On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the NGO Amnesty International (AI) publishes a report on the working conditions of women who make a living from informal cross-border trade. Four countries are studied: Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In southern Africa, informal cross-border trade, estimated at more than $17.5 billion per year, is 70% carried out by women, who work in very precarious conditions.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi, Gaëlle Laleix
Harassment, confiscation of property, corruption: the list of difficulties overcome every day by cross-border traders in the informal sector is long. On the road, these women suffer attacks, thefts and sexual violence, particularly from amagumagumas, criminal gangs that are rampant in Zimbabwe.
At the borders, these traders are subject to the absolute arbitrariness of customs officers, according to the Amnesty International report. They can sometimes wait hours before crossing or have their goods taxed… when they are not simply confiscated. The report also documents abuses of power going as far as sexual exploitation.
In the home, cross-border activity generates many prejudices: prolonged absences, coupled with suspicion of infidelity, cause domestic violence. Cross-border traders in the informal sector are also completely excluded from the welfare state and have no access to social security or retirement. However, their activity represents 30% to 40% of trade in southern Africa.