Beschreibung
The Gezira Scheme (GS) area in the central Sudan is considered a melting
pot for migrants of different origins and whose lives are intertwined with
the Scheme land. This book offers a qualitative analysis of social
networks of women migrants of different origins and age groups who are
engaged in the agricultural labour force of the GS. It looks at the social
interactions, the diversity of social processes and the functions and
functioning of social networks of women that shape their everyday life.
Special emphasis is given to the means by which women get work
opportunities and undertake work negotiations. Strategies that women apply
to solve problems arising at work and in their private sphere are
explored. The differential responses concerning ethnicicity-based
differences are analysed. A combination of social networks theory and an
actor-oriented perspective, both framed in constructivist terms, guided
the analysis. To illustrate the complete picture of gendered social
realities additional notions such as social security and social capital
are introduced. Evidence shows that women are actors and acquire agency
and their social networks serve multiple purposes and facilitate a wide
range of settings. Examining the social networks by drawing upon a
sociological approach provides new insights into the social networks
theory and postulates additions to the actor-oriented approach and
proposes new contributions to both theories.
Awatif Ata Elmannan Elageed is a sociologist and a gender specialist. She
is a lecturer at the Institute of Women, Gender and Development Studies,
Ahfad University for Women, Sudan. This book is based on the thesis of her
doctoral degree awarded in 2007 in Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany.
Her current research interests focus on living experiences of displaced
women of Darfur and south Sudan.
