Abstract
This project focusses on the history of female Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) across the Uganda-DRCongo border (late 19th century to present). ICBT is an important topic in economic policies. However, it is often not historicized. This leads to a misrepresentation of informal trading networks and their complex histories, and an overemphasis on the role of colonial trade configurations. ICBT is largely practiced by women, who remain absent actors in colonial historiography, which is also due to the informality of their commercial activities. Research on ICBT across the Congolese-Ugandan border, more specifically, is characterized by a strong Uganda bias due to better monitoring, resulting in an underrepresentation of Congolese experiences. This research project then historicizes (RO1), brings women in (RO2), and counters prevalent national frameworks (RO3) in studying ICBT across the Ugandan-Congolese border.
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