Paper short abstract:

The study explores the social changes that occur in Botswana when husbands return home permanently following labour migration. Husbands' absence and return have an impact on Botswana's communities and labour division.

Paper long abstract:

This study seeks to analyse the shifting positions and responsibilities in Botswana society that occur when husbands returned to their families permanently after a period of labour migration. Being a patriarchal society, the protracted absence and subsequent return of ‘husbands’ impacts the configuration of communities and the division of labour in Botswana. In most cases when husbands were absent, in most cases wives became family heads. This involved adopting responsibilities normally reserved for the husband in patriarchal societies. In some cases, the husband was absent for decades, which consequently meant the woman raised children and developed the homestead alone. In articulating these nuances, the study will examine the factors influencing the return of the labour migrants including retirement due to old age, illness, and the desire to be part of raising a family personally. Therefore, this study examines how women react and hand back the responsibilities they had for years over to their husbands. It elucidates the impact of the return of long-term labour migrants (husbands) on women’s position in the family and society. It will examine how women’s decision-making powers are affected by the presence of the returned husband, and assess which rights and responsibilities women had to give up due to the return of the husband. It will also analyse the transition of women from being single parents to accommodating their husbands after they return home and lastly investigate the power relations between a migrant husband and the stay-at-home wife.