An important feature of virtually all African countries has been the growing migration of women to cities as colonial laws and regulations outlawing such movement were eased after independence.

But this has placed migrant women in a dilemma from a variety of perspectives.

The first problem that arises is the autonomy of women as they attain the same educational standards as men. This status contrasts with that in colonial Africa where female rural-urban migration was restricted mainly because of male-centred urban employment opportunities. Yet, irrespective of such equality, employers, with top echelons dominated by men, tend to discriminate against women in terms of remuneration and promotion, invariably vetting a woman’s marital status, her quest to rent accommodation and access to social services, including contraceptive services where applicable. In some African countries, husbands have to approve their wives’ utilisation of contraceptives, access to credit, or the type of paid or informal employment they take up.

Studies on time use along gender lines indicate that African migrant women are greatly constrained. A typical daily routine - of home-making, fetching water and fuel, paying attention to the needs of school-going children in the evenings, and fulfilling marital obligations, household chores and communal concerns - demonstrates the burden shouldered by migrant women.

Unfortunately, the male-dominated leadership in many African countries seldom rewards these laudable contributions of women. That migrant women end up poorer than men underlines their dilemma.

Married migrant women often bear the burden of performing multiple roles in cities, as a study of Ghanaian cities found in the 1980s, and studies in other African countries have since corroborated. In much of West Africa, for example, urban women engage in trade in cities such as Accra, Lagos and Dakar. Across the continent, in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka and Harare migrant women engage in urban agriculture both to feed their families and augment their meagre incomes. In South Africa, migrant women run taxis, which was a means of disseminating valuable information during apartheid.

Unfortunately, these laudable contributions of women are seldom rewarded by the male-dominated leadership in many African countries. That migrant women end up poorer than men underlines their dilemma.

Migrant women in African cities face more unemployment than are men. This often forces women to resort to desperate means of survival. For instance, some girls and women who are initially recruited as house help may be subjected to so much abuse that they end up being abandoned by their relatives, friends, and employers. Often their wages are so low that they take to crime or are forced into prostitution. They thus are at greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Recent research by scholars and the press in Eastern and Southern Africa has shown that women are at greater risk of HIV/AIDS, poverty and marginalisation in African cities. Regrettably, there has been inadequate research to inform policy and programmes aimed at enhancing gender equality and equity, and at empowering migrant women in African cities.

On the political front, women are poorly represented in urban government. A census of urban civic authorities across Africa suggests that women are in a minority in these and social institutions. Even where African governments have stipulated the proportion of women’s representation in government, their numbers belie their impact in decision-making.

Indeed, the dilemma facing migrant women in African cities is too complex to decipher exhaustively. It pervades practically every sphere of life in the cities.

John Oucho is a professor of population studies.