‘Sister-Madam’: family members navigating hiring of relatives as domestic workers in Nkowankowa, Limpopo

Abstract

Domestic work constitutes a large sector, with more than a million women working as domestic workers. In South Africa, it is a norm that whites employ black women as domestic servants, but with the demise of apartheid, there has been an increase in the employment of domestic workers in black families. However, hiring family members as domestic workers in black families is an under-researched area. Drawing from the authors dissertation, this article examines family domestic work – whereby family members hire their relatives as domestic workers – in rural Limpopo. The study mobilises a qualitative approach to comprehend the experiences of hiring kin as domestic workers. Findings illustrate that family domestic work is an act of reciprocal care amongst family members. Relatives hire their kin to help with domestic duties and enabling family members to provide for their families. The relationship between ‘sister-maids’ and ‘sister-madams’ is intertwined, which leads to the difficulty of balancing formal employment and family relations. Thus, family domestic work symbolises a capitalised reciprocal caring within black families in postapartheid South Africa, as helping involves paying each other. The article does not generalise on family domestic work, but contributes to the body of knowledge about domestic work within black families.