When Women Support the Patriarchal Family: The Dynamics of Marriage in a Gécamines Mining Camp (Katanga Province, DR Congo) BENJAMIN RUBBERS Abstract Based on ethnographic research among the ex-Gécamines workers of Panda (Likasi, DR Congo), this article studies the dynamics of the spousal relation- ship in a post-industrial context that has been long characterized by paternalism. The results of this research suggest that, though men and women living in this mining community talk about their spousal relationships by invoking the ideal of Christian marriage promoted during the colonial period, in practice such relation- ships faced important changes following Congolese independence in 1960. The nationalization and subsequent dramatic decline of Gécamines caused changes which directly affected three central dimensions of the colonial family model, namely monogamy, the ideal of domesticity, and male authority. If men and women continue to reference this model, it is because, in times of growing poverty, it allows spouses to remind one another of their respective duties as docile housewives and respon- sible husbands, and to command respect as virtuous Christian families in the local community. **** Introduction Founded in 1906, Union Minière du Haut-Katanga has been the jewel of the Congolese mining industry, well-known for its pater- nalism towards its workers and its hegemonic power over Katanga province. Following its nationalization in 1967, Union Minière – renamed Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) – expe- rienced prosperous years until 1975 or so. It was then hit by the decline of the national economy and victim of misappropriations by the Mobutu regime. Considerably weakened by these two factors, Gécamines’ industrial empire eventually collapsed in the turmoil of the early 1990s (Rubbers 2006). Subsequently to several events (the collapse of its most important mine, the eviction of employees from Kasai, etc.), its production of copper fell down dramatically from 339,000 tonnes in 1990 to 46,000 tonnes in 1993. Unable to meet its financial obligations, the company allowed its buildings fall into decay and began to pay its workers irregularly. The Gécamines never rose from its ruins. In 2002, at the end of the civil war (1998–2002), it was producing only 19,000 tonnes of copper; at the same time, it had liabilities of US$ 1,3 billion and its Journal of Historical Sociology Vol. •• No. •• •• 2014 DOI: 10.1111/johs.12050 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd