Paper short abstract:

Has the situation of African women migrants changed for the new generation in post-colonial and neoliberal France? In this study, we focus on how they struggle with the tragic image of passivity in real life when their lives are affected by sickle cell disease.

Paper long abstract:

The migratory experience of West African women is often given tragic overtones, as they become reproductive instruments for their husbands, work in caregiving jobs, endure the absence of an emotional life in a polygamous system, and continue to feed free labour into family life. They seldom show their voices.

In this study, we focus on how they struggle with the tragic image of passivity in real life when their lives are affected by sickle cell disease. Starting in May 2022, the researcher conducted observations in a public hospital in Paris with 56 clinical cases. This was followed by access to an association of sickle cell disease patients for in-depth interviews.

The resistance of West African women is reflected in the fight against the denial of reproductive sovereignty by genetically defective diseases in Western medicine, against the lack of action against sickle cell disease in French public health policy, and in various health activist actions. We will present how female migrants fight for health sovereignty, resist patriarchy, and present their subjectivity through a study of a Beninese mother and a Guinean mother.