1 – A gender approach to adolescent girls’ migration

8In the field of west African populatioin studies, a specific research strand devoted to female migration gradually emerged in the 1990s (Assogba, 1992; Findley, 1989; Gugler and Ludwar-Ene, 1995; United Nations, 1993; Ouedraogo, 1995). After many years of neglect, in which women’s mobility was mainly approached in terms of family-related migration, the phenomenon at last became visible, and emerged as a specific research topic. These studies revealed the rise in independent economic migration among young women, a phenomenon observed in many parts of the world (McKenzie, 2008; Montgomery et al., 2016; Temin et al., 2013; UNFPA, 2006a). When migration theories started taking gender into account, analysis began focusing on gender power relationships, which are socially constructed and may differ between contexts (Boyd and Grieco, 2003; Donato et al., 2006).

9Individual labour migration developed across West Africa throughout the twentieth century, [2] mainly among men; women’s opportunities for mobility were limited (Coquery-Vidrovitch, 1994). Even today, women’s freedom of movement is rarely seen in a positive light; it is often judged incompatible with “legitimate” femininity, or is even stigmatized and associated with prostitution (Pheterson, 2001). Drastic measures are sometimes taken to control women’s mobility. In Dogon country (Mali), for example, it was traditionally impossible for women to migrate without their families (Petit, 1998). Women’s labour migration has only developed recently in this region (in the 2000s) and social condemnation remains strong (Sauvain-Dugerdil, 2013), with the introduction of repressive measures in certain villages (Kassogue, 2014). [3] Despite its persistent negative connotations, economic migration of adolescent girls is now very widespread in West Africa, and has even become a mass phenomenon in many societies (Delaunay and Enel, 2009; Grosz-Nagté, 2000; Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2012a; Lambert, 2007; Linares, 2003).

10However, women’s subordinate position in society, as providers of domestic labour, is not necessarily challenged by economic migration. Women primarily migrate to towns and cities where they can find unskilled employment in domestic services and care (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 2003). The job market reproduces the gender division of labour, often obliging migrant girls to take precarious and poorly-paid jobs (Sassen, 2010). In Mali and in West Africa [4] more generally, migrant girls from rural areas are employed mainly in the informal domestic sector in large cities, while young men engage in a wider range of occupations (farming, industry, services) (Delaunay, 1994; Delaunay and Enel, 2009; Hashim and Thorsen, 2011; Jacquemin, 2009, 2011; Lambert, 2007; Lesclingand, 2004a, 2011; Sauvain-Dugerdil, 2013).

11To understand the causes and consequences of youth migration, the practice must be viewed in relation to the community of origin, and the migrants’ viewpoints taken into account. Migration of boys and young men has been analysed as a means for them to raise their status within the family, where the age hierarchy and competition between young adults can be stressful (Ezra, 2000; Timera, 2001). Migration may provide a temporary escape from the domination of elders, while the money earned can be used to prove allegiance to the family community. In societies where men marry late, money earned during migration can also be used to pressure family elders into providing a wife (Capron and Kohler, 1975). The subordination of young women (linked to age and sex) is even greater, and they often see migration as a way not only to acquire material or symbolic resources, but also to free themselves from community control (Diarra and Kone, 1991; Lesclingand, 2004a, 2011; Sauvain-Dugerdil, 2013; Thorsen, 2007). In countries such as Mali, where boys greatly outnumber girls at school, girls consider experience of the city as a kind of informal apprenticeship. Learning through migration makes up for the absence of formal socialization in school, enabling young women to acquire “know-how” and “social graces” that they can use to their advantage in their home village (Hashim and Thorsen, 2011; Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2013; Kassogue, 2014; Lesclingand, 2004a; Sauvain-Dugerdil, 2013).

2 – The importance of intermediary groups: family and peer groups

12When intermediary structures (families and social networks) are included in the analysis of migration, migrants can be studied in relation to their families and peer groups, and their migration strategies can be linked to their assigned social roles. Male labour migration in Sahelian Africa, either seasonal or circular, has been interpreted as an adjustment mechanism that enables families to diversify their income or cope with a food crisis when their crops have failed (Ezra, 2000; Findley, 1994; Hampshire and Randall, 1999; Picouet, 2001). For women, in communities where they marry young and where marriage decisions are traditionally a family affair, migration may be a way of postponing entry into union and/or of gaining more say in the choice of spouse. In Senegal and Mali, several studies have revealed close links between adolescent girls’ migration and the start of their sexual and conjugal life. Here, migration is associated with marriage postponement, the emergence of new sexual behaviours and pre-marital childbearing, and weaker family involvement in the matrimonial process (Delaunay, 1994; Enel et al., 1994; Hertrich, 2007; Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2012a; Lambert, 1999; Mondain et al., 2007; Pison and Enel, 2005).

13Youth is a time when the desire for personal affirmation and for sharing values and behaviours with other people of the same age – sometimes in defiance of customary practice – is especially strong. Migration may thus provide a means to try new experiences and to discover new places and people. In West Africa, migration has become a major component of young people’s socialization, sometimes even a new “rite of passage” (Castle and Diarra, 2003). The role of peers is key to the institutionalization of migration and its continuation over the long term. It operates at different stages of the migration process. First, departure is made easier (and the risks inherent to departure greatly reduced) thanks to the experience of former migrants in the family or in social networks within or beyond the village. Second, the existence of migration networks simplifies economic and residential integration at destination. Last, the goods brought home by friends to the village, and their testimonies act as incentives and contribute to the spread of migration through emulation (Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2012a, 2013; Thorsen, 2014)

1 – Event history data and population surveillance

14Our data are drawn mainly from the life event history survey of the Slam project (Suivi longitudinal au Mali), [5] a demographic surveillance system set up in the late 1980s (Hertrich, 1996). The survey records details of individuals’ marriage, birth, migration and religious histories. The migration module records all successive movements lasting at least three months, whatever the reasons for the movement or the respondent’s age, from birth up to the survey date. This means that practically all movements [6] are taken into account, designated interchangeably in this article by the terms migration and mobility. For all recorded movements, information such as date, place, duration and reason for movement are noted. For economic migration, [7] additional information is collected on type of work, family involvement and context of departure (person initiating the decision to migrate, consent of the family head, accompanying persons), arrival (knowledge of destination), and return (type and destination of earnings).

15The event history survey was conducted exhaustively in two villages (1,750 residents in 2009) on males and females of all ages. After the initial retrospective survey (1987-1989), four follow-up surveys were conducted (1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010). In each round, existing event histories were updated and those of new residents (newcomers to the village and children born since the previous survey) were recorded in full. The event histories of individuals who had left the village were also updated by asking relatives or neighbours. [8]

16These longitudinal data can be used to outline long-term trends in migration over the 20 years of the population surveillance programme, and even over 50 years if retrospective data are included. An identical approach is used for both men and women. The upsurge in adolescent girls’ labour migration occurred after the first survey, so can be described in detail. For earlier years, measures of emigration are more approximate, since the individuals who left the village permanently before the first survey are not included. Earlier emigration is liable to be underestimated for this reason, resulting in an overestimation of the more recent increase. However, a methodological study of emigration involving the collection of genealogical data showed that while a bias exists at adult ages, the effect on measures of young people’s mobility is minimal, given that young people rarely migrate permanently (Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2012b).

17Our analyses concern the birth cohorts aged at least 15 years at the time of the last survey (2009-2010), i.e. a total of 2,107 individuals (974 men and 1,133 women) born before 1995 and present during at least one survey round. Migration is studied mainly between ages 10 and 20 (with an extension up to 25 years for certain analyses). [9]

2 – Characteristics of the study population

19The villages are in a region of south-eastern Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso, in the territory of the Bwa people. They are 450 km from Bamako, Mali’s capital city, and around 30 km from the nearest towns (San and Tominian). The villages are typical of Sudano-Sahelian rural Africa, with an economy dominated by subsistence crops (millet) grown on family-run farms. Fertility is high (8 children per woman), resulting in high natural growth (above 3% per year) which is partly offset by migration. No migration channels to Europe have been developed; migrants head to other parts of Mali or to neighbouring countries. To understand the development of youth migration in this population, certain aspects of its social organization and its socioeconomic and political situation should first be mentioned.

20Environmental and economic conditions are of prime importance. The food supply for a whole year is dependent upon a single farming season, with a rainy season spread over 3-4 months. In this Sudano-Sahelian zone, unpredictable climate and labour availability during the dry season have given rise to specific migration patterns (Cordell et al., 1996; Piché and Cordell, 2015), with temporary migration offering a means to sustain the domestic economy in times of food shortage or to provide an alternative source of income. Changes in farming conditions also influence investment in migration. As ploughs became more common from the mid 1970s, families began to need draft animals. For families with no money, the solution was to send their young men to work as herders for the Fulani livestock breeders, who paid them in head of cattle. [10] As we shall see, this form of mobility played a key role in the development of male labour migration. Today, most families are equipped with ox-drawn farm implements. [11]

21Family organization and kinship structures must also be taken into account, notably to understand the gender-specific features of migration practices. In patrilineal and virilocal societies, such as that of the Bwa, men are seen as the mainstays of their family, while women are mobile components of the system, moving from the authority of their father to that of their husband. This gender differentiation is reflected in the norms and perceptions associated with migration (Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2013; Lesclingand, 2004a). For a man, labour migration is generally seen as an act of loyalty to the family. For a woman, migration is viewed as normal if she accompanies her husband, but becomes more problematic if she shows any signs of challenging a male figure of authority (Hertrich, 2014), as is the case for labour migration.

22Decentralization and education policies were launched in Mali from the start of the democratization process (1991) and have certainly affected youth migration, but in different ways. On the one hand, improved road safety, the development of public transport and the general rise in mobility have made migration easier. On the other, the expansion of education has created alternatives to labour migration, notably for boys, who attend school for longer than girls (Section IV). In the late 2000s, most villages had a school and more than half of all children (both boys and girls) attended school, up from one in five in the 1980s (Lesclingand et al., 2017).

1 – Long-term trends in youth labour migration

23In the 1950s, young people already moved around quite frequently, but generally for family-related reasons, girls and women especially. Girls were more often fostered out during childhood, and women moved to their husband’s home after marriage. Half of the women born before 1940 migrated before age 20 versus one-third of men (Table 1), though generally between neighbouring villages, or within the same sociocultural environment. From the 1960s, with the development of labour migration, young people’s mobility patterns changed considerably. Both sexes were concerned, but with differences in timing and frequency. Three main periods can be distinguished (Figure 1, Table 2).

Table 1

Indicators of youth migration by sex and birth cohort^(a)

Birth cohort Indicator Before 1940- 1950- 1960- 1965- 1970- 1975- 1980- 1985- 1990- 1940 1949 1959 1964 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 1994 Individuals (%) who migrated at least once before age 20(b) Boys 36 42 61 91 88 96 91 91 92 90 Girls 51 60 72 83 78 93 96 97 99 99 Individuals (%) who migrated for work purposes at least once before age 20 Boys 5 25 47 77 79 89 73 72 67 65 Girls 0 0 5 13 31 58 80 80 90 83 Individuals (%) who migrated for work purposes at least once before age 20 by type of migration To Fulani 0 12 34 63 67 73 55 51 57 50 Other 5 18 17 21 37 51 46 46 37 39 Individuals (%) who have lived outside the Bwa territory before age 20 Boys 16 22 38 68 75 85 77 77 74 70 Girls 8 8 27 37 58 69 90 90 95 95 Median age at first migration (b) (c) Boys 27.8 23.3 18.0 15.4 14.8 12.8 14.9 13.9 13.6 12.6 Girls 19.9 17.4 16.9 16.8 16.5 14.1 13.8 12.6 11.8 11.0 Median age at first labour migration (c) Boys - 25.5 20.8 17.9 16.2 16.1 17.3 17.2 17.2 17.7 Girls - - - - - 18.1 16.0 15.6 15.0 15.8 Duration of labour migration (as a percentage of the period 10-19 years of age) Boys 1 4 8 13 16 23 17 17 18 13 Girls 0 0 1 3 6 11 22 26 33 23 Time spent outside Bwa territory (as a percentage of the period 10-19 years of age) Boys 3 4 4 16 17 16 18 21 24 12 Girls 1 3 6 13 20 17 28 34 33 25 Time spent in Bamako (as a percentage of the period 10-19 years of age) Boys 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 5 6 4 Girls 0 0 1 2 5 8 16 22 23 16 Observations Boys 71 60 66 46 55 88 100 144 183 161 Girls 95 53 83 60 72 88 127 175 203 177

Indicators of youth migration by sex and birth cohort^(a)

(a) Data from the table of first migration.
(b) All types of migration (family, labour, fostering, schooling, marriage, etc.) lasting at least 3 months.
(c) Age at which 50% of the cohort has migrated at least once.
-: Less than 50% of the cohort migrated.
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

Figure 1

Long-term trends in youth economic migration. Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age 20, by sex and year of birth^(a)

Long-term trends in youth economic migration. Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age 20, by sex and year of birth^(a)

(a) Data from table of first labour migration.
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

Table 2

Characteristics of first labour migration during youth, by sex and birth cohort

Boys Girls Indicator 1940 1965 1975 1985 1940 - - - --1964 1974 1984 1994 1964 1965 1975 --1974 1984 1985 -1994 Type of initiative and consent of domestic group head at time of departure Individual initiative with consent 57 62 74 76- 35 65 83 Individual initiative without consent 30 21 10 2- 50 24 6 Individual initiative, consent unknown 3 4 2 1- 10 4 1 Not individual initiative 11 13 14 21- 5 7 11 100 100 100 100- 100 100 100 Chi² test *** *** Migrated alone or with others Alone 68 39 80 63- 35 41 48 With villager 26 50 17 19- 61 47 38 With someone from outside village 5 11 2 19- 5 11 14 100 100 100 100- 100 100 100 Chi² test ** *** Geographical region Bwa territory 45 45 35 50- 30 24 28 Bamako 3 5 12 6- 44 54 56 Elsewhere in Mali 48 48 48 40- 24 21 16 Abroad 4 2 4 4- 3 1 0 100 100 100 100- 100 100 100 Chi² test * *** Activity Cattle herding 76 85 78 84- 0 0 1 Farm labour 8 5 8 9- 2 1 1 Domestic labour 1 2 0 1- 88 90 96 Services 3 4 8 4- 10 10 2 Manual or unskilled labour 12 4 6 1- 0 0 1 100 100 100 100- 100 100 100 Chi² test * *** Duration Less than 1 year 49 62 61 48- 52 37 28 1-3 years 43 33 31 38- 32 36 42 3+ years 8 6 8 14- 15 27 30 100 100 100 100- 100 100 100 Chi² test *** ** Type of earnings None 0 9 6 2- 18 14 9 Cattle 70 52 76 70- 0 0 0 Money 18 14 9 8- 36 9 15 Personal goods 0 2 2 3- 45 45 46 Personal goods and money/cattle 12 23 8 17- 0 33 29 100 100 100 100- 100 100 100 Chi² test ns ns Observations 77 120 166 165 12 71 211 216

Characteristics of first labour migration during youth, by sex and birth cohort

Note: A total of 12 women born between 1940 and 1964 migrated for the first time between ages 10 and 20. This number is too small for quantitative analysis.
Significance levels: ***: p < 1%; **: 1% ≤ p < 5%; *: 5% ≤ p < 10%; ns: p > 10%.
Coverage: All first labour migrations at ages 10-20 by individuals surveyed as residents during at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

24The first period (1960-1979; 1940-1964 birth cohorts) is marked by the expansion and generalization of male labour migration. While only a quarter of men born before 1950 had migrated for work purposes before age 20, two decades later, almost 80% had done so. This type of mobility was rare among women at that time (less than 15%). During the second period (1980-1989; 1965-1974 cohorts), adolescent girls’ labour migration increased rapidly, catching up with that of young men within just ten years. This gender convergence was short-lived however. The third period (1990-2009; 1975-1994 cohorts) saw a trend reversal, with labour migration remaining at high levels for girls, but decreasing among boys. Among the cohorts born in the early 1990s, a third of young men did not migrate before age 20, versus 15% of young women.

25We will separate these three periods to highlight the determinants of migration and their interplay with contemporary family and social rationales.

2 – The institutionalization of adolescent boys’ labour migration (1960-1979)

26During the first period (1960-1979, 1940-1964 cohorts), adolescent migration mainly concerned boys and young men, and tied in closely with family strategy.

Exclusively male economic migration

27Practically non-existent until then, labour migration began with the 1940s birth cohorts, becoming widespread among those born in the 1960s (Table 1, Figure 2). Only boys and young men were concerned. They migrated for two reasons, either to work as herders for Fulani livestock breeders, with payment in the form of head of cattle, or to find a job in the city or on a plantation. The first type of migration grew in frequency from the 1950 birth cohorts, and accounts for the largest share of economic mobility before age 20. The second type, already undertaken by men in earlier cohorts (less than 20%), begins at a later age and extends into early adulthood.

Figure 2

Generalization of male labour migration (1940-1964 cohorts). Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age x, by sex and birth cohort^(a)

Generalization of male labour migration (1940-1964 cohorts). Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age x, by sex and birth cohort^(a)

(a) Data from table of first labour migration.
Interpretation: Among the 1950-1959 birth cohorts, almost half of the men migrated at least once for work purposes before age 20 (70% before age 25) versus 5% of women. One-third of the men in these cohorts migrated at least once to work for Fulani livestock breeders before age 20, and 17% had migrated at least once for other forms of work (other than for the Fulani) before age 20 (60% before age 25).
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

3 – Girls catch up with boys (1980-1989)

29The large-scale entry of girls onto the migration market took place in the second period (1980-1989; 1965-1974 birth cohorts). For both sexes, labour migration became a key milestone of their youth, though the reasons for migrating differed by sex.

A spectacular surge in girls’ labour migration

30Within the space of a decade, the number of girls migrating for work purposes had almost caught up with that of boys (Table 1, Figure 3). Still a marginal practice among those born before 1965 (below 15%), labour migration concerned more than half of all girls in the 1970-1974 cohorts, and became almost universal (80-90%) in the following ones. Among boys, migration to Fulani territory levelled off (70% of boys), while other forms of labour migration increased steadily. In the 1970-1974 cohorts, half of all men had migrated before age 20.

Figure 3

The rapid rise in adolescent girls’ labour migration (1965-1974 birth cohorts). Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age x, by sex and birth cohort^(a)

The rapid rise in adolescent girls’ labour migration (1965-1974 birth cohorts). Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age x, by sex and birth cohort^(a)

(a) Data from table of first labour migration.
Interpretation: Among the 1970-1974 birth cohorts, 55% of women and 80% of men migrated at least once for work purposes before age 18. At age 18, more than 70% of the men in these cohorts had migrated at least once to work for Fulani livestock breeders, and more than 20% had migrated at least once for other forms of work (other than for the Fulani).
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

31While in the previous period boys migrated for economic reasons to help out the family, adolescent girls’ labour migration emerged in response to individual stories and more personal objectives. Analysis of the event histories of the first girl migrants [12] shows that these “trailblazers” had often already spent some time in the city, for example as a child fostered out to help an “older sister” who had married there. After returning to the village, these fostered girls then went back to town, this time to work for a different, unrelated family. [13] With their worldliness, their smart appearance and their newly acquired goods (clothes and cooking utensils), these girls became role models for their peers and younger sisters, who were eager to follow suit (Lesclingand, 2011).

32For both sexes, labour migration has become a key stage in the transition to adulthood, seen by the adolescents themselves as an essential experience of personal development. By contrast, those who stay at home feel deprived of a part of their youth (Hertrich et al., 2012; Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2013).

33

“When you leave your village to go to the city, it means that you’re young, that you feel truly capable of doing your job.”

34

“It affected me [not migrating to the city] and it still makes me sad; I missed out on it.”

4 – When girl migrants outnumber boys (1990-2009)

40Starting in the 1990s, the history of adolescent migration took a new turn, when girls started to outnumber boys. Among the youngest birth cohorts (1985-1994), almost 90% of women had migrated at least once for work purposes before age 20, versus two-thirds of men (Table 1, Figures 1 and 4).

Figure 4

Expansion of adolescent labour migration (1975-1994 cohorts). Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age x, by sex and birth cohort^(a)

Expansion of adolescent labour migration (1975-1994 cohorts). Percentage of individuals who migrated for work purposes at least once before age x, by sex and birth cohort^(a)

(a) Data from table of first labour migration.
Interpretation: Among the 1990-1994 birth cohorts, almost 80% of girls had migrated at least once for work purposes before age 18, versus 60% of boys.
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

For young men, family demands are changing

43The decline in economic migration among boys and young men in the 1990s was due mainly to a fall in numbers going to work as herders for Fulani cattle owners. At its peak (1970-1974), this type of migration concerned two-thirds of all young men, but by the 1990 cohorts the proportion had fallen to a half (Table 1). Migration for other reasons remained stable, but was undertaken at later ages. By age 25, however, around 75% of young men had migrated for work purposes at least once (not counting herders for the Fulani) (Figure 4).

44The waning appeal of working for the Fulani is linked to changes in family economic circumstances. Today, in the villages studied, practically all families have oxen and a plough (see above), so prefer for their sons to stay at home to look after their own animals. Moreover, from the mid 1990s, several cases of exploitation (non-compliance with payment agreements, abusive treatment, etc.) led to a greater reluctance to send boys to work for the Fulani.

45Families’ investment in their children’s schooling is another explanatory factor. Schooling interferes with youth mobility to varying degrees (Table 3). At the very least, it defines a new life stage that precedes the migration experience but has no practical impact: the migration practices of young people with just a few years of primary schooling are comparable to those who are unschooled. However, boys who continue their education until the end of primary or beyond migrate three times less than their peers with little or no schooling. [14]

Table 3

Schooling and labour migration, 1975-1994 birth cohorts

Cohorts Indicators 1975-1979 1980-1984 1985-1989 1990-1994 Distribution (%) by educational attainment (males) No schooling 73 65 55 47 Incomplete primary 15 12 17 26 Complete primary or higher 11 23 28 28 Overall 100 100 100 100 Distribution (%) by educational attainment (females) No schooling 93 86 83 69 Incomplete primary 7 11 13 16 Complete primary or higher 0 3 4 15 Overall 100 100 100 100 Men (%) who migrated for work purposes at least once before age 20 by educational attainment Labour migration to Fulani No schooling 65 60 67 68 Incomplete primary 47 69 83 70 Complete primary or higher 0 23 27 10 Overall 55 51 57 50 Labour migration other than to Fulani No schooling 51 56 48 51 Incomplete primary 50 44 41 44 Complete primary or higher 14 23 17 14 Overall 46 46 37 39 All types of labour migration No schooling 81 83 81 86 Incomplete primary 73 88 93 88 Complete primary or higher 14 37 32 14 Overall 73 72 67 65 Women (%) who migrated for work purposes at least once before age 20 by educational attainment No schooling 80 80 93 90 Incomplete primary 78 77 93 82 Complete primary or higher 48(a) Overall 80 80 90 83 Observations Men 100 142 181 161 Women 128 175 203 177

Schooling and labour migration, 1975-1994 birth cohorts

(a) Due to the small number of women with complete primary education, the four groups of birth cohorts were combined.
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

46There are two mechanisms whereby schooling affects migration. First, school is in direct competition with labour mobility when it continues up to ages when young people habitually migrate. Second, it also has an indirect effect by altering young men’s expectations. Boys who leave school at the age when their friends are returning home from their jobs for the Fulani consider that they are no longer of an age or status to accept the harsh living conditions of a cattle herder. Instead, they set their sights directly on work in the city.

47Behind these migration strategies, new rationales are developing, in which practices other than migration contribute to young men’s construction of their transition to adulthood. Families are less eager for their sons to migrate, and education offers an alternative to migration. However, while adolescent boys’ labour migration is declining, it is still highly prevalent; in the most recent birth cohorts, two-thirds of young men had migrated before age 20 and almost 80% before age 25 (Table 1, Figure 4). So why does labour migration persist when it is no longer really necessary?

1 – Varied rationales

49The reasons justifying migration are viewed differently by the various actors involved. While its importance for the family is dwindling, it can still be used by young people as an instrument to strengthen their status within the family. The cattle brought back from the Fulani are the young man’s personal contribution to the family assets. Even if they are added to the family herd, the animal(s) still “belong” to the person who brought them back, and entitle him to a say in family decisions, about the cattle at least. The individual investment also has a longer-term payback: no family member knows what will be decided when the head dies, and none can be sure that he will be considered on an equal footing to the brother or cousin who has increased the family assets by migrating rather than simply looking after the family interests at home. One of our respondents regretted having obeyed his father who had enough cattle and who kept him at home:

“I’m still sorry that I didn’t go to the Fulani, even to this day … because I said to myself that if my father’s cattle were gone [sold or taken back by the son who procured them] … at least if I’d gone, then those cattle [that I brought back myself] would still be here.”

2 – An urban experience that boys want too

50Family investment is a less valid argument to explain the persistence of urban migration among young men. It is widely acknowledged today that the financial gains of this temporary migration are limited: the jobs available for illiterate labourers (mainly in construction and farming) are not only poorly paid, but also precarious and increasingly difficult to find. Yet the urge to go to town remains as strong as ever. Now that urban migration has become the norm for young girls, young men see life in the city, in Bamako especially, as an essential stage in their personal development.

51During adolescence, girls go to the city earlier and for longer than boys. Among the cohorts born in the 1980s, 70% of girls versus 20% of boys had lived in Bamako before age 18 (Figure 5), and they had spent four times longer there than boys between ages 10 and 20 (Table 1).

Figure 5

Young girls’ experience of the city (1965-1989 cohorts). Percentage of individuals who have lived outside Bwa territory or in Bamako before age x, by sex and cohort^(a)

Young girls’ experience of the city (1965-1989 cohorts). Percentage of individuals who have lived outside Bwa territory or in Bamako before age x, by sex and cohort^(a)

(a) Data from the table of first residence (at least three months) outside the Bwa territory and of first residence (at least three months) in Bamako.
Interpretation: Out of 10 girls in the 1985-1989 cohorts, more than 9 have lived outside Bwa territory (versus 7 in 10 boys from the same cohorts) and 8 have lived in Bamako before age 20 (versus 3 in 10 boys).
Coverage: Individuals surveyed as residents in at least one survey round (1987-1989, 1994-1995, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2009-2010).

52There is a large symbolic divide between boys’ and girls’ first migration experiences. Young cattle herders live in the bush where living conditions are harsh (poor food, poor hygiene, solitude). Young girls, for their part, discover the city lights, admittedly under conditions of vulnerability or even exploitation in some cases, but with families whose living conditions bear no comparison with those of the village (electricity, running water, varied diet, etc.). While the adversity of life in the bush was once valued in the construction of male identity (courage, physical strength, endurance, autonomy), it can no longer compete with the prestige of modern city living. The contribution of urban migration in terms of skills (learning the national language, cooking, etc.) and know-how (personal care and presentation, interpersonal relations, etc.) has always been clearly expressed by women (Hertrich and Lesclingand, 2013; Lesclingand, 2011), and this argument is now being used by young men, notably in their relations with young women:

53

“You’re different from the others [in the village] because of the way you dress, the way you take care of yourself”. People say “Ah, he went to Bamako, he looks well-dressed now” … If you look at a girl, you can see by the way she looks at you that she sees you differently.”

54When the young men come back from the Fulani, they are confronted by young women with experience of city life, something quite unknown to them. This imbalance is seen as a challenge, or even as a threat to the established gender hierarchy. The threat takes two forms: first, lower chances on the marriage market due to a lack of urban experience, and second, unbalanced gender relations within the couple if the wife has more urban experience than her husband. The concern to avoid being “overtaken” by women has become an explicit driver of male labour migration to the city. During a group interview in the village (2011), young married men described in these terms the challenges facing young men returning from the Fulani:

55

“A boy who comes back from the Fulani is dirty. To make himself look good so that he can court a girl coming back from the city, he must first sell part of what he brought back and buy some clothes. After that, he has to start washing and looking after himself. He really thinks he’s inferior to the girl. He goes all shy next to the girl. So, to get rid of this lack of self-confidence, he also goes to town, even if only for a short while. … [When] the boy knows Bamako [and] the girl too, they are both open-minded; there’s no difference between them. But if the girl thinks the boy is dirty, they’ll never get along together.”

3 – From the aspirations of labour migration to the aspirations of urban experience

56The question of youth migration is thus shifting from the register of “labour migration” to that of “urban experience”. Young people of both sexes aim to include a spell in the city in their itinerary of transition to adulthood. The standard way to do this is to find work, but urban experience can also be acquired in other ways, through schooling, visits, etc. For men, the aim is to complete this stage before starting married life, and thus avoid being looked down upon by their wives. We observe that while more girls than boys now migrate during adolescence, this imbalance is temporary and gradually disappears before age 25. This gender rebalancing process after age 20, already observed for labour migration (Figure 4), is even more explicit if we look at those who have lived away from their home territory, for whatever reason. Figure 5 shows two indicators: [15] having lived in Bamako, and having lived outside the Bwa territory. The two graphs are very distinctive: at age 10, the indicators are identical for both sexes, but the gap widens rapidly from age 13 and does not start narrowing again until age 20. The dissociation of boys’ and girls’ migration experiences is clearly an adolescent phenomenon.

57The representation of these same indicators for previous cohorts (1965-1974) illustrates the emergence of this pattern where girl migrants were a step ahead of boys (Figure 5). At that time, migration outside the Bwa territory was still a mainly masculine affair. But women’s lives were already starting to open up. Focusing solely on migration to Bamako, we see that girls very rapidly – from the very start of female labour migration – took the leading position during adolescence, and this dominance was confirmed and strengthened in subsequent years. By migrating to the city, the girls “take the lead”, and urban experience became an inescapable component of the transition to adulthood for boys as well.