Introduction: Negotiating Citizenship

Abstract

In 2000 there were over 130 million documented migrants worldwide, an increase from the 1965 figure of 75 million. This number swells to 150 million if the estimated number of undocumented migrants are included.1 Most migrants originate from the poorest regions in the world, and an augmenting percentage are women. The implications posed by the growing numbers of female migrant workers from Third World states for our understanding of citizenship is the subject of this study. In an age of globalization, when national borders are commonly considered to be a minor factor in the world system — permeable to multinational corporations, technology and international organizations — the experiences of poor women of colour seeking to migrate in order to support their families often escape analytic scrutiny.