The Role of “Islamic Feminism” in Somali Immigrant Women's
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Role of “Islamic feminism” in Somali Immigrant Women’s Intra-and Extra-Household Bargaining Power and in Mitigating the Negative Effects of the Image Problem in their Integration in Norway Anne Wangui Ngunjiri Master of Philosophy in Gender and Development Spring, 2013 Faculty of Psychology Department of Health Promotion and Development Abstract This research explores the aspirations and life experiences of Somali immigrant women in Bergen as they embark on gender-tuned interpretation of the Quran as a source of bargaining power within the household and in the wider Norwegian immigration context. By bargaining power I mean an individual’s interests or preferences and the ability to act on those interests or preferences. I show that, faced by constraints such as restrictive structures within the Norwegian immigration context and patriarchal norms of conduct, some Somali women have created a vision, an ideal and a practice of ordering life according to the Quran that they call “Islamic feminism”. This ideal, Somali “Islamic feminism”, has clear associations with the political movement of Islamic Feminism, but it is also clearly unique and distinct, due to its origins among Somali immigrant women themselves. I argue that by means of Somali “Islamic feminism”, these brave women are using the Quran to challenge patriarchy. By so doing, they are gaining bargaining power within and outside their households and are creating grassroot change, as well as a ray of hope for the next generation of Somali women. The voices of Somali men are also included in showing how migration creates new forms of belonging and redefines new patterns of gender power relations. The research concludes that Somali “Islamic feminism” has a “catalyzing effect” on the degree of intra-and-extra household bargaining power although the magnitude diminishes at extra household levels. i Acknowledgements I am thankful to programme coordinators Haldis Haukanes and Marit Tjomsland for their generous support, input and guidance. I am extremely grateful to Gaudencia Mutema, my thesis supervisor, for her encouragement, detailed and valuable suggestions and editorial advice. I also thank Victor Chimhutu, Padmaja Barua and my fellow graduate students for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this research. I benefitted immensely from the insights of the Somali women and men whom I interviewed in Bergen. Special thanks are due to Abdul Ahmed and Ifrah Ciyow who provided excellent research assistance. Views, omissions and errors are my responsibility. E-mail address for correspondence: [email protected] ii Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: Introduction.......................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Thesis Outline and Presentation of Chapters ........................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Background and Context ................................................................................... 5 2.1 Perspectives on Patriarchy ...................................................................................... 5 2.2 Attitudes towards Muslim Immigrants and their Integration in Europe ................. 5 2.3 On Somalis and Clan Affiliation ............................................................................ 8 2.4 Integration of Somali Immigrants Norway ............................................................ 11 Chapter 3: Literature Review on Gender, Immigration and Islamic Feminism ............ 12 3.1 Gender and Immigration........................................................................................ 12 3.2 Integration and Cultural Polarization of Somali Immigrants in Norway ............... 14 3.3 On Islamic Feminism ............................................................................................. 15 3.3.1 Feminism, A loaded Term ............................................................................. 15 3.3.2 Schools of Thought in Islamic Feminism ...................................................... 16 Chapter 4: Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................... 20 4.1 Intersectionality: A Relational Model and Theory of Inequalities ......................... 20 4.2 Gidden’s Structuration Theory and Women’s Bargaining Power ......................... 22 4.2.1 The Structure and Agency Framework ........................................................ 22 4.2.2 Interactions among Reflexive Agents .......................................................... 24 4.2.3 Understanding Intersectionality, Structure and Agency .............................. 26 4.3 The Bargaining Framework of Household Decision Making Processes ............... 27 Chapter 5: Data Collection, Methods and Ethical Considerations .................................. 33 5.1 Position as Researcher ............................................................................................. 33 5.2 Selection of Informants ........................................................................................... 33 5.3 Procedure and Data Collection Methods ................................................................. 35 5.4 Interviews ................................................................................................................ 36 5.5 Participant Observation ........................................................................................... 39 5.6 Challenges ............................................................................................................... 39 5.7 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................. 41 5.8 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 6: Empirical Chapters ........................................................................................... 43 6.1 Changing Gender Relations and Quest for Belonging among Somali Immigrants ........... 43 6.1.1 The Somali Clan System, Male Dominance and Gender Inequality ......................... 43 6.1.2 Changing Gender Roles and Integration of Somali Immigrants ............................... 47 6.1.2 (a) Breadwinners ............................................................................................ 47 6.1.2 (b) Taxi Business ............................................................................................ 49 6.1.3 Everyday Socialization of Somali Children outside the Household ......................... 52 6.1.3 (a) Religiously Sanctioned Consumerism ....................................................... 52 iii 6.2 Somali Women’s Views and Experiences of Islamic Feminism ....................................... 55 6.2.1 Interaction between Islam and Feminism ................................................................... 55 6.2.2 Somali “Islamic feminism” in the eyes of ‘other’ Women ........................................ 60 6.2.3 Somali “Islamic feminism” in the Eyes of Somali Men ............................................ 61 6.3 Intra- and- Extra Household Outcomes of Somali “Islamic feminism”.......................... 63 6.3.1 Intra Household Outcomes on Ideas and Practises glossed as Islamic ....................... 63 6.3.1 (a) On Sexuality and Contraceptives ................................................................... 63 6.3.1 (b) On Polygamy ................................................................................................ 64 6.3.1 (c) Domestic Violence ......................................................................................... 66 6.3.1 (d) Second generation Somali Immigrants .......................................................... 67 6.3.1 (e) Complimentary versus Egalitarian Gender Roles .......................................... 68 6.3.2 Extra Household Outcomes .......................................................................................... 69 6.3.2 (a) Self-Image and Self Esteem through Education ............................................. 69 6.3.2 (b) Attitudinal Barriers to Integration and Cultural Polarization ......................... 71 6.3.2 (c) In the hall of fame of ‘symbol of oppression’: The Islamic Veil ................... 71 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................ 74 7.1 Discussion of the First Research Question ......................................................................... 74 7.2 Discussion of the Second Research Question .................................................................... 76 7.3 Discussion of the Third Research Question ....................................................................... 78 7.4 Discussion of the Fourth Research Question ..................................................................... 80 7.5 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................