Abstract

In the Solomon Islands, migration to Honiara from the rural areas is pervasive. The urban world shapes and complicates gender stereotypes and identity, particularly in regards to the rural/urban dichotomy. Focusing on migrant women, and their experiences of Honiara, this thesis will discuss how urban temporality reconfigures gender. Since some migrants will enter Honiara for only short durations and others for longer periods, identity becomes performed through different language practices and enacted through personal relationships. Identity is inherently shaped by age, social positioning and class. However, competing tensions in the urban setting creates ambivalence amongst migrant women in regards to their life in Honiara.