This working paper situates women’s work in artisanal gold mining in South Kivu, DRC, in the wider context of debates on debt slavery and gendered forms of labour bondage. The study asks: What are the sources and mechanisms of debt bondage for women working in gold mining in eastern DRC? The findings are based on detailed field interviews and on focus group discussions, conducted with dozens of women miners, some men miners, NGO staff and other experts in the field. These discussions and interviews took place in two locations in South Kivu – Kamituga and Luhwindja.
Findings
Debt bondage of women in gold mining should not be confused with trafficking of women, for sex work or other forms of work, which has often been the primary focus of international anti-slavery campaigning efforts. However, the paper finds that debt bondage is not a temporary expedient for most women, and has become deeply embedded in the institutional set-up of artisanal mining in South Kivu. Women’s debt slavery in artisanal gold mines in South Kivu has become tightly enmeshed with local social relations of partnership, business, custom and with marriage and family ties. To a large extent, women miners’ debt bondage has become normalised. This makes it almost invisible to outsiders. The findings suggest that debt bondage can result in forced marriage and can be transmitted inter-generationally. Indebtedness is often taken for granted as the ‘normal’ state of affairs for women miners. This applies in peace-time as much as during violent conflicts and clashes. For women, debt bondage reinforces their marginalisation in the household, as well as low self-esteem, especially as economic actors. This is despite women’s overwhelming contribution to household livelihoods and survival strategies in South Kivu mining households.
