TRADING TRAITORS - CULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS OF FEMALE MOBILITY IN A WEST-AFRICAN BORDERLAND

In the Shabe border region of the Republic of Benin and Nigeria, a com bination of transnational political and economic processes has prompte d an economic recession and increased competition over economic resour ces in the borderland. In the wake of economic decline, women and men in the community of Ibere have engaged in struggles over female mobili ty in the borderland. Debates over women's movements across the intern ational border are being shaped by conceptions of gender, community, a nd national difference; marketing practices; ritual practice; discours es of sexuality; and cultural constructions of the border.