AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Fatima Rezai for the degree of Masters of Arts in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies presented on March 18, 2020 Title: Narratives of Motherwork, Agency, and Resilience: An Oral History of Afghan Immigrant Mothers in the Pacific Northwest Diaspora Abstract Approved: ____________________________________ Cari S. Maes Using intersectional, matricentric feminist of color approaches, this study interrogates the particularities of Afghan immigrants' mothering experiences—as one of the hidden facets of their lived experience—in the United States from a life-course perspective. Using a combination of feminist oral historical approaches, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation, this thesis explores the textures of maternal experiences to gain insight on how these mothers navigate through two overlapping contexts that frame their lives. The first context comprises women’s recollections of mothering in the midst of oppression and war in Afghanistan. These narratives specifically reveal the ways in which gender and, in some cases, ethnicity shape women’s experiences of conflict at home in Afghanistan. As will be explored, the stories they share help rupture dominant Western characterizations of mothers as “passive victims” in the protracted wars waged in the country spanning the last four decades. The second key context focuses on life in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and reveals how Afghan mothers experience the twin processes of cultural alienation and adaptation. This work ultimately provides a unique window into the intimate space of mothering, home, and family for a small group of Afghan mothers living outside the traditional diasporic hubs of the United States. Copyright by Fatima Rezai March 18, 2020 All Rights Reserved Narratives of Motherwork, Agency, and Resilience: An Oral History of Afghan Immigrant Mothers in the Pacific Northwest Diaspora by Fatima Rezai A THESIS Submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented March 18, 2020 Commencement June 2020 Master of Arts thesis of Fatima Rezai presented on March 18, 2020 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Director of the School of Language, Culture, and Society Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become a part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Fatima Rezai, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my incredible supervisor, Dr. Cari Maes, for her mentorship and guidance through each stage of the process. This thesis would have not been possible without her generous support, invaluable insights, and enthusiasm. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to each of the member of my committee members, Dr. Melissa Cheyney, Dr. Liddy Detar, and Dr. Kelly Chandler, who have generously provided me with extensive support in the pursuit of this project. I also gratefully acknowledge the grant received from Fulbright Foreign Student Program for completion of this Master program. I dedicate this thesis to the Afghan women at the center of this study who welcomed me warmly to their homes, opened up their lives, and offered illuminating insights. I am also indebted to their families for their friendship, trust, and kindness throughout the life of this project. The last but not least, for their inspiration, love, and emotional support, I am profoundly grateful to my family, in particular my mother, whose life story and resilience in the face of adversity inspired this work. INDIGENOUS LANDS STATEMENT Let it be acknowledged that Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Mary's River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians (https://ctsi.nsn.us) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction …….....…………..………………………………………………………..……1 Background……………..………………..…………………………………………………… 14 Methodology……....……………………………...………………………………………...… 25 Narratives………………...………........…………………………………………......……….. 37 Mina……………………………………………………………………………………..37 Mahtab………………………………………………………………..…………………47 Habiba ………………………………………………………………..…………………60 Tahera …………………………………………………………………..………………69 Discussion...…………………………………………………………………….………………82 Conclusion.……………………………………………………………………….……………94 Bibliography………………………………………………………………..…….…………....98 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………110 Appendix A: Overview of Afghan Displacement Numbers……………………. …..……….110 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure I and II: Map of Hazarajat Region and Regional Map of Afghanistan…………..15 Figure III: Map of Jaghori District location within Ghazni Province……………………39 Figure IV: Kakrak Valley Location within Ghazni Province...………………………….48 Figure V: City of Ghazni……..………………………………………………………….50 Figure VI: Photograph of Traditional Attire……………………………………………..78 Figure VII: Phonograph of Henna Patterns………………………………………………81 1 Narratives of Motherwork, Agency, and Resilience: An Oral History of Afghan Immigrant Mothers in the Pacific Northwest Introduction Can anyone teach me how to make a homeland? Heartfelt thanks if you can, heartiest thanks… -from “Lament for Syria,” Amineh Abou Kerech (2017) Habiba slowly laid on her handmade Afghan sitting mattress closed to the window, a small piece of embroidered napkin in her hand, watched the last trace of the sun's light vanished in gloomy winter of West coast. “At this time of the year at 'home,’ I would sit and chat with the rest of the elder women by the wall, under the sun, watching our little grandchildren playing around us… but days are shorter here,” she said, sighing deeply in despair. After a short pause, she continued retelling her story of wartime starting with these words: “everyone looted our land in turn. We have gone through many hardship. Thank God, my children are not seeing those days anymore, they are now safe here.” -Habiba, interview with the author (2018) This study aims to interrogate the particularities of Afghan immigrants' mothering experiences — as one of the hidden facets of their lived experience — in the United States from a life-course perspective. Using a combination of feminist oral historical approaches, semi- structured interviews, and participant observation, this thesis explores the textures of maternal experiences to gain insight on how these mothers navigate through two overlapping contexts that frame their lives. The first context comprises women’s recollections of mothering in the midst of oppression and war in Afghanistan. These narratives specifically reveal the ways in which gender and, in some cases, ethnicity shape women’s experiences of conflict at home in Afghanistan. As will be explored, the stories they share help rupture dominant Western characterizations of mothers as “passive victims” in the protracted wars waged in the country spanning the last four decades. The second key context, the crux of this thesis, focuses on women’s experiences of alienation and adaptation in the Pacific Northwest region of the United 2 Narratives of Motherwork, Agency, and Resilience: An Oral History of Afghan Immigrant Mothers in the Pacific Northwest States.1 What makes the position of Afghan women unique in the United States is that they took refuge in the very country that has waged war against their homeland in the name of eradicating global terrorism. As Saskia Witteborn’s work on Iraqi refugees living in the Pacific Northwest during the War in Iraq shows, the complex dynamics between warring nation-states deeply influence how diasporic subjects define their identity and belonging in their new home (2008: 202-204). Similarly, for Afghan women, acts of living and mothering in this context are further complicated by post- 9/11 hostilities, stereotypes, and Islamophobia against Muslims and Afghans in particular, leading to their marginalized status in the host country (Ahmed-Ghosh 2015: 123). Hence, this study reveals how diasporic Afghan women navigate an increasingly inhospitable social climate in the United States and how they deploy various “motherwork” strategies (Hill Collins 1994) to protect their families and build a sense of home in the Pacific Northwest. In recent years, the plight of Afghan women has come to the attention of global feminist movements. Humanitarian efforts sponsored by a number of local and international NGOs have brought women, particularly mothers, to the forefront of the country’s reconstruction and reconciliation processes. As of 2006, there were 1600 NGO and United Nations offices across Afghanistan working on a range of campaigns to rebuild civil society and infrastructure (Langary 2010: xii). These campaigns have disseminated images and stories of women’s experiences in the post-conflict era, while sometimes reinforcing reductive stereotypes about how Afghanistan is “the worst place in the world to be a woman.”2 As these organizations have moved to focus on 1This study (#8573) was categorized by the Oregon State University Institutional Review Board as “not research” on April 27, 2018. Due to increased precarity and threats to Muslim communities in the United