Paper short abstract:

The paper investigates the life choices and reproductive outcomes of female freedom fighters in Eritrea and Eritrean domestic workers in Italy. Indeed, despite their different life trajectories and common dedication to the nationalist cause, they had similar ‘adverse reproductive outcomes’.

Paper long abstract:

Between the 1960s and 1980s, Eritrean female migrants’ and freedom fighters’ choices of mobility and mobilisation affected their reproductive career. Despite their different life trajectories and common dedication to the nationalist cause, they had similar ‘adverse reproductive outcomes’. Indeed, they had no children and once elders they had to face the emotional, social, and economic consequences of their ‘empty wombs’.

On the one hand, this has led to rework the social meaning of motherhood. On the other hand, these elder women must confront the weakening of traditional solidarity networks and the lack of support by the youth. In Italy, informal labour relations which had guaranteed room and board to Eritrean domestic workers as well as the opportunity to economically support their families and the liberation fronts, have not translated into adequate retirement benefits nor social relations to cope with the challenges of ageing.

This paper, revolving around life stories and reproductive careers of freedom fighters in Eritrea and Eritrean domestic workers in Italy, consider the historical, social, and political meaning of ‘empty wombs’ of women belonging different birth cohorts. It aims at shedding light on how gender roles within Eritrea and in diasporic networks have changed in relation to life choices and reproductive outcomes. The paper emphasises the methodological issues underlying this ongoing research; how the voluntary choice of mothering the nation did not necessarily mirrored reproductive desires; the experiences in origin and hosting countries vis à vis gender roles, working positions and ageing.