Paper short abstract:

This paper examines notions of identity and citizenship in the migration process of immigrant women of South Asian descent who came to Natal as `free’ Indians.

Paper long abstract:

When Indians migrated from India to Natal in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as both indentured and free Indians, women were an important component of the newcomers. This paper examines notions of identity and citizenship amongst in the migration process of immigrant women of South Asian descent who came to Natal as `free' Indians. Women's decision to migrate were influenced by immigration policies in Natal and in British India. Immigration policies were gendered and regulated the entry of women in Natal in two ways. Firstly, migration policies characterised the male as the primary citizen and females as dependents. A married women seeking entry into Natal (and later the Union) could only enter the country if her spouse had a valid domicile status. Women rarely arrived as independent candidates. Thus married women's identity and citizenship rights in the migration process were, by and large, constructed by their relation to men. The inclusion of theses narratives will stimulate a rethinking of the gendered experiences of the South Asian diaspora from an African perspective and in the context of concomitant differences among ethnic groups, social mobility, and the processes of acculturation and integration. Moreover, it will bring to the fore a category of immigrant women whose histories have yet to be fully explored and documented.