ABSTRACT

Most of the literature on gender and forced migration has focused on vulnerability, highlighting a lack of agency among refugee women during periods of displacement. This paper takes a different approach, exploring instead the factors that influence refugee women’s agency within contexts of adversity and vulnerability, through a small case study of Syrian refugee women in Amman, Jordan. It addresses gender, forced migration and economic empowerment using a womanist approach and a lens of intersectionality Semi-structured individual and focus group interviews were carried out with humanitarian professionals and economically active Syrian refugee women. Findings illustrate the many ways that these women manage their lives and build resilience in themselves, their families, and their communities, despite their displacement, using strategies which emanate from their collective cultural context rather than oppose it. Findings also highlight the space created by displacement which opens opportunities to Syrian refugee women, rather than only obstacles. We argue that the profession of social work is in a good position to take forward learning from the study to support these transformative processes.

摘要

大多数关于性别和强迫移民的文献都集中在脆弱性上，强调难民妇女在流离失所期间缺乏代理权。本文采用了不同的方法，通过对约旦安曼的叙利亚难民妇女的小型案例研究，探讨了在逆境和脆弱性背景下影响难民妇女能动性的因素。它使用女性主义方法和交叉性视角来解决性别、强迫移民和经济赋权问题 对人道主义专业人员和从事经济活动的叙利亚难民妇女进行了半结构化的个人和焦点小组访谈。调查结果说明了这些妇女管理生活和增强自身、家庭和社区复原力的多种方式，尽管她们流离失所，使用源自其集体文化背景而不是反对它的策略。调查结果还强调了流离失所所创造的空间，这为叙利亚难民妇女提供了机会，而不仅仅是障碍。我们认为，社会工作专业处于有利地位，可以从研究中吸取教训，以支持这些变革过程。