face to face interviews. A few of the interviews she gets are over the phone. Initially, the person would explain to her that the interview will take fifteen to thirty minutes. However, Mazvita explained that after answering a few questions during which the interviewer would constantly ask her to repeat her responses, she would be told that the interview is over and would be

139 contacted shortly with the decision. That would be the last time she would hear from that individual. Mazvita said that she would call several times to ask about the status of her applications and would be told that the application is under review. Several participants shared that they also face similar situations and are very positive that they are disadvantaged because of their African accent. They said that the moment Americans see foreign names on their job applications they would quickly dismiss them fearing that their English enunciation is terrible enough to prevent communication with customers.

Another participant mentioned that when applying for jobs, it is easier for Americans to interview another American because they speak English the same way. When interviewing a

Zimbabwean with a thick accent, the interviewer would be struggling to understand the interviewee so they quickly assume that if they cannot understand them clearly, what about their customers. So they are more worried about the communication than the expertise offered by the

Zimbabwean being interviewed. Nyemwererai added;

And then on top of that as Africans, a lot of us have strong accents so when you come into

a job you know, and you are trying to interview for a job and the person interviewing you

is having a hard time understanding you, without even realizing it they gravitate towards

a candidate who they understand better. That doesn’t mean you are not as good as the

other candidate at times. I think it’s like that at times when there is someone comparable.

They gravitate towards that person. They always equate a different accent to not

understanding, you know what I mean.

Participants expressed that Americans believe that only Africans that were born in

America speak good English: “When our English accents improve they think we are from the

Caribbean. Americans ask us if we learn English back home. When they see an African speaking

140 fluent English they think the African was born here not in Africa,” said one participant. She further explained that at the nursing home she works, the supervisor wanted to send her to school to improve her accent. She said that she was at first excited but quickly realized that when she finished that school her American work mates will still recognize her as a Black woman with an accent so they will not respect her.

Even in the neighborhoods in which they live, participants expressed that their neighbors still have trouble communicating with them indicating that it is not only in the job market where participants face discrimination because of the way they speak the English language. One participant shared;

We were somewhere at a store and this woman had like a more African accent and she

was trying to explain something. I could completely understand what she was saying, but

this American woman acted as if she did not understand so she kept asking speaking

louder, pointing, you know. You could tell she doesn’t like us. She doesn’t understand

that even if you speak English with a different accent it doesn’t mean that you don’t have

a good command of the English language. Does that not make you better than a person

who speaks in an American accent?

5. Fear /anxiety

Participants explained that although they have freedom to do as they please, they live in constant fear mainly because they understand that they are not in their native country. They indicated that the United States government can protect them to a certain extend but as immigrants there are certain boundaries they cannot overstep. It is these limitations they are constantly afraid of.

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Figure 22. There is a limit to what we do.

For example, one participant took this photo of a traffic stop sign to express the obstacles she and other women face in pursuing their migration dreams. This woman explained that there are some behaviors that Americans do and get away with which as immigrants they cannot do. Each time they want to do something different they have to stop and think about the consequences associated with taking such risks. “So I feel like there is a speed bump to whatever you do,” she commented.

Participants expressed that the greatest fear for them is being deported back to

Zimbabwe. They stated that even with a green card, if you break the law you could be deported.

If your visa expires or if you violate your visa restrictions you are always afraid that you might be caught and send back to Zimbabwe. Deportation procedures do not give immigrants enough

142 time to prepare for their departure. They will send you to the airport straight from jail and you never have time to say good bye to your friends and family. One of the participants said;

There was a time when I had messed up my papers. It was difficult because you want to

work, at work you are afraid to apply for certain jobs. When I first came as an F-1, I had

work restrictions even though I needed to. So to work you have to put some guards

because if you open up you are afraid people would know your status. You can’t

complain at work because you are afraid that if you lose the job how you can get another

one. So those are some of the things I went through at some point. Right now I’m okay,

all my things are fine so it doesn’t matter because at that point in time I had those

restrictions it was tough you know and even your friends you don’t trust them to tell them

how you are working.

The women articulated that this constant stopping and evaluation of decisions and actions interfere with their progress. As a result, they consider that Americans progress economically or socially faster than immigrants because they do not have those obstructions encountered by immigrants. This participant could not complain about any abuse at work fearing that further investigations would reveal her ineligibility to work in the United States. She could not negotiate for a salary increase and being silent even in the face of abuse helped her got through an everyday life but her freedom was very limited.

In the general public, the women indicated that they are always regarded with mistrust and acting in a suspicious way would put them in trouble. Participants complained that they cannot visit bars to enjoy a few drinks because they are afraid that they may not be accepted there. Also, participants explained that they prefer to stay sober to prevent them from breaking the laws. Even when driving, they have to follow the speed limit all the time, they have to pay

143 their bills on time to avoid going to court and they cannot engage in fighting even if someone provokes them. Overall, participants argued that they stay safe by keeping their criminal records clean. They refrain from making sudden decisions without analyzing them first. They do everything meticulously.

6. Domestic violence

Figure 23.Challenging domestic violence

This photo of a recipe dish was taken by one of the participants to indicate food preparation as a woman’s responsibility can lead to domestic violence. Participants argued that even though Zimbabwean men cannot beat their wives in the United States, domestic violence is still prevalent. According to one participant;

In this free country that we say is free I know that a lot of women that I know they are

bleeding. You know their hearts are bleeding. You know they can go out there and show

at parties with their husbands but you can see that even when they come to parties

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together there is no connection.yah I think it would be better in terms of physical abuse

but emotional abuse is still there.

Therefore, participants stated that it is important to identify those factors that contribute to domestic violence and try to reduce them. The first issue identified was that of cooking for the husband. The women argued that this is a major cause of domestic violence among

Zimbabweans both at home and in the United States. Being able to cook is a very important task that a married Zimbabwean woman should master. It is a task that aunts and moms prepare their daughters to do well during preparations for marriage. Preparing burned food for the husband everyday can lead to domestic violence. One of the participants helped facilitate the group meeting where the women discussed ways to preserve their marriages through improved cooking and balancing between work and family. Participants were told in advance to cook and bring new recipes to share with each other. Pictures of their prepared dishes were taken during the discussions as each woman shared her new recipe with others.

The theme was ‘swapping recipes to help cook for our families to protect our marriages’.

The women shared different recipes and taught each other different ways to cook food. The major challenge addressed was to balance between work and cooking for the husband and children. A lot of the women realized that they do not have enough time to prepare good meals for their husbands due to workload. There is the general belief that if you do not cook well for your husband, it affects your marriage as the husband start looking or girlfriend to cook for him.

If the girlfriend is a good cook, that would be the end of your marriage. Beauty and anything else is surpassed by whether the woman a man marries is a good cook or not. Therefore the whole idea was to teach each other to cook so that their husbands cannot look for smaller houses. One of the participants pointed that out even though here in the United States the behavior of married

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Zimbabwean men having girlfriends is not very common, still men will find other ways to eat outside the house if the wife is not a good cook and that still can lead to domestic violence.

By sharing recipes and cooking skills, Zimbabwean women treat each other as sisters and indicate that they are available when someone is in need. Cooking for the husband is expected of a woman and is never looked at as oppression. The expectation is that all women learn how to cook from other women if they do not know. The idea of women gathering and sharing cooking techniques and recipes is an integral part of the Zimbabwean community whether in Zimbabwe or in the United States. By participating in the community a woman learns new ideas from others that can protect her from domestic violence.

7. Identity

Participants explained that their identity as Black Africans is not completely accepted by the American society and this forces them to retain their Zimbabwean identity. Initially before they migrate, the women said that they envisioned themselves to become part of the American society. With a good educational background, participants thought they can live a middle class social life and become part of the American society. Upon arrival, they work extremely hard to improve their economic status. They buy houses in high-class neighborhoods and upgrade their education. With these efforts to prove that they are good citizens, participants soon realized that they are still an outcast to the American society. This is when they decide to maintain their

African identity. Participants said that instead of trying to completely assimilate they just adjust a little bit in order to make their lives easier but they still want to separate themselves from African

Americans. Participants argued that they share the same skin color with African Americans but that is where it ends; everything about them two groups is completely the opposite. “We are

146 completely different in terms of culture and beliefs” said one participant. The women find White

Americans more comfortable to be around than African Americans.

Figure 24. A Zimbabwean flag printed on a T-shirt

Mazvita took this photo of her t-shirt with the printed Zimbabwean flag to indicate that she is not ashamed of her identity. She explained that she always feels proud when she is wearing this t-shirt. She wears it mostly when meeting with Americans especially where there are African Americans present so that people could easily recognize her identity as an African.

She said;

I am just that somebody who likes the African identity like crazy. But I know there are

some few people who do not like to be associated with Africans. They end up even

marrying somebody who is not from their country they do not want to associate anymore.

And then there are some people who maybe I can say they are tribalistic or something

they want people from their own country they want to maintain their identity. Not

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because I am racist but I love my country so much that I want a husband from Zimbabwe.

That’s how I love Zimbabwe.

Some women explained that they decorate their homes with Zimbabwean flag miniatures so that an American visitor can quickly understand that she is not African American.

Figure 25. Zimbabwean flag miniature

Sharai took this photo of a vase holding a Zimbabwean flag decorated in her living room. She bought the vase here but it is similar to the gourds used in Zimbabwe for decorations. She bought the flag from an African store. Therefore, both the vase and the flag constantly remind her of her identity as a Zimbabwean. She stated;

I discovered that Zimbabweans keep their identity. They even keep their flags and

ornaments from home to remind them of their identity. Here is my Zimbabwean flag

displayed so that anyone who comes in my home can see that I am Zimbabwean and am

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proud of my identity .I do not want to be identified as African Americans. There is the

Shona proverb that says ‘Ziva Kwawakabva’ (Never forget your roots).

Participants explained that they feel much more comfortable being identified as purely

African immigrants who migrated from Zimbabwe not African Americans. One participant said;

I hate it when they let us fill forms that only have one option for Black people. There is

no option for African only as a race/origin. They force us to be African Americans when

African Americans themselves do not accept us. They see us as a threat to them and they

think they are better than us because they are Americans even though we share the same

skin color.

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Semi-structured individual interviews

Seven primary themes emerged from the individual semi-structured interviews:

1) Family and individual decisions to migrate

2) Influence of relatives and friends in the Diaspora on migration

3) The number of years living in the United States can be insignificant

4) Lack of self-confidence

5) Torn between two worlds

6) Loneliness

7) Gender discrimination

a) At the work place

b) In the home

1. Family and individual decisions to migrate

Findings from the individual interviews indicated that the decision to migrate may have an impact on the type of lifestyle an immigrant has in the country of destination. Participants pointed out that the decision to migrate was both a family and individual one. Family decisions are mainly made by those women already married before they migrated. In such cases, husbands migrated first and the wives followed later after the husband was well established. This means that the wife would not have to encounter those challenges the husband faced. By the time the wife migrated, the husband would have established better living standards helping the wife to settle quickly. For example, Kundai explained that she followed her husband who migrated two years before her. It was a decision they both made that her husband would go first and would send for her and the children later. Her husband’s educational background also helped him get an

F-1 Student visa. Kundai explained that, by the time her husband finished school, his asylum

150 application was also approved which made it easier for her and the children to migrate. Her husband had already bought a car and moved to a better neighborhood which eliminated transport and housing problems for her and the children.

A few participants explained that they migrated at the same time with their husbands and shouldered some of the challenges together. Paidamoyo stated, “Coming to the United States was an opportunity that I got, that we got as a family and we decided to settle for it.” Paidamoyo and her husband already had relatives in the United States who helped them both with the migration process. Nonetheless, upon arrival they had to fend for themselves since their relative could not accommodate two extra adults in her small apartment. As a result, they had to start from scratch which included using public transport and living in a harsh neighborhood.

Some participants migrated to the United States as teenagers and their parents who were already here facilitated the migration resources. These women shared that they did not face a lot of challenges upon arrival because their parents were already established and waiting for them.

For example, Tariro is one of the women whose migration process was facilitated by her parents.

The assistance from her parents reduced some of the migration challenges she could have faced.

She stated;

For the challenges, for me I can’t really relate because when I left Zimbabwe I already

had a green card. So for me I didn’t really go through the hassle struggle that a lot of

people face when they get here. But I can describe my family, like my husband. I know he

went to the immigration offices several times and it was a long process for him. It took

almost three years to get his papers.

Some of the women like Nyemwererai made individual decisions to migrate and were sponsored either by friends or themselves. It came out of the interviews that the majority of those women

151 that made individual decisions to migrate were single (never married, divorced, and widows).

Since they made the decisions to migrate themselves, there was usually no one to provide help during their initial months of arrival. For some, their struggles began during the pre-departure preparation where they had to sponsor themselves for the air ticket and visa applications. By the time they left the country, they had exhausted most of the financial resources they needed upon arrival to the United States before they could settle and find a job. Nyemwererai explained that, even though she got help from her parents, she solely made the decision to migrate.

It was my personal decision to migrate. I was encouraged by a lot of people but it was

purely my decision. When I went to England nobody helped me at all. I applied for school

myself and I was working. I got a job so I was able to do that myself, you know. But I also

got help from my parents too but I applied for school and I didn’t have to pay tuition for

that school in England. I got myself an air ticket you know with whatever help I could get

from my parents. The big help I got was when I got to England because I was gonna stay

on campus. My uncle was there and school wasn’t started yet so I stayed with my uncle. I

was also able to stay with my uncle during holidays.

2. Influence of relatives/friends already in the United States on migration

Women shared in the interviews that relatives and friends already in the United States provide pre-departure information to the people still in Zimbabwe. They share the opportunities available in the United States and encourage their friends and relatives to join them. They assist with the migration process such as helping to pay for visas and airfare. Finally, they provide shelter and financial assistance to those that have just arrived until they are able to make it on their own. Davidzo explained that her friends in Washington DC helped her with the migration

152 process. She relies on these friends for help since she does not have family in Cincinnati. She stated;

So I met these friends at a church function that I came from Zimbabwe to attend so they

are really good friends. And at one time we talked about school here and I was asking

them how easy it is to get in school. And this lady she really looked like she was

interested in helping me. So she did help me do the application process and got a

scholarship for undergraduate. So she helped me with all the process.

Some participants said that if there have not been someone they already knew living in the

United States, they would not have migrated due to uncertainty about what the future holds.

They argued that sometimes you need someone already in the situation to reassure you that your life will change for the better. One of the participants, Chido, is considered the hostess of

Zimbabweans living in Cincinnati. She interacts with friends and families in Zimbabwe and has inspired many individuals to migrate from Zimbabwe to the United States. She shares with women in Zimbabwe the challenges they are likely to face when they arrive. She is the first person that many Zimbabweans contact upon their arrival in Cincinnati. As a friendly individual, she knows a lot of people and has hosted the majority in her home. She has also offered information about employment and educational opportunities. She and other women introduce newcomers to important resources which they need to settle. Some of the participants even explained that by the time they left Zimbabwe, their immigration papers were already in order with help from relatives already in the United States. “My mom got me a visa that’s when I came. She was already a green card holder. So I came as her child,” explained Tariro.

Participants described that all this help either from relatives, family or friends helped them overcome some of the challenges they faced upon arrival to the United States.

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3. The number of years living in the United States can be insignificant

Whereas there is the general belief that immigrants’ lifestyle improves with the number of years they stay in the United States, some of the participants offered a different perspective about that assertion. Participants argued that this is not always true for everyone. The women described several factors interfering with their progress. For example, participants argued that some immigrants’ lifestyles improve based on how they migrated. If someone migrated with an employment sponsored visa that person already has a job and it becomes easy to settle sooner than someone seeking asylum or someone who migrated under a student visa that has employment restrictions. However, citing her own experiences, Ratidzo stated that, “even an adjustment in immigration status sometimes does not advantage you.” She said that she is aware of some individuals like herself that have been living in the United States for many years and are now American citizens but their lives have not changed much since they entered the United

States with temporary visas. Nyaradzo who migrated to the United States fourteen years ago stated that, “it takes about 10 years to get back into the good graces of the American system.

Enough time to grow bitter, resentful and feel like you are living a wasted life.” She said that, life for an immigrant has its own unique challenges that only an immigrant encounters, but that is not to say they are unhappy or ungrateful or unwilling to work. “To say ‘leave the country’, because they have expressed an unforeseen challenge is too simplistic,” she said. These women explained that they left Zimbabwe because of a variety of problems such as poverty, political repression, societal expectations, cultural judgments, and lack of education, and therefore the number of years they have stayed in the United States without making it cannot be equated with going back home to Zimbabwe.

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4. Lack of self confidence

Participants stated that because of the racial and ethnic subjugation they suffer every day in Cincinnati, they tend to keep to themselves. They do not readily open up to Americans right away or even at all because they are not sure how they will be perceived. They hold things inside and would sooner stay in the background than put themselves out front. They described being careful about what they reveal about themselves and what they say to Americans. Whilst this characteristic may seem to help them stay clear of racism by not interacting with Americans, participants indicated that it limits their access to important resources. “The other problem I faced was communicating with Americans though these days I feel much comfortable since I had learned how to pronounce some words using the American accent,” shared Farirai.

Nyaradzo also explained how she always lost confidence when speaking to Americans either when seeking medical attention, in the banks or even when shopping. She said each time she opened her mouth, she felt that she was different. It was not until one of her professors told her that being different is unique and she should be proud of it that she started to come out of her comfort zone. She now advises other immigrants that understanding how they are unique is another way that can help them overcome some of the challenges they face. She explains that this is one thing that people do not think about when they look and speak differently from the majority of the society-- understanding one’s self increases your bravery. She said;

So I remember talking to my professor, I was like okay, I just need to get this out of my

chest because it’s something that whenever I talk about voice lessons, I talk about my

accent. Do I need to lose my accent or what do I need to do so that everybody is not like

‘oh what is she saying?’ So what can I do to make my voice better or what can I do to

make my accent better? Those were the questions that bother me every day.

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Nyaradzo explained that the professor helped her to regain the confidence she had lost. “He said to me, ‘oh dear you are unique because you speak differently and you should be proud of that.

When you talk everybody is going to stop and listen.” This was really an eye opener for

Nyaradzo and she has since learned to embrace who she is, “You know in daily life we always worry about things,” she concluded.

5. Torn between two worlds

Participants argued that sometimes they find themselves being forced to transition from their traditional principles and behaviors to American values. One participant stated that it is generally believed that in order to be socially and economically successful, immigrants need to integrate into the American culture and that there are certain life skills that immigrants need to have in order to succeed. She said that many of the challenges they face are caused by their lack of understanding of the American culture and values. She said;

How many times do we talk among ourselves like what do I do that doesn’t make sense to

us? Like my mom, one night was talking to me about how like she was at work and they

are so petty about a bed how the sheets were dangling and they made a great deal about

it. So I told her that you have to understand what the most important thing is when you

are at work in America. Safety is number one all the time. So even if it’s not our culture

that is what is in America. The fact that there is a safety hazard somebody can get sued

because money is their character that is what they understand. So it is a big deal. So

being able to understand these nuances of integration is important. You need to know

what is needed to be successful.

Despite the pressure to belong and become part of the mainstream society in the United

States, participants reported that it is difficult to completely get rid of their cultural traditions and

156 that these strong cultural traditions limit their assimilation into the mainstream society. As a result, participants become caught between two different worlds. Participants are not sure how far they can assimilate into the American culture in order to survive, and how much of their culture should they preserve. This confusion negatively affects their success in the Diaspora.

Participants explained that sometimes they become confused as they try to determine to which cultural group they should completely belong. It therefore becomes part of their everyday struggles trying to understand what it means to be a Zimbabwean living in America. They argued that perhaps they are discriminated against because they are Africans who preserve their cultural beliefs. On the other hand, assimilating completely into the American mainstream does not grant them access to resources either. At the end of the day, participants described that they are not sure which actions will put them at an advantage.

Chido pointed out that sometimes, this problem could be solved by knowing yourself.

She explained that a lot of immigrants have lost this self awareness. A good example is her sister, who lives with her,

I see my sister doing that you know. She is like I don’t eat sadza (our staple diet), you

know those things that when we were growing up we associate with our heritage. We are

torn between two heritages and that doesn’t make sense to us and we are now in the same

situation.

Therefore Chido cautioned that as immigrants they should look at their heritage in order to claim who they are and where they come from. “This is not really your culture. So you can never fully embrace other people’s culture as your own. Embrace who you are. As a person understands where you are going, what your goals are.” As immigrant women, Chido explained that

157 focusing on their personal goals would help them make smart decisions on things that will take them far and help ignore those that hold them down.

6. Loneliness

The numerous challenges participants face forces them to live a lonely life which contributes to psychological stress. Participants shared that they segregate themselves even from other Zimbabweans. In explaining their situation, some participants said that they feel like everybody is gossiping about their failed dreams. They fear that when they invite each other to their homes, the invited individual would snoop around examining the furniture in the house, the expansiveness of the apartment and whether she shares one bedroom with their kids among others. When that person leaves, she will start telling others what she has observed, embarrassing the person that had invited her to her home. Participants described being caught up in hiding their struggles from each other. Nyasha claimed;

People want to know about you and your family. So ahh sometime ago, someone came to

me around this year. So I wrote an article about immigrants, the way we live in America.

I could not just believe the responses I got from people. That’s when I realized that

people really want to know but they never bother to ask. So we live our lives and think

that no one really cares. But there are people out there that need to help but they don’t

know how to ask. They like to know things like even your family information. So it is

important for immigrant women to actively share our experiences with each other. We

should share things that are unique that people do not know about them.

7. Gender discrimination

In the interviews, participants reported that they experience gender discrimination both at their work places and at home. The women argued that gender discrimination is not a new

158 experience to them because in Zimbabwe, women have always been discriminated against. The woman explained that one commonality between women’s abuses at the work place and in the home is that they are never adequately reported. As a result, they continue to endure in silence because they are afraid that if they report, they may lose their jobs or marriages.

7a) The work place

It was revealed during the interviews that immigrant women workers feel more vulnerable to abuse at work than at home. “For the most part, immigration process is hard and the women are always afraid of being arrested and deported, therefore, they do not report abuse for fear of retaliation,” commented one participant. Participants considered this type of gender discrimination as different from the one they may be experiencing at home because they are usually working under a man who considers himself superior because of his White skin color. As a result, participants feel that the discrimination they face at work is double edged because it is a combination of racism and gender discrimination. Ratidzo explained how being a Black woman caused her to lose her job because of a dilemma that could have been easily addressed if she was a White nurse. She shared her long story;

I can remember gender affecting my professional life when I was laid off from a full time

job mainly because I fell pregnant before my one year anniversary with the company. I

felt discriminated against as a woman because I was pregnant. I was seven months

pregnant and looking forward to going to maternity leave just like every pregnant woman

would do. I had a fulltime job as an LPN and nothing to worry about. However, things

took a turn for the worst when I was called to the human recourses office only to be told

that I was being laid off. Naturally, I asked why this was the case and the answer I got

was that since I had not completed one year employment with the company and my due

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date was only two days shy of my one year anniversary with the company, the company

will not be able to reserve my job for me. They said they also needed to restructure their

units and that they were therefore, cutting two nursing jobs per unit. I was obviously

shocked by the news. I started asking myself if the reason I was picked on was because I

was not doing my job well but i was told that was not the case. I felt discriminated on as

a Black nurse in an all White staff facility because I was told that the positions were

being eliminated according to seniority, but surprisingly there were four new White

graduates, less senior to me who were not affected by the company’s decision. I felt

discriminated on as pregnant women because here I was about to give birth to a baby

and suddenly I found myself jobless. I felt I was really treated unfairly and strongly

believe race had everything to do with it.

Another work place abuse the women explained they experience is that of wage gap between women and men. Participants revealed that even though women contributed economically in Africa they still earned less than their male counterparts. The women explained that they are challenged with the same situation in the United States. Though participants did not want to reveal their individual salaries, they said that their wages are substantially less than that of their male counterparts. Some participants explained that they compare their pay stubs with those of their husbands. In most cases, the husband’s paycheck is always better even when they are both employed in low paying jobs.

7b) In the home

In the individual interviews, some of the married women described that they are emotionally abused by their husbands. Participants argued that it is true that their husbands cannot physically abuse them anymore because of the laws but they always find a way to exert

160 their patriarchal domination. Because of this, some participants still believe that coming to the

United States did not change their men’s cultural perspectives but they just adjusted to suit the new environment. Nyengeterai explained that, “You can take an African out of Africa but you cannot take the African out of him. Zimbabwean men are very well aware of the consequences associated with physically violating their wives.” She further argued that these men know that even if the wife does not report physical abuse neighbors can report it, leading to their arrest. So the women explained that men now use other means that are not visible to the outside eye.

For instance, participants explained that emotional abuse is very common because it not visible outside. Signs of emotional abuse that immigrant women suffer include husbands refusing to allow their wives to work outside the homes so they cannot earn an income to depend on themselves. For example, Mazvita pointed out that, “In the household, some women are allowed to work but their husbands do not consider their jobs seriously. Sometimes they would decide what type of job the wife should work in order for her to earn less than him.” She explained that, as the head of household, husbands feel that their salaries should make a big impact in the household compared to the wives. If the wife’s salary can take care of all the bills with surplus when the husband cannot, he feels belittled as the man of the house. He feels his power taken away. Therefore, to maintain that power, the men control their wives’ careers.

“Some husbands would want their wives salaries to only manage small bills such as buying food whilst the husband pays for all the big bills. That way he feels more powerful as the man of the house,” Mazvita added.

Participants said that some husbands also refuse to allow their wives to further their education. Participants explained that you would find a situation where the husband has three

Masters Degrees and the wife none and she works all the time. Some husbands tell their wives

161 that they needed to complete their own education first before their wives can start theirs. As explained by Nyemwererai;

He goes to school for his masters he has two or 3 whilst the wife don’t have any and is

told to stay at home giving birth you know. For the wife to go to school it’s like a crime.

He also says I cannot take you out to my friends because you are not educated. Yes, but

when I was giving birth whilst you went to school you did not even count it. It’s emotional

abuse.

This emotional abuse is not visible outside unless the woman reveals it to a friend or relative.

Participants explained that Zimbabwean women are taught when growing up that whatever happens in the home stays there. Participants expressed fear to reach out to organizations for help to live free of abuse because of several reasons. For example, they are afraid that these organizations may fail to completely protect them from the abuse. They are also afraid to be divorced especially if they are dependent on their husbands. Sharai also stated that, “sometimes women are so invested in making a life and accept emotional abuse as part of their normal lives.”

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Group meetings

The primary themes that emerged from the group meetings were:

1) Creation of unity and community building;

2) Empowering the ideal Zimbabwean woman;

3) Using Biblical teachings to overcome immigration challenges

The three themes identified from the group meetings described the measures that participants put in place to address their immigration challenges. The formation of a

Zimbabwean immigrant women’s group was the critical stage in addressing the barriers that participants are facing. By sharing their stories through photos as well as through semi-structured interviews, participants discovered that their experiences are similar. Therefore, the only way they can successfully address their challenge is if they come together and work as one group.

During data collection, participants stated that the main reason why they face so many challenges is because they do not have a strong support group among themselves. Compared to other

African immigrant groups such as Ghanaians and Nigerians, participants identified that

Zimbabwean immigrants lag behind in terms of forming social networks. None of the participants knew about the existence of any Zimbabwean social network group in the United

States. Some participants blamed the continued political and economic struggles in Zimbabwe that force families to become individualistic as they try to survive on limited resources. That individualistic tendency has dominated their lifestyles such that when they migrate to the United

States they find it hard to reconnect with each other.

Participants decided to form their own social network group consisting of Zimbabwean women living in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The group would enable participants to interact and exchange information about strategies to effectively manage their

163 daily experiences. What motivated the formation of the group is that participants realized that they needed each other to cope with some of the collective problems they encounter. Participants agreed to meet regularly to sustain the group. It was agreed that meetings will be held on the last

Saturday of each month to socialize and identify any challenges members are facing and collectively provide solutions. One participant commented;

Creating a women’s group will bring us closer to each other and be available when one

needs help. We have different ideas that we can share among ourselves to improve on our

lives. With so many people around you to help, whatever dilemmas you may face in life

will never be too cumbersome. As immigrants, we live a stressful life that we need to

support each other. We have so much talent we can use to make our lives much easier.

1. Creation of unity and community building

Participants were disturbed by the fact that they do not meet as one larger group to share their experiences. They do not feel comfortable around each other because they are not united.

One of the participants explained that, human beings want to focus on the differences instead of what unites them. It therefore becomes impossible to approach the right individual for support if you are not aware of your similarities. “When an illness overcomes you sometimes you get immediate help not from your relatives but friends but this can only happen if we are aware of each other’s situations” commented one participant. Being in the Diaspora, it is difficult to bring family members from Zimbabwe due to visa problems so you have to rely on the help provided by your friends.

It was discussed that some women meet at different churches, others do not because they do not go to those churches. As a result, there are different clusters of women meeting at different places but they never have the opportunity to meet as a whole group. The sad reality is

164 they never get to know who is in trouble and needs help. They explained that they meet at baby showers and graduation parties but those environments never provide the opportunity for them to discuss serious issues. One participant said;

The most important next step for us is to create unity among ourselves. We do not have to

meet at baby showers only but at venues where we can showcase our talents, share ideas

and teach each other important things like cooking, self-confidence among others. Our

children can even have the opportunity to interact with each other during our meetings.

They can learn our languages too. Let us challenge ourselves as Zimbabwean women to

keep on working to find out exactly what we are missing.

2. Empowering the ideal Zimbabwean woman

Another important theme that came out of the meetings is that by working together, participants could help each other maintain important cultural values that help them remain stronger whilst living outside their larger community. During one of the discussions, the question they tried to address is, what does it mean to be called a Zimbabwean woman living outside her community? Being an ideal Zimbabwean woman can only be achieved through supporting each other. It came out during the discussions that living outside their community is robbing participants those vital cultural traits of the ideal woman. Such psychological illnesses like stress caused by hardships never exist among the Shona/Ndebele people because an individual is expected to be strong.

One participant noted that women are suffering from psychological stresses caused by working long hours because they are forgetting some of the cultural ethics that strengthen them in the middle of dilemmas. This woman explained that looking at the Shona word ‘mukadzi or mudzimai(woman),’ the first syllable- ‘mudzi’ (root)-goes way deep down to support the tree for

165 it to be called a tree. The root/mudzi is personified to the ideal woman’s (mudzimai) strength which has depth. All the progress a woman makes emanates from being indomitable. This is how the Zimbabwean woman has been socialized, to be resilient. One participant stated;

So it’s not only that but I think that is part of who I am and given my background as an

African. You know you don’t give up easily. I think that is one strength that we have, we

don’t give up easily. Like we do not take this personally. I think we are resilient people.

So for something I had a lot of co-workers who complained about minor things for me

I’m like seriously you know I think we have a lot resilience I think maybe it’s because we

grew up in Africa. It’s always like there is a way.

Therefore, recreating the ideal woman that has been overshadowed by the challenges would help participants become strong survivors in the midst of challenges.

3. Using Biblical Teachings to overcome immigration challenges

Participants indicated that they are very spiritual people who turn to God in times of need. This woman said;

We should put God first among all things. As women, we face a lot of difficult situations

but we do not know who to turn to for help. Sometimes we have a lot of questions that we

are not able to provide answers as individuals. So many days and times we just go

without praying because alone sometimes you do not have enough strength of how to

begin. That is when you need support from other women. Since we are so isolated from

each other, we live in a comfort zone where we do not want to come to reality. We need

to understand God, not just as individuals but as a group.

Participants claimed that religion and spirituality are a major source of comfort. They argued that some of the challenges they face such as racial discrimination need God’s intervention. One of

166 the participants even started to invite other women to attend conference calls to pray for

Zimbabwean women living and struggling in the Diaspora. Some participants explained that they attend religious church services at least once or twice a week to pray for their immigration challenges. Those that could not accommodate going to church every Sunday in their busy schedules said that they always try to pray whenever they can. Therefore, participants suggested that this support group will allow them to pray together.

Summary

This chapter presented the research findings. The themes that emerged in this research study tell a vital story about the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwean women. Through photo group discussions and semi- structured individual interviews, the women’s stories began by recounting the socio-cultural, economic and political factors that led to their migration to the

United States. The women indicated that even though they migrated at different times, the circumstances that pushed them out of Zimbabwe were the same. In sharing photographs and engaging in discussions, the women were able to examine their own experiences, and as a group provided solutions to the migration challenges.

The next chapter provides a discussion of the findings, particularly linking the overlapping themes from the photo group discussions and semi-structured interviews to literature. Theoretical implications, limitation of the study and directions for future research were presented in next chapter.

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Table 13. Summary of Themes

Photo Groups Semi-Structured Interviews 1) Opportunities offered by migration 1) Family and individual decisions to migrate a) Economic 2) Influence of relatives and friends in the b) Education Diaspora on migration c) Health 3) The number of years living in the United d) Freedom States can be insignificant i. Political 4) Lack of self confidence ii. Economic 5) Torn between two worlds iii. Oppressive cultural 6) Loneliness traditions 7) Gender discrimination 2) Shocked/Unfulfilled dreams a) At the work place 3) Stress b) In the home a) Working long hours b) Daycare problems c) Acculturative stress Women’s group meetings d) Alienation/Loneliness 1) Creation of unity and community building 4) Discrimination 2) Empowering the Zimbabwean ideal woman a) Race 3) Using Biblical teachings to overcome b) Nationality immigration challenges c) Language/Accent 5) Fear/Anxiety 6) Domestic violence 7) Identity

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CHAPTER 5

Discussion, Recommendations and Conclusions

This chapter provides a discussion of the major findings of the study and how they connect and contribute to the existing literature. The discussion incorporates theories and conceptual frameworks of migration and gender studies in order to gain insight about how

Zimbabwean women living in Greater Cincinnati create and give robust meaning to their immigration experiences. The chapter also discusses limitations of the study and suggests recommendations for future directions.

This dissertation is a participatory research study that investigated the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women currently residing in the United States, specifically in Greater Cincinnati, OH. Literature on the immigration trends of Africans has shown that there is an increased volume of African women immigrants to the United States, yet there is no in-depth documentation of their experiences (Arthur, 2009; Pasura, 2008, 2010b).

Therefore, this participatory research project contributes to the literature by using Photovoice, semi-structured individual interviews and women’s group meetings to capture the voices of

Black Zimbabwean immigrant women on their migration decision making process and how they are settling in their adopted country.

The main objective was to answer the question: What are the individual and collective immigration experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women living in the Greater

Cincinnati region? The study used Photovoice as the main data collection method. Semi- structured individual interviews, researcher’s journal notes and women’s group meetings were used as supplementary methods. Semi structured individual interviews allowed participants to freely respond without time constraints whereas the large attendance at Photovoice group

169 discussions required strict time management and thus limited conversation. Furthermore, individual interviews provided a more relaxed environment where participants felt comfortable in sharing sensitive information they could not reveal in group participation (Boyce & Neale,

2006; Hatch, 2002; Heath, Hindmarsh, & Luff, 2011). Generally, Photovoice works with 7 to 10 people (Wang, 1999) but this study sometimes had up to 15 attendees in some photo group discussion sessions which resulted in discomfort and limited conversation for some participants.

Various overlapping themes emerged from the data collected by the different methods.

Since these data collection methods were used with the same participants, there was commonality in the meanings behind some of the themes, although different expressions were used to describe each of the themes. For this reason, the overlapping themes are discussed together. Figure 26 shows a summary of the overlapping themes that emerged from Photovoice group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews. Themes from the women’s group meetings were discussed separately as they provided solutions to the challenges identified by the participants.

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Figure 26. Overlapping of themes from photo group discussions and individual interviews

1. Opportunities for migration/family and individual decisions to migrate/ friends and relatives influence on migration

In the Photovoice group discussions, women described opportunities for migration. In the interviews, women discussed family and individual decisions to migrate and the influence of friends and relatives in migration. The themes identified the socio-cultural, political and economic context of Zimbabwe that has contributed to women’s choice to migrate to the United

States. Also revealed in this set of themes was that the Black Zimbabwean women who participated in this study were active participants who sought information and consulted with family and friends before making the migration decision. Whereas causes for migration were mentioned during Photovoice group discussions, the influence of family and friends on the migration decision was revealed in the semi-structured interviews. The role of relatives and friends as information sources and also as financial backers was described only in the individual interviews. Literature supports that family networks and the strong kinship bonds that are fostered through family networks may impede or enhance the probability of migration (Arthur, 171

2009; Yeboah, 2008; Yewah & Togunde, 2010). The general expectation is that those abroad should generously support family at home and most importantly pave way for other family members to follow those who have already migrated (Arthur, 2008).

During the photo group discussions, opportunities for migration were categorized into economic, political, educational, social and cultural. Categorizing the reasons discussed by the participants provided a simple way of recognizing and differentiating the full spectrum of the factors that either pushed the participants out of Zimbabwe or pulled them to the United States.

This resonates well with the Feminization of Migration concept which examines the push-pull factors that are contributing to women’s increased migration.

1a) Economic opportunities

The category included availability of basic commodities, health resources, job and investment opportunities (i.e. factors that improve one’s financial situation and quality of life).

Even though participants migrated at different ages and belonged to different age groups, they all echoed that the economic environment in Zimbabwe pushed them out. Adeyanju and Oriola

(2011) agree that economic needs of developing countries are a major migration push factor. On the other hand, the perceived unlimited economic opportunities found in the United States were cited as a major pull factor (Adeyanju & Oriola, 2011; Konadu-Agyemang, Takyi, & Arthur,

2006; Osirim, 2008). The economic opportunities mentioned by women also resonate with the push-pull paradigm in migration literature that explains why people migrate (Arthur, 2000;

Konadu-Agyemang et al., 2006).

In this study, migration enhanced the women’s economic status by opening up opportunities for employment. Some women expressed gratitude that they could work even without advanced educational credentials, whereas the highly educated women were happy to

172 just have a job. Economic emancipation allowed this group of women to open bank accounts and pay for their education which was not possible for many women in Zimbabwe. Some participants have even started operating small businesses. Earning an income outside the house also means that women will not have to entirely depend on their husbands for financial support. With the ability to provide for themselves, women expressed that they are more willing to leave oppressive relationships. Jolly and Reeves (2005) argue that economic opportunities offered by migration help women to change oppressive gender relations. In the same way, single women from this study indicated that they were able to support themselves without needing a man.

The participants pointed out that having money was pointless when you could not buy bread and butter or have safe drinking water, electricity and sufficient health resources.

Zimbabwe’s declining economy led to country-wide shortages of basic commodities resulting in a poor quality of life (Morreira, 2010). Literature on immigration describes the journey to

America as, “a life-saving strategy designed to improve upon and maximize the living standards of the prospective immigrants” (Arthur, 2009, p.33).

An interesting finding was the determination by these Zimbabwean women not to rely on government assisted programs such as Food Stamps and Women, Infant and Children (WIC) vouchers. Consistent with findings that report the economic success and quality of life of many

African immigrants in the United States(Arthur, 2008; Yeboah, 2008), the women in the current study described the willingness to work hard to achieve their goals. In Africana Womanism

Theory, Hudson-Weems (2004) noted that from early childhood, African women are taught the importance of self-sufficiency and resourcefulness which is very important in the future of the well being of their families and community. Therefore, when Zimbabweans migrate, they are not hesitant to take any jobs available in order to take care of their families. Women in the current

173 study reported that they have been working the same job for several years and none of them revealed that they were ready to quit despite the struggles they face such as working long shifts with little compensation. Harsher conditions in Zimbabwe render the women in this study oblivious to bad job situations in their adopted country. The women are determined to change their lives despite low salaries they may earn.

1b) Political Freedom

Some of the participants indicated that they fled political persecution and sought protection in the United States. Immigration statistics published annually by the Department of

Homeland Security indicated that the number of Zimbabweans seeking political asylum in the

United States has increased since 2000 (US Department of Immigration Statistics, 2000-13). The majority of the participants indicated that they feel protected and participate freely in a political party of their choice in the United States. Political participation in the Diaspora has given the

Zimbabwean women a voice in politics which was impossible in Zimbabwe where they could be persecuted and the politics are also dominated by men.

The political climate in Zimbabwe is characterized by a systemic violation of human rights, which includes lack of freedom of speech and physical abuse. Although none of the participants admitted direct physical violation, they witnessed the rapes and beatings of other women by ZANU thugs. As a result the women lived in state of constant fear when in

Zimbabwe. To make the situation more dreadful for the abused women, only a few cases of these attacks were reported to the partisan police and no action was taken. A 2008 United Nations report noted that women were forcibly taken to President Mugabe’s militia bases and were sexually abused and required to cook and clean for their captors (UN Report, 2008). Moreover, a

2008 testimony by UNIFEM about the impact of political violence on women pointed out that in

174 times of political conflict, women’s bodies are used as part of the battlefield by militias as a tactic of war (UN Report, 2008). While political violence affects both men and women, it is women that suffer more than men (Holst-Roness, 2006).

1c) Social and Cultural opportunities

Most of the women expressed that life in the United States afforded them greater freedom from the so-called “traditional” values which limited their overall empowerment (Arthur, 2000,

2009; Osirim, 2008). Arthur (2000) explained that, “the African woman is generally expected to be a conformist, affectionate and sensitive. Power, prestige and status are often lacking in their relationships with male partners” (p.122). However, in the Diaspora, these immigrant women are making significant economic contributions; therefore men are helping with household chores such as cooking and cleaning which could never have been expected in Africa. The Zimbabwean women explained that they now have the freedom to argue against any situation that violates their rights. For example, participants detailed that they do not expect their spouses to stop them from working outside the home because the men are aware of the need to earn enough money to pay bills and to help relatives back in Zimbabwe. Immigrant families pursue economic and cultural opportunities offered in America, therefore, they have blurred the traditional distinctions between men and women’s roles (Byfield, Denzer, & Morrison, 2010). In fact, the need to combine collective resources to meet economic goals in the United States has promoted gender equality between immigrant husbands and wives (Arthur, 2008, 2009; Byfield et al., 2010;

Yeboah, 2008). Participants further illuminated that they are free from extended family members that always support the husband’s sole decisions in marriage. One participant explained how the husband’s extended family can have substantial influence in marriages to the extent of manipulating their male relative to divorce his wife. For example, they can insist that the couple

175 have more children without considering their economic status. As a result, the wife does not have a say on the number of children they should have. Conversely, living in the United States far away from relatives has lessened that social pressure of dealing with in-laws who may silence a women’s voice in family decisions. The single participants argued that they are free from societal stereotypes. Among the Shona people being a married woman or being a wife bestows a woman respect because of the strong belief that a married woman is necessarily constrained in her behavior while a single woman living alone is perceived to have the unlimited freedom to misbehave. “The fact that there is no husband to put brakes in her social interaction turns her into a potential danger to the society” (Mungwini, 2008, p, 206). Scholars such as Byfield et al.

(2010) argue that renegotiation of gender roles by Africans in the diaspora is a way to maximize their economic opportunities. Some women also said that men spend more time in the house because they do not have the freedom they had in Africa. As immigrants, men work long hours and sometimes more than one job a day; they do not have a lot of friends with whom to go to bars forcing them to spend more time at home with their families.

1d) Educational opportunities

Zimbabwean immigrant women in this study are also pursuing their educational goals.

The women explained that they were aware of some families in Zimbabwe, who when faced with economic difficulties would force their daughters to drop out of school in order to continue the male child’s education. The main reason that children are out of school in Zimbabwe is more likely to be lack of money for girls than for boys. Girls who are not attending school are engaged in household chores (UNICEF, 1994). Also, some husbands in Zimbabwe prevent their wives from going to school. Upon marriage, if the wife is already in college or university she will be forced to drop out to focus on raising children. However, in the Diaspora, participants noted that

176 their husbands do not impose their cultural values on their wives because they know that the wife’s education would improve both their lifestyles.

Some of the participants expressed that even though their reason for migration was not education, they have enrolled in schools after migrating with the realization of unlimited educational prospects now available to them. Those women who failed their high school diplomas in Zimbabwe described their pursuit to obtain their GED certificates to enable them to apply for college enrollment. Arthur (2000) argues that immigrant women, just like the immigrant men, acknowledge the link between quality higher education and well compensating jobs. They view education as an investment and the key to status and mobility in the United

States (Yeboah, 2008). Furthermore, education also helps individuals to better compete for highly skilled jobs and professions (Kapungu, 2008). Having access to higher education is also believed to equip women with the determination to challenge patriarchal systems of domination in their communities as it enables them to earn an income and not entirely depend on their spouses (Beoku-Betts, 2004).

However, women in this study described numerous challenges that hinder their progression of education even though they may have greater access to education in the United

States as compared to Zimbabwe. Portes and Rambaut (2006) reported that there are several barriers that cause immigrant women’s educational levels to be significantly lower than their immigrant male counterparts. Among these, economic factors are one of the biggest challenges they encounter. Women struggle with the direct costs required for tuition and purchasing resources such as books needed for their education (Brock & Cammish, 1994). Even though scholarships are sometimes available for students applying for graduate school, financial challenges still persist. Some of the women in the current study migrated under the F-1 student

177 visa status but had to leave school because the scholarships could not cover all their financial needs. The F-1 visa granted to international students does not allow any work outside the university. Therefore, when faced with economic challenges, students will be forced to violate their visa requirements and drop out of school to look for employment. Without more substantial funding from colleges, these women cannot afford to pay for their education especially when they work underpaid jobs likely due to gender and racial discrimination. Furthermore, some women are hindered by their husbands who prefer to complete their studies first before they can allow their wives to enroll in colleges.

2. Shocked dreams and lack of confidence

In the photo discussions, participants labeled the theme, shocked dreams to explain the difficulties they encounter in achieving their migration dreams. Similarly, in the semi-structured interviews, the theme lack of confidence also explained that after experiencing many struggles participants lose hope in pursuing their dreams. One of the reasons that women were inspired to migrate was the dream of an opulent life style in the United States. Such dreams are fuelled by media, music, films, poems, narratives, friends and relatives portraying the United States as a place with unlimited opportunities (Adeyanju & Oriola, 2011; Arthur, 2000). Whilst relatives already in the diaspora may relate their negative or positive individual experiences, media productions air what they want customers to consume leaving out many of the negative images of the host countries (Adeyanju & Oriola, 2011; Arthur, 2000). For example, the United States is often depicted as the richest country in the world, “a land flowing with milk and honey where there is no poverty” (Yewah and Togunde, 2010, p.10). Most often, imminent immigrants only believe in positive information and dismiss any negative accounts about their destination country. The unlimited opportunities that they perceive will be offered by the host country help

178 to overcome their fears (Arthur, 2000). Participants in this study did not reveal that they became aware of any negative portrayal about the United States during their departure preparations.

Therefore, they were not prepared to be harassed, abused and excluded by United States citizens.

The women explained that stereotypes and social exclusion are insulting to them as hardworking migrants. The self confidence they brought with them to the United States quickly died after realizing that it will take forever to fulfill their dreams. They expressed shock at such open hostility in the United States.

Assimilation and acculturation theories are used to explain that immigrant lifestyles are expected to improve with time as they incorporate into the American mainstream (Berry, 1997;

Berry 2008). For example, Nawyn (2000) argues that time plays a significant role in the process of assimilation. Time is measured by either the number of years a person has been living and working in the United States, or by the year in which they arrived. Using this approach, it is assumed that as the foreign born population learns English and acculturates to the United States job market the more they settle comfortably in the American society. Therefore, those with more years should have a better lifestyle than those that just migrated (Nawyn, 2000). However, participants in the current study contradict Nawyn’s (2000) perspective indicating that the length of stay in the United States does not necessarily improve an immigrant’s lifestyle. Some participants who have been living in the United States for more than a decade expressed that their lives have not improved significantly, whilst some recent immigrants are already living a better lifestyle. Similarly, research conducted on Nigerian immigrants revealed that the longer immigrants stayed in the United States, the more difficult it is for them to acquire employment and other social goods (Afolayan, 2011). This scenario is explained by circumstances such as the individual’s economic and educational background as well as the visa type used to enter the

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United States. Generally, an individual with an H-B1 visa (employment visa given to an immigrant to come and work in the United States) would improve his or her lifestyle much quicker than an individual with an F-1 student visa that has employment restrictions (Afolayan,

2011).

3. Social isolation and loneliness

The theme of isolation and loneliness emerged in both the Photovoice group discussions and the individual interviews. Social isolation is described as a situation whereby an individual feels alone due to a lack of social contacts. On the other hand, loneliness is described as negative feelings about being alone (Townsend, 1957). Like in social isolation, the negative feelings of loneliness are caused by lack of social contact or support in social relationships (Cattan, Newell,

Band, & White, 2003; Gierveld, 1987). Despite the different terminology used in the descriptions, both themes refer to lack of belongingness. According to Biordi and Nicholson,

“Belonging is a multidimensional social construct of relatedness to persons, place or things and is fundamental to personality and social well being. It is the desire by an individual for an increased involvement with others” (2009, p.85). Multiculturalism concept explains that immigrants can fully belong in societies that accept cultural pluralism, where social support is provided to immigrants from all institutions (Berry, 1997; Berry 2008). In reality, not all societies are acceptable of immigrants which results in hostility, rejection and discrimination. All these factors interfere with adaptation which all contributes to a lack of belongingness. In this study, marginalization which force immigrants to work long hours to fulfill economic needs and segregation because of a different culture from the main stream society were cited as two factors contributing to social isolation and loneliness.

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3a) Working long hours to fulfill economic needs

Participants commonly identified overworking to fulfill financial obligations as a significant contributor to their solitary life. Since many of the jobs available to immigrants are manual labor with low pay, immigrants spend much of their time working two or three jobs a day leaving them exhausted (Dion & Giordano, 1990). Women in the current study find themselves working long hour shifts which force them to lose connection with their family networks as they work hard to fulfill their economic dreams. As a result, they miss spending time with friends, sharing cooking ideas and shopping together. Some participants, who live by themselves, explained that not having someone available to share their problems with creates stress.

Sometimes they wish to have someone at home to share events that took place at work, for instance. However, it is during the holidays that participants felt greater loneliness especially for those that do not have relatives living with them.

Literature concurs that this new culture of individualism aided by economic dreams to secure a better life in the United States, contradicts African immigrants’ cultural background which is more community oriented and prioritizes dependence on family or kinship groups

(Afolayan, 2011; Pettys & Balgopal, 1998). Zimbabwean women grew up in a society where successful survival depended on the whole community. But when they migrated to the United

States and became disengaged from those strong kinship ties, they were faced with individualism. Therefore, these feelings of loneliness and isolation contradict notions of African

Feminism and Africana Womanism which emphasize cooperation over individualism. African

Feminism encourages women to always depend on each other instead of living an individual lifestyle (Mekgwe, 2007; Steady, 1996; Terborg-Penn & Rushing, 1996). For example, young women in Zimbabwe depend on their parents and other adult relatives to prepare them for adult

181 life. However, here in the United States, relatives and friends are busy with their own lives fulfilling their own economic needs which often lead to abandoning traditional expectations of nurturing young adults in the community. Thus, participants in the current study describe that young women are left alone with little to no social support from adults.

3b) Different cultures

Women in the current study indicated that social prejudice by both White and Black

Americans due to different cultural backgrounds contributes to social isolation and loneliness.

This sentiment is in support of literature on acculturation which suggests that, to be accepted into the mainstream culture and society, immigrants are required to make adjustments that include changing their way of thinking, their social norms and their former ways of life (Nawyn, 2000;

Padilla & Perez, 2003; Pettys & Balgopal, 1998; Portes, 2005). This acculturation process means that immigrants are faced with the dilemma to decide the extent to which they can maintain their cultural identity they consider important and at the same time become involved in other cultural groups without losing the self (Berry, 1997; Berry 2008). Zimbabwean women in the current study indicated that cultural and social adjustment is not easy when individuals migrate as adults.

Unlike children, adult immigrants cannot rapidly accept cultures and traditions that contradict or do not coincide with their own cultural values (Arthur, 2000; Hua & Chen, 2010). As such, immigrants find themselves failing to completely absorb themselves into the mainstream culture leading to their rejection by the host society. In a situation where the host societies have negative reactions toward immigrants, it becomes difficult to adjust and this is when immigrants decide to preserve their identity through the formation of associations based on religion, ethnicity and gender (Arthur, 2000; Yeboah, 2008). Sometimes immigrants partially assimilate to the host culture where necessary such as in the work place in order to maintain their employment. Partial

182 assimilation is described as ‘segmented assimilation’ which is the deliberate preservation of the immigrant community’s culture and values (Zhou, 1993). Participants realized that keeping their

Zimbabwean identity becomes an easy way to provide comfort and solace to each other when their hopes begin to dissipate. The women recognized that they need to stay together as

Zimbabwean women, creating unity among themselves to help preserve their identity. Creation of unity is consistent with one of the tenets of Africana Womanism, ‘Sisterhood’ which explains that the focus on family and community responsibility urges African women to help each other in times of trouble. Through community relationships, African women are able to understand each other’s experiences (Hudson-Weems, 2004). Consequently, the formation of a social network group by participants was the main step toward addressing their immigration challenges.

4. Identity and torn between two worlds

The themes labeled identity in photo discussions and torn between two worlds from the semi-structured individual interviews are comparable themes that explain the struggles participants encounter in negotiating their Zimbabwean identity in the American society. Identity is defined in psychology as, “who you are individually; the condition of being a person (Rovira,

2008, p. 65). In the social sciences, identity is defined as “the way that individuals label themselves as members of a particular group” (Rovira, 2008, p. 66). Based on this definition, the theme ‘torn between two worlds’ referred to the clash between the American identity and their

Zimbabwean identity. Yewah and Togunde (2010) argue that African immigrants suffer from the dilemma of understanding the meaning of being an African and the location of that identity. In one way that identity is located in the African villages, and in another way, it is located in the new location (the Diaspora) where they are working and raising children. Therefore, immigrants place their identity in two different worlds, one in which they belong and claim to be theirs, and

183 the one in which they try to belong but are often rejected as they struggle to adopt new values to modify their own (Yewah & Togunde, 2010).

Participants felt that this identity conflict in the new location can result in being discriminated against based on a) skin color/race; b) place of origin; and c) language.

Participants assumed that acculturating into the American identity would help them get closer to native born Americans and be treated equally. At the same time, participants are aware that no matter how much they try to assimilate, they are still treated differently because they carry a different identity that contradicts some American beliefs. As explained by Rovira (2008), people’s names, their places or origin and their citizenship comprise important elements of their being and their identity. As such, there is always a struggle of dominance between two different identities with one trying to dominate the other. Therefore, identity defines how people are included and how others are rejected and ignored (Hua & Chen, 2010; Rovira, 2008). Women in the current study described that the discrimination they experience is based on their identity as a) people of Black race; b) place of origin as Africans; and c)language as a fundamental aspect of their cultural identity.

4a) Discrimination based on race

Racial discrimination occurs when the host society considers the immigrants invisible because of their identity as Black people. ‘In America, White people pretend not to see you, or when they do see you, they only see your Black skin” Yewah and Togunde, 2010, p.43). Arthur

(2000) argues that Black immigrants will always face the predicament that no matter how much they accomplish, their lives will continue to be characterized by the inequalities of power, prestige and class. Similarly, Hudson-Weems’s (2004) theory of Africana Womanism echoed the same sentiments that racial discrimination impedes Black people’s economic and social progress.

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Immigrants will always deal with racism which prevents people of color from further advancing their dreams within the new host society. With power concentrated in the hands of White people, it is common for migrants, even when highly trained, to end up in ‘dead-end, ghetto-ized jobs,’ with low pay and low status (Mandizvidza, 2011). Social prejudice results in loss of confidence whenever immigrants try to do something like applying for employment or government benefits.

Participants explained that they are often pushed to the end of the queue and will be the last to get essential resources. In most cases, participants get remnants of what White people have left.

As explained by Adeyanju and Oriola (2011), race and ethicality plays a significant role in the recruitment of migrant labor where immigrants are excluded in the labor force. Adeyanju and

Oriola (2011) focused more on how immigrants are excluded from being employed; in this study, women described exclusionary practices within the companies they are employed. Women in the current study explained that they are still victims of discrimination because they are not promoted to higher positions and do not receive the same percentage of salary increment as fellow American workers in the same job position.

4b) Discrimination based on place of origin as Africans

Women in the study reported that stereotypes based on identity as Africans are another form of discrimination used by Americans to deny immigrants’ access to resources.

Discrimination based on place of origin is a challenge participants faced from both Black and

White Americans. Whilst it is almost ‘normal’ to face racial discrimination, participants never anticipated to be discriminated against by African Americans because they share the same skin color as theirs. As pointed out in the literature, it was not long before participants realized that they cannot make friends with African Americans who view themselves as better than Black immigrants from Africa (Arthur, 2009; Yewah & Togunde, 2010). Participants explained that

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African Americans see themselves as socially and economically better than Africans and therefore do not want to be associated with Africans. Africa carries stronger connotations of poverty and primitivism, and African Americans feel that they are not part of that stereotype

(Hawk, 1992; Hua & Chen, 2010). The portrayal of hunger in Africa by relief organizations is also blamed for further undermining the valuation of African people in the United States

(Mpanya, 1995). Further,

The fictional and often romanticized depiction of wild Africa in traditional

narratives, tourism accounts and pictures has engendered in the psyche of global

western media consumers an illusory continent in which facts are fictionalized,

and fiction is actualized. They imagine the continent variously as a ‘blank

darkness, a subject that has been constructed, invented, and interpreted in writing

and today as ‘an artificial entity, invented and conceived by colonialism (Yewah

& Togunde, 2010, p.39).

Participants soon discovered that being Black is not sufficient enough for them to become part of the African American population in the United States. Arthur (2009) states, “Being Black is not to belong except at home in Africa. Here in the United States, you occupy and represent an alien or foreign status” (p.149). Findings from this study concur with literature that both skin color and national origin are important factors in determining the inclusion and exclusion of immigrants and minorities into the dominant American society (Arthur, 2008).

4c) Discrimination based on language as an identity marker

Whereas they share racial discrimination with African Americans, participants never expected to experience prejudice or be discriminated against based on language. In this study, language refers to oral or verbal symbols that people use to organize themselves into social

186 groups for interaction (Ngulube, 2012; Sithole, 2002). To expand on this definition, language as a broader term does not only refer to a specific language such as Spanish or English, but also implies the way a group of people speak that language. For example, the way a group of people uses grammatical forms and/or accents can used as a label of their social identity (Batoo &

Kamuren, 2012). Therefore, forcing people to speak differently is similar to forcing them to lose their cultural identity. Unfortunately for immigrants, they often find themselves in a situation where they are forced to change the way they speak in order to move closer to a group to whom they want to belong (Batoo & Kamuren, 2012).

Women in the current study indicated that they were excluded from the American mainstream not because they do not speak English but because of the way they enunciate the language. Participants were shocked because coming from Zimbabwe where English is used as a formal language for instruction in schools, participants never anticipated that they would be expected to change the way they speak once they arrived in the United States. Unlike other

African immigrants who learned the English language after migrating to the United States,

Zimbabweans are exposed to the English language when they start school. English is the official medium of instruction in the Zimbabwe’s educational system. It is used starting from primary school up to university level. English language is also the primary mode of communication in all official communications in the country (Peresuh & Masuku, 2002). Even though Zimbabweans use their indigenous languages for communication at home, they have a very good command of the English language. Participants argued that they speak fluent English; the only variation is that they speak it with an accent which is part of their identity. Participants said their African accent confuses Americans to assume that their English proficiency is poor. Participants felt that failing to assimilate to the American English accent is a barrier to a better life. For example, participants

187 explained that it is rare to be called back after interviewing for a job. Participants believed that the person interviewing them would associate her failure to use an American accent as equivalent to not speaking English well. Taking courses in English as a Second Language (ESL) is considered a waste of time and money for participants as they consider their English communication proficient. The women regard ESL programs to be for those individuals that have trouble speaking English who require help with grammar and sentence constructions.

Poor English proficiency is regarded as one of the main constraints to employment for immigrants. Being able to speak the English language well is a very important component of economic stability and success in the United States (Abdelkerim & Grace, 2012; Wrigley,

Richer, Martinson, Kubo, & Strawn, 2003). Those immigrants considered speaking English ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’ have been reported to have their chances of getting employment reduced by three times compared to those immigrants who speak English fluently (Abdelkerim & Grace,

2012). However, it is not clear in the literature whether speaking ‘not well’ refers to speaking

English with an African accent or whether it refers to grammatical errors.

The ability to speak English also impacts the earnings of immigrants. In their study,

Kollehlon and Eule (2003) argued that African immigrants who are fluent in English have average annual earnings 15 percent better than those who are not English proficiency.

Participants in the current study were most likely to have low wage employment and described that their English accent is equated with not speaking good English. The women’s daily tasks included cleaning, doing laundry and washing patients. Participants described their jobs as safe havens where they don’t have to interact with individuals who appear not to understand them.

Participants shared that it is extremely insulting to constantly communicate with an individual

188 who clearly portrays a negative attitude toward the way you speak. As a result, they become reserved and avoid communication with most Americans.

5. Domestic violence and gender discrimination

The theme labeled domestic violence from the photo discussions is similar to the theme of gender discrimination from semi-structured interviews. Both themes describe sexist attitudes emanating from traditional beliefs that men are superior to women and hence, women are treated unfairly. The only slight difference between the two themes is that, in the photo discussions, participants concentrated more on domestic violence in the home which involves wife battering and unequal distribution of wealth. Participants labeled domestic violence as wife battering because this is a common way women are victimized by their husbands in Zimbabwe

(Kambarami, 2006). Although participants expressed that they are free from cultural traditions that subordinate them in the United States, there are some cases of domestic violence but at a lower rate than in Zimbabwe. More often than not, migrating to the United States without depending on the spouse or male relations has given these Zimbabwean women the opportunity to live freely without being constantly constrained by oppressive cultural values associated with marriage. This supports tenets of African Feminism which stipulates that women should examine those cultural values that oppress them.

Furthermore, possessing legal immigration documents as opposed to dependent immigration status helps reduce domestic violence. Domestic violence is high among those immigrant women that are undocumented or where their legal status is dependent on their husbands (Sreeharsha, 2010). Since they are dependent on their spouses, such women lack economic opportunities (Huang, 2012). As a result, their spouses abuse them knowing that their dependent immigration status will force them to stay in abusive relationships (Sreeharsha, 2010).

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Noteworthy is that these domestic violence cases often go unreported because immigrant women fear immigration authorities. Even those women with legal documents may be reluctant to report domestic violence for fear of losing their children and property during divorces. Sometimes it is difficult for participants to convince authorities that they are being abused in the absence of physical violence, particularly when the abuse is primarily emotional.

Participants in the semi-structured interviews went further to discuss gender discrimination in the work place when applying for jobs using credentials earned in Zimbabwe.

The women argued that in most cases, employers are more interested with education and work experience obtained in the United States. Those women with degrees and diplomas obtained from Zimbabwe cannot find well paying jobs which forces them to join low income jobs with the less educated women. Possession of advanced degrees, previous professional employment from home and proficiency in English has not translated to immigrants having a high status and social acceptance in mainstream society (Abdelkerim & Grace, 2012; Arthur, 2000; Mazrui, 1986).

Regrettably, immigrants with better qualifications end up losing optimism about securing better jobs. Some participants explained that they have been in the same job for a long time although they are well qualified for better jobs. This supports Boyd’s (1984) argument that immigrant women’s jobs are characterized by lower wages and few opportunities for advancements even when they are fully qualified for the job position. None of the participants in this study have received promotions at their work places despite having the same job for a lengthy period of time. What was common among the participants’ experiences with work is that they are given the hardest jobs and are easily fired for making mistakes.

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6. Stress and fear

Two themes that emerged from the photovoice group discussions are feelings of stress and fear. Fear is a feeling of agitation caused by the presence or perception of imminent danger and it leads to stress. Stress is the body’s reaction to fear (Moons, Gisenberg, & Taylor, 2009).

Therefore, when individuals are fearful due to certain circumstances, their bodies become stressed. In their study of the relationship between fear, anger and stress (Moons et al., 2009) suggested that fear always produces an associated stress response. As a result, the degree of stress is directly proportional to the degree of stress (Moons et al, 2009). Women in the current study indicated that stress and fear are challenges that constantly discourage them from pursuing their dreams.

The overall migration process is stressful. Both conditions leading to migration and the unpleasant experiences immigrants encounter upon arrival are associated with high levels of psychological distress. Migration demands adjustment in emotional, social, cultural, economic and educational spheres of life (Thomas, 1995; Torres & Wallace, 2013). The women stated that stress and fear is caused by a) physical exertion due to overworking, and b) psychological pressures.

6a) Physical exertion

The participants confirmed that their daily lives have always been under enormous pressure to economically provide for their families since they arrived in the United States. The fear of failure to provide for their families has forced the women to work difficult jobs with long hours and little rest time. A study on migrant working conditions supported that immigrant workers reported lower salary and more hours worked per week (Hurtado, Sabbath, Ertel,

Buxton, & Berkman, 2012), particularly in the nursing homes where the majority of participants

191 are employed. Immigrant CNAs reported higher job strain than American born workers as a result of lower salary, more hazardous duties and extended shifts (Hurtado et al., 2012). Even in the face of social prejudice, these immigrant women never complain for fear of losing their jobs.

It is commonly expected that undocumented immigrant women are forced to work in underground economy where they work for substandard wages and under exploitative conditions

(Arthur, 2009; Hurtado et al., 2012; Ozden, 2007; Pasura, 2010b; Yeboah, 2008). There are civil employment protection agencies available but fear of being discovered and deportation prevents the women from seeking civil protection. Even those women with legal status may not report exploitation by their superiors for fear of losing their jobs through retaliation (Pessar, 1995;

Sreeharsha, 2010). As reiterated by Adeyanju and Oriola (2011), unemployment is a big challenge for immigrants, therefore, it is a life changing decision for women to report work related abuse knowing job loss is a possibility if they lose their case and it may be difficult to secure another job.

The participants revealed that they suffered what is called the double-duty syndrome where they always find themselves caught between fulfilling their roles in the family and paid employment (Boyd, 1984). The women indicated that they feared losing their marriages if they decided not to have children in order to pursue their economic and educational goals. In

Zimbabwe they relied on family, friends and community members to help with childcare. At the same time, if they decide to concentrate on raising children, the women are afraid of losing the opportunity to fulfill their educational and career dreams. Many of the participants described squeezing in the two tasks of work and raising children, both of which are physically and mentally exhausting. The double- duty syndrome creates time pressures that prevent immigrant women from pursuing other options such as education that could improve their lives (Boyd,

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1984; Byfield et al., 2010). American born women with qualifications are more likely to participate in the labor force than immigrant women with the same qualifications because they have a good social support system, unlike immigrant women (Abdelkerim & Grace, 2012).

6b) Stress and fear caused by psychological circumstances

Women revealed that they are stressed out by the constant fear of being deported back to

Zimbabwe. There was a general feeling that any minor law infractions would result in the application of the full wrath of the law. Fear was largely a result of the negative energy they felt when interacting with authorities (e.g., extra scrutiny of their documents when applying for driver’s license). Any type of profiling experience tended to create anxiety among women. The fear described by participants contradicts people’s beliefs that the United States is the land of freedom. The women explained that they are always extra careful in their day to day operations

(e.g. when driving, shopping or work) due to the generalized stress and fear they experience in the United States.

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Figure 26. Themes from Women’s group meetings which acted as solutions to the migration challenges women are facing.

1. Empowering the ideal Zimbabwean woman

Participants recognized the need to act against factors that disempowered them and to embrace anything that has the potential to empower them. Through Photovoice and semi- structured interviews, lack of confidence, stress and fear were identified as major disempowering factors. To overcome these factors the right frame of mind is required. The women agreed that retracing their roots as an ideal Zimbabwean woman will empower them. In spite of the challenges, frustrations and the despondency associated with immigration, the ideal Zimbabwean woman is strong and never gives up easily. Therefore, the immigration challenges the women faced in the United States cannot make them look back. Instead, the women should look forward to achieving their dreams through hard work. Participants compared their resilience to a tree in the backyard that never gets broken by seasonal changes because of the thick roots that hold and nourish it. The roots represent the strong support Zimbabwean women should give to each other as friends or relatives or just as a community. Thus, the Zimbabwean immigrant woman remains firm despite the challenges she faces. Literature supports that proverbs, cosmology and good work ethics help African immigrants to be resilient (Yewah & Togunde, 2010). Every society

194 socializes its individuals to be successful in life. A successful person is hardworking and enduring in the face of hardships,

An African immigrant’s response to challenges is partly a reflection of the socialized

values and norms that are transmitted by parents, families, community as well as other

socialization agents such as the media, religion and the government. These values and

norms are some of the mechanisms through which those cultural values for resilience are

transmitted from one generation to another (Yewah and Togunde 2010, p.70).

In conclusion the women encouraged each other to seek help when feeling low as this builds their self esteem and confidence. Possessing confidence and self esteem are critical elements of women’s empowerment, and a confident woman makes better decisions. The

Zimbabwean proverb, “Mwana asingacheme anofira mumbereko’ (A child who does not cry when he or she is hungry or sick will die on its mother’s back) is used to encourage individuals to rely on their socialized cultural values to overcome challenges. When an individual faces serious trouble, an African child is taught the importance of seeking help since it can make a difference between life and death. Therefore, upon migration such values later becomes an important resilient tool for defeating hardships in the society of encounter (Yewah & Togunde

2010).

2. Creation of unity and community building

To show their resilience, participants decided to use their findings to bring about change in their lives. Participants indicated that the whole idea of sharing their experiences has spurred them into action. Generally when community members develop a better insight about their community struggles, they become prepared to work towards change; they develop a sense of belongingness which brings them together to work as a team and use those available resources to

195 address the problems facing their community (Palibroda et al., 2009). The participants decided to form a Zimbabwean women’s social group hoping that it will keep them united as one big happy family. It created a sense of belongingness that was lacking among them. In the absence of extended family ties from home, community organizations in the United States can assist immigrants in addressing their needs to successfully survive in the United States (Yewah &

Togunde, 2010; Osirim, 2008; Yeboah, 2008).

3. Using Biblical teachings to overcome migration challenges

Participants are very religious people who believe that their faith in God would deliver them from migration challenges. Religiosity can help immigrants resist racial challenges, unemployment and social isolation (Yewah & Togunde, 2010). Participants in this study revealed that they try by all means to attend Church services on Sundays. Some of the women also noted that they were fortunate to find the existence of the same church organizations they belonged to whilst in Zimbabwe (e.g., Catholic, Apostolic Faith Missions, etc.). Those that could not find the same Church groups similar to the ones they attended in Zimbabwe joined other congregations with the idea that they all worship the same God.

Furthermore, some participants indicated that they joined African based Churches to help with home sickness. African based Churches provide a sense of belonging by bringing together people who share a similar identity. African Churches where sometimes native languages are used for preaching not only provide easy preaching of the Bible but they also help immigrants retain their identity and traditional values (Yewah & Togunde, 2010).

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Theoretical Implications

Finding a single theory or concept that incorporates both gender and migration issues in order to explain the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwe women were not possible. Hence, throughout the discussion of the themes, a number of theories and concepts were used to relate to the Black Zimbabwe women immigration process. The theories and concepts used in the discussion include Feminization of Migration, African Feminism, Africana Womanism,

Multiculturalism, Acculturation, Assimilation and Social Networking. Despite this attempt there are some aspects of the migration process that are not adequately explained by these theories and concepts. In this section the applicability and shortcomings of the theories and concepts are discussed.

Feminization of Migration

The increased population of Zimbabwean women migrating to the United States is in line with the Feminization of migration concept. In addition, the same push-pull factors such as gender inequality, economic, political and educational opportunities described in this concept were the same factors influencing Zimbabwean women’s migration. Feminization of migration also recognizes that a large number of the women are migrating independently. This is in good agreement with the outcomes of this study which revealed that the majority of the women migrated alone.

Despite resonating well with the gendered immigration process and the push-pull factors associated with Black Zimbabwean immigrant women, the Feminization of migration concept does not relate with the real migration experiences of these women. For example, there is no analysis on the types of jobs these women are employed in. Feminization of migration assumes that migration means progress for women from developing countries and that once they reach the

197 host nations their goals have been met (Jackson, 2008). The results of this study indicated that the imagined lifestyle the women dreamt of during their pre-departure preparations was difficult to achieve. They are faced with many obstacles that sometimes make it almost impossible to achieve their economic or educational dreams. For example, the women stated that they are exploited by working long scheduled hours with little pay because they are Black immigrant women. Such experiences cannot be explained using Feminization of migration concept alone, hence, the need to apply other theories.

Feminist Theories

Feminist theories were used to provide a deeper understanding of the gender and race related issues experienced by Black Zimbabwe immigrant women. Intersections of racism and gender make it difficult to determine the basis of the discrimination. Even though some of the women indicated that they were discriminated at the work place by White American men, they concluded that it had more to do with racism than just gender because the White American women at the same workplace were not affected. Two theories; African Feminism and Africana

Womanism were used to relate gender and racial issues facing these Black Zimbabwean women.

African Feminism emphasizes the maintenance of African identity whilst fighting for gender equality and empowerment of women in all aspects of their lives including control of their bodies, health, access to economic resources and education. This agrees well with the excitement expressed by the participants about the economic freedom, good healthcare and educational opportunities the United States presented to them. However, a critical analysis reveals that this newly found ‘freedom’ made these Zimbabwean immigrant women become oblivious to obvious gender imbalance situations they were in. For example, some of the women expressed their willingness to work long hours because they are happy to have a job. Whilst

198 some of the married women stated that in times of financial difficulties their educational and career goals are sacrificed for the husband’s because of their nurturing family roles. In most cases these gender related challenges faced by the Zimbabwe women are remnants of the patriarchal society they originated from. The women do not realize that they are playing second fiddle to men because they perceive their new circumstances not to be as extreme as what they faced in Zimbabwe such as physical abuse. Even though African Feminism provided an insight into the gender experiences of Zimbabwean immigrant women, its shortcoming is that it does not address other migration challenges that are not gender related. Findings of this study indicated that these women not only suffer from gender issues, but they also face racial discrimination, cultural shock and identity issues.

Africana Womanism is centered in the notion that all women of African descent should join forces with their men and fight racial oppression because it is a bigger issue than gender equity. The assumption is that they share a similar identity; therefore they need to reach out to each other to fight against racial oppression. This is the only way they can build a global African community free of racism and gender inequality. However, the general consensus among the participants was that their relationship with African American women is far from what they anticipated. The expectation was that being Black was going to be the foundation for a strong relationship between Zimbabwean women and African American women. The outcomes of this study indicated the existence of some tension between African Americans and Zimbabwean immigrant women. This contradicts Africana Womanism which is based on genuine Sisterhood as a component of survival for women of African descent. The theory suggests that African

Americans and recent African immigrant women can unite and work together as sisters in their fight against racial discrimination. But the only thing these two groups share is the skin color;

199 their cultural beliefs are completely different. Therefore, this principle can only be applicable where there are no cultural differences. In this case, Africana Womanism fails to acknowledge issues of cultural differences which contribute to the oppression of Zimbabwean immigrant women as they try to integrate into the American mainstream society.

Modes of Incorporation and Social Networking

Modes of incorporation emphasize how the migrant women negotiate their identity as they integrate in their host society. Successful integration by immigrants can only be truly achieved in societies that are explicitly multicultural. Such a society has low levels of discrimination and prejudice, and there is a widespread acceptance of cultural diversity (Berry

1990; Berry, 1997; Berry 2008). Outcomes of this study indicated that the United Sates is not a proper multicultural society because there is extreme marginalization of minority immigrants.

For example, the women stated that after a job interview you are not told verbatim that they do not like you because you have a foreign accent, rather you just do not get a second interview or job offer. In order to avoid such prejudice, some of the women made an effort to acculturate and assimilate by learning the American culture including the American accent. Young women found it easier to acculturate and assimilate as compared to older women. Some deeply ingrained cultural traditions that have been practiced for many years are hard to lose resulting in partial assimilation. Social networks and enclaves are a tremendous resource for dealing with issues related to assimilation failure and homesickness. Overall, the various modes of incorporation such as multiculturalism, acculturation and assimilation, and social networking adequately describe the experiences of the Black Zimbabwean women as they settle in their adopted country.

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Limitations of the study

The study had several limitations. The first limitation was that the sample was very big which made it difficult to schedule participants at the same time for the photo group discussions.

The initial intent was to recruit only 10 participants as suggested by Wang (1999) for

Photovoice, however, more participants became interested and could not be left out. Therefore, the process was time consuming because three meetings with the same agenda had to be scheduled at different times to accommodate all participants.

Second, participants struggled with the challenge of finding the best objects to represent their immigration experiences. For example, participants had trouble photographing non-tangible items or issues such as emotions. One participant wanted to take a photograph to explain the theme of social isolation among the Zimbabwean community. Since she could not visualize her ideas, she ended up not taking a photo and waited to see what other participants would bring. As a result, it was clear that participants could identify their experiences but could not find the best photos to represent those experiences.

Third, some participants did not feel comfortable discussing their experiences in front of the group; therefore, individual interviews were conducted. The study had 34 participants which made it uncomfortable for some participants to share sensitive information. For example, it was difficult for participants to reveal information linked to their immigration status because they were not sure how other participants would use that information even though they had read and understood issues of confidentiality. As a result, participants’ motivation depended on the topic discussed. However, in spite of this limitation, this study was the first step towards building trust among Zimbabwean immigrant women.

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Fourth, some participants refused to be audio recorded. As a result, some photo group discussions and semi-individual interviews were captured through journal notes. Journaling was time consuming and some important information was left out. For example, during the photo group discussions, it was hard to listen and document when two or three participants spoke at the same time. Likewise, during semi-individual interviews, the researcher sometimes had to ask the participant to repeat some information in order to capture all the words instead of paraphrasing.

This constant interruption interfered with the smoothness of the participant’s story.

Finally, finding a permanent venue to conduct the photo discussions was a challenge.

Participants offered their homes but parking was a problem. Sometimes participants car-pooled to reduce parking challenges. As a result, some meetings were well attended and others were not depending on the venue. Furthermore, some participants that offered venues lived far away and it was a challenge for some to drive long distances.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study captured the perspectives of Zimbabwean women through their own voices as they migrate and settle in the Greater Cincinnati area of the United States. It is the first time that an in-depth analysis and presentation of Zimbabwean immigrant women’s voices on immigration and adaptation issues has been reported. Interestingly, the immigration experiences of Zimbabwean women resonate well with theories and conceptual frameworks of migration and gender studies even though there are some short comings with some of the theories. The theories and frameworks include Feminization of migration, Feminism theories, modes of incorporation and social networks.

The study identified the socio-cultural, political and economic conditions of Zimbabwe that has contributed to women’s choice to migrate to the United States. These conditions can be

202 adequately described by the concept of Feminization of Migration. In particular, economic and political destabilizations are viewed as the major reasons why Zimbabwean women are forced to separate with their families and migrate to the United States. Zimbabwean women in the current study indicated that Zimbabwean immigrant women are taking advantage of several opportunities now available for them in the United States. These opportunities include the ability to work outside the home for an income and improving their education. Even though their income levels are very low as compared to native born Americans for the same profession, the women indicated that they are economically independent because they do not have to entirely depend on their husbands for economic support. Another opportunity participants are grateful for is the capacity to challenge some oppressive cultural expectations from Zimbabwe. For example, whereas it is considered normal in Zimbabwe for husbands to physically abuse their wives, the women expressed that they can walk away from an abusive marriage without fear of exclusion from society. The women are taking advantage of the United States society with its laws that protect the equal rights of everyone regardless of gender.

Although Zimbabwean women in the current study suggested that their lives improved economically after migrating, their social experiences of living in the United States are not always positive. The women collectively identified that immigration life can be extremely difficult. All they do is work and sleep with little time in between for pleasure. Using their own words, participants described these challenges as the negative attributes of migration.

The women have also discovered that even though immigration is a liberating process for them, the new environment is surrounded with broken dreams as they encounter further challenges. They are mostly shocked by the lifestyle they lead which is the complete opposite of what they expected. Another challenge is the attempt to adapt to the United States society which

203 includes learning its cultural norms. Whilst some immigrant groups are welcomed by the host society and enjoy special protection, participants of this research study are the unlucky ones that have to face prejudice and discrimination. In addition to rejection by the mainstream society, economic challenges persist even for those women who earned higher levels of education from

Zimbabwe. With their college degrees, participants still experience occupational difficulties.

Retraining or recertification to improve their chances of employment is a challenge for many as they cannot afford to pay for their education without financial assistance. Overall, the participants said that giving up and going back to Zimbabwe is not an option, but rather assimilation and acculturation are the ways to go. Social networking also helps with this adaptation process.

Recommendations for Future Studies

The following recommendations are based on the findings of this study

Recommendations by participants

1. Create more support for immigrants by addressing those barriers that prevent them from getting access to important services in Greater Cincinnati. Provide more information about legal rights to immigrants. Immigrant women need to know what legal services to use when experiencing domestic violence and gender and racial discrimination at the work place.

2. The eligibility requirements for adjusting immigration status should be flexible for women. For example, the Diversity Visa Program should include gender as a criterion for selecting visa applicants.

3. There is the need to establish organizations to help immigrants enroll and prepare for college entrance exams such as GRE, TOEFL and SAT. New immigrants lack resources to

204 prepare for such exams which limit their chances of passing and entering colleges and universities.

4. Government programs such as Food Stamps and Medicare which provide support to low income families should be made available to all immigrants and not only to those that hold legal status. This would help women to focus on their studies rather than looking for employment to feed their families and pay hospital bills.

Recommendations by Researcher

1. Research designs used in migration studies should include principles of participatory research in both method and practice. Most of the literature in migration tends to be theoretical and fails to capture the voices of women. A participatory and collaborative research design empowers immigrant women to speak for themselves when examining immigration experiences.

2. Create feminist theories that addresses both gender and migration experiences of African immigrant women.

3. Examine both men and women’s migration experiences simultaneously in a single study.

4. Larger sample of Zimbabwean women drawn from different settings (both small and metropolitan cities) should be used to have a full representation of their experiences

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APPENDIX A

Probing Questions

1. Why did you decide to migrate to the United States?

2. Who made the decision for you to migrate?

3. Who helped you with the migration process?

4. Describe the type of lifestyle you had in Zimbabwe

5. Have you or a family member or friends have ever experienced discrimination? Explain.

6. Describe your family or relatives living with you here in the United States

7. Describe how your life has changed since you settled in the United States?

8. How do you describe yourself (identity)?

9. Explain your relationship with native born Americans (Blacks or Whites)?

10. Can you compare your occupation to other immigrant groups and Americans?

11. Explain how your immigration status affects your decisions and opportunities?

12. How different are the religious, cultural and social practices in the United States different

from those in Zimbabwe?

13. Explain the highest level of education you obtained in Zimbabwe

14. If you have considered continuing your education here in the United States what

challenges are you encountering?

15. How is the education in the United States compared to Zimbabwe?

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APPENDIX B

Wang’s (1999) guidance for photo discussion; SHOWeD

S-“What do we See here?

H-What is really Happening here?

O-How does this relate to Our lives?

W-Why does this situation, concern or strength Exist?

D-What can we Do about it?”

(Wang 1999: 188)

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APPENDIX C

Adult Consent Form for Research University of Cincinnati Department: Educational Studies Principal Investigator: Florence Nyemba Faculty Advisor: Dr Lisa Vaughn

Title of Study: Silence No More: A Participatory Action Research to Examine the Immigration Experiences of Black Zimbabwean Immigrant Women in Cincinnati, Ohio

Introduction: You are being asked to take part in a research study. Please read this paper carefully and ask questions about anything that you do not understand before deciding to participate. Your participation in this research study is voluntary.

Who is doing this research study? The person in charge of this research study is Florence Nyemba, who is a doctoral student from the Department of Educational Studies of the University of Cincinnati (UC). Ms Nyemba is conducting this study for her dissertation. She is being guided in this research study by Dr. Lisa Vaughn.

What is the purpose of this research study? The purpose of this research study is to investigate the migration experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women residing in the United States. The aim is to understand how Black Zimbabwean immigrant women create and give meanings to their migration experiences. The aim is to initiate a platform for Zimbabwean women to create knowledge about their immigration experiences.

Who will be in this research study? About ten people will take part in this study. You may be in this study if you are;

 20 years and above

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 Black Zimbabwean female who was born in Zimbabwe and migrated to the United States

What will you be asked to do in this research study, and how long will it take? If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to take part in some or all of the tasks over the course of a total of about 10 months. These tasks include;

 Taking photographs related to the research study using a camera. The number of photographs each participant take will be discussed in the orientation meeting. It will take about 3months to take the photographs and process them.  Keeping a journal/diary to record information during data collection that may be used in the data analysis.  Engage in group discussions with other participants and individual interviews with the researcher to share and discuss how the photographs relate to your immigration experiences.  Group discussions will be audio recorded. The recorder will be operated by the researcher.  The group discussion meetings and individual interviews will take place in a venue that will be convenient to participants. The venue will be enclosed to allow privacy.

Are there any risks to being in this research study? It is not expected that you will be exposed to any risk by being in this research study. However, if discomfort becomes a problem, you may at any time discontinue your participation without any penalty.

Are there any benefits from being in this research study? You will probably not get any benefit because of being in this study. But, being in this study may help the researcher understand how Black Zimbabwean immigrant women create and give meanings to their migration experiences.

What will you get because of being in this research study? You will not be paid for participating in this study. There is also no cost to you for participation.

Do you have choices about taking part in this research study? If you do not want to take part in this research study you may simply not participate

224

How will your research information be kept confidential?

 Information about you will be kept private by preventing access to unauthorized individuals. All information collected will remain confidential and can only be disclosed with your permission.  The photographs and negatives remain the sole property of the photographer and the photographs will only be used for research purpose and the presentation of research findings. The photographs and tapes will be destroyed after the study is completed.  Code numbers will be used to replace participant names to maintain confidentiality. Your name will not be used in the research reports. The data from this research study may be published; but you will not be identified by name.  A private computer will be used to store the data with a secret password and only the investigator will have access to the computer. Confidentiality in the focus groups discussions cannot be guaranteed. Confidentiality will be explained at the beginning of focus groups and participants will be encouraged to respect each other’s opinions by not revealing the information outside the group.

What are your legal rights in this research study? Nothing in this consent form waives any legal rights you may have. This consent form also does not release the investigator, the institution, or its agents from liability for negligence. However, if you have any concerns about your rights in the study, you may contact, the UC IRB at (513) 558- 5259. Or, you may call the UC Research Compliance Hotline at (800) 889-1547, or write to the IRB, 300 University Hall, ML 0567, 51 Goodman Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0567, or email the IRB office at [email protected].

What if you have questions about this research study? If you have any questions or concerns about this research study, you should contact

Do you HAVE to take part in this research study? No one has to be in this research study. If you volunteer to participate you may withdraw at any time without any penalty. To stop being in the study, you should tell Ms Florence Nyemba on (513 226 8915)

Agreement: I have read this information and have received answers to any questions I asked. I give my consent to participate in this research study. I will receive a copy of this signed and dated consent form to keep.

225

Participant Name (please print) ______

Participant Signature ______Date ______

Signature of Person Obtaining Consent ______Date

226

APPENDIX D

SAMPLE RECRUITMENT EMAIL

Hello, my name is Florence Nyemba. I am a Doctoral Candidate majoring in Educational Studies at University of Cincinnati. I am conducting a research study on Black Zimbabwean immigrant women living in Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of this study is to investigate the immigration experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women residing in the United States. The aim is to understand how Black Zimbabwean immigrant women create and give meanings to their immigration experiences. This study uses the Photovoice methods for data collection. Photovoice engages people in telling their stories through photography to increase community awareness about issues that concern them and bring about change (Wang & Buris, 1997). As a participant, you will be given a camera and trained to take photographs of things that best describe your immigration experiences. The research will take ten months to complete and participants will meet as a group with the researcher only three times the entire study. The initial meeting will be to introduce participants to the study, distribute cameras and instructions on how to take pictures. The second meeting will be for feedbacks. The final meeting will be held to discuss participants’ photographs and to interpret the immigration experiences associated with them.

I am emailing to ask if you would like to participate in this study. You are receiving this e-mail because you are a Black Zimbabwean Immigrant woman living in Cincinnati, Ohio. Your e-mail was retrieved from your face book webpage.

If you would be interested in participating in this study please e-mail me back on; [email protected]

Thank you for your help. Florence Nyemba Educational Studies Department University of Cincinnati 513-226 8915 (cell) [email protected]

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APPENDIX E

SAMPLE RECRUITMENT SCRIPT

On the Phone:

“Hello, my name is Florence Nyemba. I am a Doctoral Candidate majoring in Educational Studies at University of Cincinnati. I am conducting a research study on Black Zimbabwean immigrant women living in Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of this study is to investigate the immigration experiences of Black Zimbabwean immigrant women residing in the United States. The aim is to understand how Black Zimbabwean immigrant women create and give meanings to their immigration experiences. This study uses the Photovoice methods for data collection. Photovoice engages people in telling their stories through photography to increase community awareness about issues that concern them and bring about change (Wang & Buris, 1997). As a participant, you will be given a camera and trained to take photographs of things that best describe your immigration experiences. The research will take ten months to complete and participants will meet as a group with the researcher only three times the entire study. The initial meeting will be to introduce participants to the study, distribute cameras and instructions on how to take pictures. The second meeting will be for feedbacks. The final meeting will be held to discuss participants’ photographs and to interpret the immigration experiences associated with them.

I am calling you to ask if you would like to participate in this study. If you would be interested in participating, we can set up a time now for 30 minutes to discuss the study or you can let me know when a good time would be to schedule it.”

If the participant is interested but could not discuss the study now, a date and time will be agreed upon and the principal investigator will call the interested participant to discuss the project. “I will call you back on _____. If you have any questions, please reach me at 513 226 8915 or [email protected]”. “Thank you for your time”.

If the individual is not interested the principal investigator will end the call: “Thank you for your time.”

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APPENDIX F

FOCUS GROUP SCRIPT

PI will organize the focus group discussions. PI will distribute materials required such as pencils and notepads, flip charts. PI will take notes and audio recording. Two 30 minutes breaks will be given during the meeting.

Principal Investigator: “Welcome and thank you for participating in this focus group.”

“I would like to remind you that to protect the privacy of focus group members, all transcripts will be coded with pseudonyms and I ask that you not discuss what is discussed in the focus group with anyone else.”

“The focus group will last about three hours and we will audiotape the discussion to make sure that it is recorded accurately.”

“Does anyone have any questions before we begin?”

“The purpose of this focus group is to discuss the photographs you took by identifying themes related to your migration experiences. First I am going to put you into two groups of 5 people (or number of group members will be determined by how many people agreed to participate). You can choose the group you want to join.” (This should take about 30 minutes).

“In the next 1hr 30 minutes, I would like each individual in the group to choose 5 to 10 photographs that you took you think are most significant or you like best. Discuss with your group members how each photograph tells a story about your migration experiences (challenges or accomplishments). After discussing the photographs, code the photographs to identify themes”.

“Next. The two groups will reconvene to share the identified themes and issues and discuss possible solutions. This process will take about 2hours”.

“Frame your stories using this SHOWeD acronym;

 What do you See here? (Describe to your group what you see on the photograph)  What is really Happening here? (Describe the photograph, any event happening)  How does this relate to Our lives? (Explain how the photograph relates to your migration experiences)  Why this problem or strength does exist? (Explain the factors behind your experiences. You can discuss the roots of the situation)  What can we Do about this? (Discuss and develop strategies or solutions with the group to change the situation. As a group you want to understand what barriers you encounter, and what you know and do to overcome those barriers.)

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