The growing literature about China’s engagement with African countries is marked by the striking absence of interest in women. People on the move between China and African states largely tend to be thought as ‘men’ on the move. Few of the current debates capture and reflect the active role women play in these global transactions and few of the recent conceptual frameworks acknowledge the gendered nature of migration decisions and processes. Based on 16 months of participant observation in Zambia and over 60 interviews with women aged 18-74, this paper investigates the active role women play in shaping relations both within the nascent and loosely connected Chinese ‘community’ in Zambia as well as their role in facilitating ties both with China and their ‘host’ society.
Solange Guo Chatelard
PhD Candidate, Sciences Po Paris
Research Associate, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany
Solange Guo Chatelard （郭薇薇）是法国巴黎政治学院（Science Po, Paris）人类学博士候选人，德国马克斯•普朗克社会人类学研究所（Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology）研究助理。
她在赞比亚一个新兴的中国人社区完成了长期的田野调查。她的博士论文将以民族志的形式呈现中国人在当代赞比亚的多种雇佣形式。她已经拍摄了两部关于中赞关系的纪录片：When China Met Africa (BBC, ARTE) 和 King Cobra and the Dragon (A1 Jazeera)。