Description
Book SynopsisGender, Migration and Development in Africa: Igbo Women in the Diaspora and Community Development in Southeastern Nigeria provides a unique approach to the study of the role of Igbo women in the diaspora to community development in Igboland. Utilizing primary sources, specifically, migration stories of women and the groups they form in the United States and other parts of the world, the book highlights the dynamism in the zeal to give back to their communities of origin in Igboland. The book seeks to affirm the propensity of Igbo women to evolve through personal efforts and formation of social groups to extend humanitarian services to underprivileged individuals and societies in Igboland. Through several community development programs, they have provided needed medical and educational supplies, hospital equipment, supplies and sponsored several medical missions in different parts of the Igboland.This book further counters the previously understudied role of women in development. Throug
Trade ReviewUniquely significant in its revisionist approach and intriguing reframing of the socially-constructed traditional role of women as homemakers, this study blazes the trail not only as a gender-based exploration of international migration but also as a compelling analysis on how African diaspora communities are turning brain drain into brain gain through vigorous engagement in their places of origin. A must-read! -- Apollos Okwuchi Nwauwa, Bowling Green State University
Sussie U. Aham-Okoro has presented a complex and fascinating account of migrant Igbo women of southeastern Nigeria in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, 1995–2015, who through hard work and their community-based associations turned brain drain into brain gain and brain circulation as they acquired new skills and knowledge from higher education and training, and pursued social and economic development of their communities in the United States and Igbo homeland. The inspiring personal narratives of nine of such women underscore the empiricism and originality of the study. Igbo Women in the Diaspora and Community Development is a refreshing addition to the scholarship on Igbo women, migration, and globalization that will be of interest to students, scholars, policy makers, and the general readership. -- Gloria Chuku, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Table of ContentsForeword by Almaz Zewde Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Gender and Migration Chapter 2: Historical Overview of Igbo Women Chapter 3: Human Capital Development, Migrations, and Authentic Development Chapter 4: Socio-Economic Impact of Migrations Chapter 5: Igbo Women in the Diaspora Chapter 6: Personal Stories of Migration Chapter 7: An Overview of Igbo Women Migration Data Chapter 8: Challenges and Opportunities for Nigerian Policy Makers About the Author