This document summarizes research on the migration experiences of adolescent girls from Eritrea and Ethiopia living in Khartoum, Sudan. Through qualitative interviews and surveys with 48 Eritrean and 16 Ethiopian girls, the research found that the girls made independent decisions to migrate for reasons beyond exploitation, including poverty, family circumstances like parental death, and aspirations for greater freedom and opportunity. While gender norms and constraints still impacted their agency, the girls demonstrated "thin agency" in making choices to improve their lives rather than viewing themselves solely as victims. The research highlights the need for policies that recognize girls' decision-making capacities and provide support services and livelihood options in both origin and destination countries.

1. No choice or no chance? Decision-making and
narratives of migration among Eritrean and
Ethiopian adolescent girls in Khartoum
Dr. Katarzyna Grabska,
The Graduate Institute of International and
Development Studies, Geneva

2. Why migrating girls?
 Increasing numbers of girls migrating independently world-wide
But:
 Negative discourse about migration of girls below 18-years old
 International and national advocacy and policies describe often this type
of movement is exploitation, trafficking, and smuggling of young people;
girls seen as victims
As a result:
 Overlooking the own decision-making process and agency of children
and youth migration processes, as well as in understanding their specific
reasons for migration
 Problems with identifying children and young people’s own issues
related to migration and addressing their individual needs
 Girls’ agency as economic agents overlooked

3. Migration, adolescence, transitions:
Theoretical approach
 Migration of adolescent girls in the Global South through a
holistic approach that contextualises adolescents’ and
young women’s agency, choices and migration experiences
 Why adolescence?
Adolescence: it is a period of critical transitions when major life
decisions are taken, albeit in context specific ways
Intersections with different stages of life
Adolescence for girls usually viewed as sexual maturity and
marriage: but girls who migrate make economic and protection
choices
Adolescence and gender: a point of extreme gender differences –
how does migration impact this stage
 Youth transitions (Punch 2002) and migration: shifts in
social status and spatial shift

4. Fieldwork in Khartoum
Qualitative and ethnographic fieldwork in Khartoum: March 2014-
September 2015
Local partners: Ahfad University for Women; CEDEJ Khartoum
Migrant and refugee girls’ participation in fieldwork and their role

5. Methods
 Focus on Ethiopian and Eritrean adolescent migrant and refugee
girls: numbers and changing age dynamics of migratory flows
 Choice of respondents:
interviews with girls and young women who migrated for the
first time when they were between 13 and 21 years old;
interviews with those who migrated recently (within the past 2
years) and those who migrated earlier (some up to 25 years ago)
 Qualitative survey (48 ER, 16 ETH); Life histories (15, 10); Focus
groups discussions
 Interviews with family members in Khartoum, international and
local organisations, migrant groups
 Studying decision-making

6. Why migration to Sudan?
‘What eye refuses to see’ Gaim Kibreab
 Ethiopians:
as a destination, at times transit
close distance, long-standing historical connections
large migratory networks
informality of migration
 Eritreans:
different types of migration: old and new; destination versus
transit
networks, Sudan hosting Eritrean refugees since 1980s
relatively easy access: open border, refugee status
the vision of Sudan as a transit
the only place

7. Migration motivations and trajectories

8. Reasons for migration Eritreans (ER) Ethiopians (ETH)
Poverty 5 (er) 7 (eth)
Failed marriage 1 (er) 2 (eth)
Avoid getting married 1 (er) 3(eth)
Continue education 3 (er)
Wanting to help the family 7 (er) 12 (eth)
Death of one or both parents or sibling 9 (er) 2 (eth)
Desire for more freedom, including religious
persecution
1 (er)
Political situation: national service 8 (all Eritreans)
Conflict with parents/relatives/ due to boyfriend,
pregnancy
7 (er)
Following boyfriend-husband 6 (er)
Abused by parents/ relatives/husband 5 (er) 1(eth)
Other 2 (er), 3 (eth - war)
Parents’ divorce 1 (eth)
Supporting education of siblings 2 (eth)
Supporting a relative 1 (eth)
Following others who left to Sudan 2 (eth)

9. Bana, 21, from Eritrea,
in Khartoum since 3 years
In fact, when I decided to leave
Eritrea, I made a choice. I rejected the
current situation in which I was living
and lack of opportunities in Eritrea.
So, you can say, that when people are
leaving Eritrea they are making a
choice. They usually say, that they did
not have a chance (edil) in Eritrea,
that’s why they left….
We are here, we came here to change
our lives, and nothing has happened. I
am still a girl (guol), people still call
me menesay (sg. youth). I should be a
sabeyti by now (married woman). We
are missing our time here.

10. Migration motivations:
beyond human rights and poverty discourse
 Eritrea: political circumstances, national service, but also
aspirations, ‘no choice’ versus ‘no chance’
 Ethiopia: poverty in rural areas, but complexity of household
circumstances, local gender norms combined with labour
opportunities for girls
 Gender order and gender norms
 Family circumstances
 Decisions to leave: ‘thin agency’ (Klocker 2007)
 On their own
 Beyond brokers
 New ‘culture of migration’

11. Policy relevance
 Complexity of decision-making process – beyond victims, yet within
constraining gendered structures of globalised markets
 ‘thin agency’ yet a creative force for change
 In places of destination and of origin: Need to look at the specifics of
girls’ decision-making and adapt strategies that will ease girls’
experiences at home
 In places of origin: Providing meaningfull livelihood options for girls to
fulfil their roles as daughters and individual aspirations, but also to
imporve their status as girls within their communities
 Once in places of destination: provide access to services (health and
psychological) and education that can be combined with work
 Campaigns against violence against girls: for men and women