Envisioning the Future: Women, Dreams, and Agency in Inga’s Hydroelectric Enclave

In Inga, dreaming is a symbolic practice for women to both escape and exercise control over their social world. Women in Inga utilise connections with men to accomplish their dreams and aspirations. In Camp Plateau, women are often well educated and capable of pursuing fulfilling careers but are restricted by Inga’s geography and moral scrutiny. Mostly confined to the home, where they conduct household tasks and care for children, they find ways to escape Inga’s boredom while managing religious and social expectations. In Camp Kinshasa, women enjoy a different kind of socio-economic freedom and agency, spending much of their time working outdoors. These women can more freely seek connections to improve their circumstances, though this comes with greater vulnerability and judgement from others. Women in both camps share the dream of a different life. In that sense, Inga is experienced as a temporary space, characterised by waiting and longing. While unmarried women await economic and romantic opportunities, they create lives where dreams and imaginations flourish. Daytime reveries find their way into nighttime dreams that are spiritually interpreted and alter people’s destinies.