Open Collections

Ingabire, Ornella

University of British Columbia

Background: The gold mining industry in South Africa from 1866 on has relied upon large numbers of male migrations from neighbouring southern African countries. The living and working conditions in the gold mining sector have been criticised for precipitating considerable occupational lung diseases, particularly silicosis and tuberculosis (TB). The labour practices of this industry prevented male mineworkers from migrating to South Africa with their spouses and families, resulting in leaving behind their families in the rural regions of southern Africa. Upon their return from the mines, often with occupational lung diseases, mineworkers have had to rely on their spouses (women) and families for care. There has been substantial research on the impacts of silicosis and TB on gold mineworkers in southern Africa, highlighting their lived experiences and the barriers they face while accessing healthcare and post-employment compensations and benefits. However, there has been very limited academic attention on the lived experiences of their spouses and families who bear the caregiving responsibilities when mineworkers return with illnesses (and sometimes infectious diseases). As such, the unique gendered health and social needs of the families in relation to the patterns of mining migration have remained unexplored. Research Objective: To understand the health and social impacts of mining migration on the women and families who care for ill mineworkers in southern Africa. Methodology: Mixed methods involving a rapid scoping review, the protocol of a future field study in Eswatini, and semi-structured qualitative remote interviews with key informant professionals working with mining communities in southern Africa, supplemented with secondary data in the analysis. Results and Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that women caregivers and families of mineworkers face numerous health and social vulnerabilities, which are largely associated with a gendered unequal burden of care that is compounded with the structural issues of poor health systems and a complex compensation system. This study concluded that there is a need for more research and policies that are gender-sensitive to the unique needs of the women caregivers and families of mineworkers in southern Africa, while they care for ill mineworkers.

Text

2025-07-14

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91596

Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/