Crossing Non-Physical Borders: Gender Role Shifts and Systematic Inequalities in the Resettlement of Afghan Women

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Hammond, Hannah
Area of Honors:
Middle East Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Kathleen J D Sexsmith, Thesis Supervisor
Janina M Safran, Thesis Honors Advisor
Tobias Heinrich Albert Brinkmann, Thesis Supervisor
Keywords:
Afghan refugees
border symbolization
feminist refugee epistomolgy
Abstract:
The dominant narrative on Afghan women refugees, as presented in academic studies and the media, is often based on reductionist stereotypes that portray them mainly as helpless victims of their culture, or as victims of trauma defined solely in terms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Gender Based Violence (GBV). This research problem, however, identifies a major gap in academic literature and refugee studies, which often fails to take into consideration the personal transformations, gender role shifts, and systemic inequalities faced by refugees in the migration systems of the host countries, often because of the limitations of donor-funded NonGovernmental Organizations (NGO) research that favors quantified, mission-driven data. The research aim is to break away from such preconceived notions of Afghan women refugees, as is commonly seen in the literature, and instead, aims to examine the unique experiences of Afghan women refugees in the United States, who were resettled there after the year 2001. The aim of the research is to determine the transformations in the identity of Afghan women refugees. If a feminist methodology is employed, the methodology shifts focus away from the overarching trauma-centric themes to the more mundane, day-to-day activities of the women, such as the crossing of non-physical borders. This methodology is carried out through the qualitative analysis of ten to thirteen published interviews, which include high-profile women in prestigious positions. The preliminary findings of the research indicate that, although trauma is a part of the women's lives, defining the women solely on their "need to be saved" does not give a complete picture of the women's agency and worth. The research shows the ways in which the women navigate the changing social norms and access to government resources in their state of liminality. This research further implores the changing gender roles that are experienced, and what government and social systems create this change in the United States for Afghani women refugees.