'This is South Africa, Not Somalia': Negotiating Gender Relations in Johannesburg's 'Little Mogadishu'

Somali refugees arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa following apartheid’s official end in 1994 and have since established a well-organized “Little Mogadishu” in Mayfair, a suburb just west of the city center, which continues to grow as Somalis migrate to the country in search of peace, security, and livelihood opportunities. The backgrounds and experiences Somalis bring to Mayfair influence gender ideologies in the community and complicate gender relations as women and men construct and negotiate new identities in South Africa. Working with Somalis in Mayfair, I used mixed methods in this ethnographic study to collect data on the dynamics of gender. Employing a “gendered geographies of power” framework, I examine how Somalis make sense of their world and the contradictions that surround gender relations for women and men as they interact with one another and the larger South African community.;Somalis face racism, discrimination, and xenophobia from South Africans in their daily lives, which adversely affect women and men’s mobility and opportunities in the country. Physical and economic insecurity draw Somalis to live in Mayfair, where they feel protected and supported by their networks and ethnic kin. These realities contribute to the way gender relationships function within the Somali community and as women and men manage their lives with limited state support. The patriarchal structure of Somali society ascribes men leadership positions as providers who control their families and communities, while women are charged with household management and have a limited ability to challenge these arrangements in broader society. Patterns of participation for women and men in Mayfair contradict customary structures as economic activities shift, power is reorganized, and cultural standards are adjusted. These new arrangements threaten traditional social positions for Somali women and men—a risk many Somalis cannot accept and will contest—as they redefine community support and protection for their new home. In this dissertation, I explore the dynamics of these contests in Mayfair and for Somali immigrants to South Africa.