Black women in the marketplace: everyday gender-based risks against Haiti&apos;s <i>madan saras</i> (women traders)

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Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Volume 9, Issue 2

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Black women in the marketplace: everyday gender-based risks against Haiti's madan saras (women traders)

research-article

Author(s): Caroline Shenaz Hossein

Publication date (Print): Winter 2015

Journal: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

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Abstract

In Haiti, madan saras have for centuries personalised economics through a sistèm pratik that has institutionalised market operations by connecting buyers and sellers. This study – based on 77 interviews, mainly (73%) with madan saras from northern Haiti – exposes gender-based violence (GBV) towards Black women entrepreneurs, examining the views of the madan saras about their work and using the framework of Black feminist theory to contextualise their experience. Despite social awareness of the contributions of madan saras, the pervasive GBV against madan saras in business is ignored by society and policymakers, and Haitian women must contend with these risks by themselves.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): workorgalaboglob

Title: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 1745641X

ISSN (Electronic): 17456428

Publication date (Print): Winter 2015

Volume: 9

Issue: 2

Pages: 36-50

Article

Publisher ID: workorgalaboglob.9.2.0036

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.9.2.0036

SO-VID: 3f229c2f-f017-44af-8c71-432c216a0206

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History

ScienceOpen disciplines: Sociology,Labor law,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics

References

Borns, P. (2012) ‘Interview: Haitian Minister of Women's Affairs Marie Yanick Mezile’, October, 27. Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://www.madamsara.com/reportersnotebook/haitis-minister-of-womens-affairs-marie-yannick-mezile/
Cassagnol, E. (15 August 2014) ‘Madan sara rançonnées, battues, violées à Croix-des-Bossales, dans l'indifférence’, Alter/Presse . Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article16824#.VNz4JWPwqQJ.
Collins, D., J. Morduch, S. Rutherford & O. Ruthven (2009) Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day , Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of colour’, Stanford Law Review 43 (6):1241–99.
Development Alternatives Inc. (2013) ‘Etude initiale des cinq filières prioritaires’, Agridev. Program title, USAID FTFN. Contract no. AID-522-C-1100004 (By Stephan Jean-Pierre, Helene Kiremidjian and Junior Paul).
Dorte, V. (2008) ‘Labor markets in urban and rural Haiti: Based on the first household survey for Haiti’, WPS-4574, The World Bank Group, Social Development, Sustainable Development Division, March.
Fatton, R. (2002) Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy , Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Few, A.L. (2007) ‘Integrating Black consciousness and critical race feminism into family studies research’, Journal of Family Issues , 28 (4):452–73.
Food and Agriculture Organization/World Food Program. (2010) ‘Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to Haiti’, Special Report, 21 September.
Girard, P. (2010) Haiti: The Tumultuous History – From Pearl of the Caribbean to Broken Nation , New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Hill Collins, P. (2000) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment , New York: Routledge.
Hossein, C.S. (2014a) ‘The exclusion of Afro-Guyanese in micro-banking’, The European Review of Latin America and Caribbean Studies , 96 (1):75–98.
Hossein, C.S. (2014b) ‘Haiti's Caisses Populaires: Home-grown solutions to bring economic democracy’, International Journal of Social Economics , 41 (1):42–59.
Hossein, C.S. (2014c) ‘Understanding gender-specific constraints for Haiti's women micro-entrepreneurs in the northern corridor’, Making Cents International, final report, unpublished.
Hossein, C.S. (2013) ‘Using a Black feminist framework: A study comparing bias against female entrepreneurs in Caribbean micro-banking’, Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice , 2 (1):51–70.
Hossein, C.S. (2012) ‘The Politics of Microfinance: A Comparative Study of Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti’ (PhD dissertation), Toronto, ON, Canada: Department of Political Science, University of Toronto.
Lundy, P.P. (2010) ‘Filières agricoles à Gros-Morne: Diagnostic et analyse de la situation des producteurs agricoles’, Konsey Nasyonal Popile, unpublished.
Maguire, R. (1997) ‘From outsiders to insiders: Grassroots leadership and political change’ in R. Maguire (ed.) Haiti Renewed: Political and Economic Prospects , Washington, DC: Brookings Institution:154–66.
Mayoux, L. (1999) ‘Questioning virtuous spirals: Microfinance & women's empowerment in Africa’, Journal of International Development , 11 (1):957–84.
Mintz, S. (1955) ‘The Jamaican internal marketing pattern: Some notes and hypotheses’, Social and Economic Studies , 4 (1):95–103.
Mintz, S. (2010) Three Ancient Colonies: Caribbean Themes and Variations , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Mintz, S. (2011) ‘Pratik: Haitian Personal Economic Relationships’, Open Anthropology Cooperative Press:1–15. Retrieved on-line at: http://openanthcoop.net/press/2011/01/13/pratik/
N'Zengou-Tayo, M.-J. (1998) ‘Fanm Se Poto Mitan: Haitian woman, the pillar of society’, Feminist Review: Rethinking Caribbean Difference , 59:118–42.
Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy (2009) Film; 60 minutes. Prod. Tet Ansanm. Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://www.potomitan.net/.
Shamsie, Y. (2006) ‘The economic dimension of peace-building in Haiti: Drawing on the past to reflect on the present’ in Y. Shamsie & A. Thompson (eds) Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State , Waterloo, ON, Canada: Wilfred Laurier Press:37–50.
Transparency International (2014) ‘Corruption Perceptions Index of 2014’. Accessed August, 30, 2015 from http://www.transparency.org/country/#HTI
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Ulysse, G.A. (2007) Downtown Ladies: Informal Commercial Importers, a Haitian Anthropologist, and Self-Making in Jamaica , Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.
United Nations Development Programme. (2014) ‘UN Human Development Index of 2014’. Accessed August, 30, 2015 from http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HTI.
Wane, N., K. Deliovskey & E. Lawson (2002) Back to the Drawing Board: African Canadian Feminisms , Toronto, ON, Canada: Sumach.
World Bank (2013) ‘Data’. Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.
World Bank Group (2011) ‘Agriculture and rural development Latin America and Caribbean region. A Project Appraisal Document’ in Re-launching Agriculture: Strengthening Agriculture Public Services Project II (confidential, draft document).
Zanotti, L. (2010) ‘Cacophonies of aid, failed state building and NGOs in Haiti: Setting the stage for disaster, envisioning the future’, Third World Quarterly , 31 (5):755–71.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Borns, P. (2012) ‘Interview: Haitian Minister of Women's Affairs Marie Yanick Mezile’, October, 27. Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://www.madamsara.com/reportersnotebook/haitis-minister-of-womens-affairs-marie-yannick-mezile/

[2] Cassagnol, E. (15 August 2014) ‘Madan sara rançonnées, battues, violées à Croix-des-Bossales, dans l'indifférence’, Alter/Presse . Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article16824#.VNz4JWPwqQJ.

[3] Collins, D., J. Morduch, S. Rutherford & O. Ruthven (2009) Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day , Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[4] Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of colour’, Stanford Law Review 43 (6):1241–99.

[5] Development Alternatives Inc. (2013) ‘Etude initiale des cinq filières prioritaires’, Agridev. Program title, USAID FTFN. Contract no. AID-522-C-1100004 (By Stephan Jean-Pierre, Helene Kiremidjian and Junior Paul).

[6] Dorte, V. (2008) ‘Labor markets in urban and rural Haiti: Based on the first household survey for Haiti’, WPS-4574, The World Bank Group, Social Development, Sustainable Development Division, March.

[7] Fatton, R. (2002) Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy , Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

[8] Few, A.L. (2007) ‘Integrating Black consciousness and critical race feminism into family studies research’, Journal of Family Issues , 28 (4):452–73.

[9] Food and Agriculture Organization/World Food Program. (2010) ‘Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to Haiti’, Special Report, 21 September.

[10] Girard, P. (2010) Haiti: The Tumultuous History – From Pearl of the Caribbean to Broken Nation , New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

[11] Government of Haiti. National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP), May 2010. Accessed October, 6, 2015 from http://www.agriculture.gouv.ht/view/01/?Plan-National-d-investissement.

[12] Hill Collins, P. (2000) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment , New York: Routledge.

[13] Hossein, C.S. (2014a) ‘The exclusion of Afro-Guyanese in micro-banking’, The European Review of Latin America and Caribbean Studies , 96 (1):75–98.

[14] Hossein, C.S. (2014b) ‘Haiti's Caisses Populaires: Home-grown solutions to bring economic democracy’, International Journal of Social Economics , 41 (1):42–59.

[15] Hossein, C.S. (2014c) ‘Understanding gender-specific constraints for Haiti's women micro-entrepreneurs in the northern corridor’, Making Cents International, final report, unpublished.

[16] Hossein, C.S. (2013) ‘Using a Black feminist framework: A study comparing bias against female entrepreneurs in Caribbean micro-banking’, Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice , 2 (1):51–70.

[17] Hossein, C.S. (2012) ‘The Politics of Microfinance: A Comparative Study of Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti’ (PhD dissertation), Toronto, ON, Canada: Department of Political Science, University of Toronto.

[18] Lundy, P.P. (2010) ‘Filières agricoles à Gros-Morne: Diagnostic et analyse de la situation des producteurs agricoles’, Konsey Nasyonal Popile, unpublished.

[19] Maguire, R. (1997) ‘From outsiders to insiders: Grassroots leadership and political change’ in R. Maguire (ed.) Haiti Renewed: Political and Economic Prospects , Washington, DC: Brookings Institution:154–66.

[20] Mayoux, L. (1999) ‘Questioning virtuous spirals: Microfinance & women's empowerment in Africa’, Journal of International Development , 11 (1):957–84.

[21] Mintz, S. (1955) ‘The Jamaican internal marketing pattern: Some notes and hypotheses’, Social and Economic Studies , 4 (1):95–103.

[22] Mintz, S. (2010) Three Ancient Colonies: Caribbean Themes and Variations , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[23] Mintz, S. (2011) ‘Pratik: Haitian Personal Economic Relationships’, Open Anthropology Cooperative Press:1–15. Retrieved on-line at: http://openanthcoop.net/press/2011/01/13/pratik/

[24] N'Zengou-Tayo, M.-J. (1998) ‘Fanm Se Poto Mitan: Haitian woman, the pillar of society’, Feminist Review: Rethinking Caribbean Difference , 59:118–42.

[25] Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy (2009) Film; 60 minutes. Prod. Tet Ansanm. Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://www.potomitan.net/.

[26] Shamsie, Y. (2006) ‘The economic dimension of peace-building in Haiti: Drawing on the past to reflect on the present’ in Y. Shamsie & A. Thompson (eds) Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State , Waterloo, ON, Canada: Wilfred Laurier Press:37–50.

[27] Transparency International (2014) ‘Corruption Perceptions Index of 2014’. Accessed August, 30, 2015 from http://www.transparency.org/country/#HTI

[28] Tucker, M. & W. Tellis (2005) ‘Microfinance institutions in transitions: Fonkoze in Haiti moves toward regulated banking status’, Journal of Microfinance 7 (2):101–25.

[29] Ulysse, G.A. (2007) Downtown Ladies: Informal Commercial Importers, a Haitian Anthropologist, and Self-Making in Jamaica , Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.

[30] United Nations Development Programme. (2014) ‘UN Human Development Index of 2014’. Accessed August, 30, 2015 from http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HTI.

[31] Wane, N., K. Deliovskey & E. Lawson (2002) Back to the Drawing Board: African Canadian Feminisms , Toronto, ON, Canada: Sumach.

[32] World Bank (2013) ‘Data’. Accessed October, 5, 2015 from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.

[33] World Bank Group (2011) ‘Agriculture and rural development Latin America and Caribbean region. A Project Appraisal Document’ in Re-launching Agriculture: Strengthening Agriculture Public Services Project II (confidential, draft document).

[34] Zanotti, L. (2010) ‘Cacophonies of aid, failed state building and NGOs in Haiti: Setting the stage for disaster, envisioning the future’, Third World Quarterly , 31 (5):755–71.