Religion, gender and migration: beyond 'obedience vs agency'

Pubshed on openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)

Religion, gender and migration: beyond 'obedience vs
agency'

Cho Lews, 28th November 2011
Subjects:
50.50 |1|
50.50 |2|
50.50 Edtor's Pck |3|
Centrestage |4|
Pathways of Women's Empowerment |5|
Peope on the Move |6|
Regon Gender Potcs |7|
Cho Lews |8|

It s tme that debates surroundng regon and mgraton n the UK move beyond the amost
monothc focus on Isam, recognsng the mutpe and fud ways n whch regon shapes, and s n
turned shaped by, experences of mgraton, says Cho Lews
About the author
Cho Lews s a doctora canddate n the Department of Internatona Deveopment, Unversty of
Oxford. Her research nterests centre on gender, armed confct, and forced mgraton, wth a
partcuar focus on sexua voence perpetrated aganst men and boys n confct and dspacement n
the DRC

Regon, gender, and mgraton: three terms whch taken together tend to evoke assumptons of
fundamentasm, oppresson, and an overa threat to Brtsh dentty. A mere gance over
manstream meda reports n the UK and those of our contnenta counterparts confrm such
presuppostons, succncty symbosed by the veed Musm woman. Regous affatons,
especay n reaton to mgrant communtes, have n recent years been accorded ncreasng
mportance potcay, socay, and cuturay wthn the UK and the west more broady. In ths
regard, t s mportant to recognse the nfuence of the current potca and geopotca context,
whch has ed to partcuar attenton beng pad to Isam wthn host socetes. Aganst ths backdrop,
the mutpe and fud ways n whch regon shapes and s n turned shaped by experences of
mgraton are too often overooked.
It s tme that debates surroundng regon and mgraton move beyond the amost monothc focus
on Isam, recognsng the dversty across as we as wthn fath-based communtes as opposed to a
snguar understandng of a partcuar regous communty. A symposum |9| on Gender, Mgraton &
Regon recenty convened by Mddesex Unversty provded a cross-comparatve anayss of the
experences of dverse fath-based mgrant communtes - |ewsh, Musm, |anst, Hndu and Chrstan
- n an array of contexts. Ths was a rare opportunty to consder these three themes together,
provdng a powerfu remnder of the mut-faceted nature of regous faths on a communty and
ndvdua eve, whe hghghtng the compex and contradctory ways n whch regon and
regosty ntersect and nteract wth a wde array of dentty markers. A key theme that emerged
from the conference was that regon s a possbe source of agency, and even empowerment - a
noton whch sts somewhat uncomfortaby wth most secuar western femnst dscourses - but aso
represents a possbe source of excuson for both femae and mae mgrants n the UK.
Isam n the UK has been dubbed by potcans and the meda as a mark of separaton |10|, wth
the burqa |11|, arranged marrages |12|, and so-caed honour-kngs |13| at the forefront of such
perceptons. It woudnt be outandsh to state that pubc debates surroundng Musm women vew
and portray ths group as homogenous passve vctms of a partcuary austere and mae-centred
manfestaton of patrarchy, n ways, whch smpy put, western women are not. Unsurprsngy, a
recent YouGov po |14| found that 69% of those surveyed beeve that Isam encourages the
represson of women. Moreover, the faure to engage the voces of Musm women n such debates
Page 1 of 5
Religion, gender and migration: beyond 'obedience vs agency'
Pubshed on openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)
has, paradoxcay, renforced ther perceved represson. However, research by the Soca Pocy
Research Centre at Mddesex Unversty n partnershp wth the London Borough of Barnet nto the
concerns, experences and aspratons of women, more specfcay mothers, who dentfy as
Musm n dfferent ways and to dfferng degrees, stressed the need to recognse the dversty of
experences wthn Musm communtes, whch are nfuenced by a number of factors, ncudng
ethnc and/or natona background, soco-economc standng, and ength of tme snce arrva n the
UK. As one of the research partcpants sad: Look, 5omalis and Afghanis, the needs are so similar.
We have all come here so recently, we are refugees. The Asians came here before us, they are
well-established. They have businesses, while our people are still on benefits. the Muslims are not
only one community, there is a lot of diversity.
Nevertheess, ths study was abe to dscern some commonates n reaton to the roe(s) payed by
Isam for these women. For nstance, Isam was found to provde usefu resource n deveopng
parentng strateges n a UK context. Regon was seen to provde a source of mora authorty n
attempts to mtgate aganst fears that "chdren may be ed astray by negatve nfuences" such as
gangs, street crme, drugs, and for grs, teenage pregnancy. These concerns were perceved by
some to be a common reaty for a mothers "whether or not you are Musm". Interestngy, the
noton of normacy was echoed by a number of the partcpants, and was, n a subsequent artce
|15|, nterpreted by one of the authors of the report to represent a mechansm by whch Musm
women attempt to resst the coectve stgmatsaton of Isam. The second key roe of Isam n
parentng was n the provson of regous knowedge and vaues of "rea Isam" to ther chdren, as
dstnct from the stereotypes promoted n some tradtona Isamc as we as Brtsh dscourses.
Ths ncuded the confnement of Musm women to the home, whch accordng to a number of the
partcpants refects a msnterpretaton of the Ouran and a dena of Isamc hstory n whch "women
were aways actve as teachers, schoars, and busness women".
The emphass ascrbed to femae empoyment by the women n the study may, n part, be
attrbutabe to changng fnanca needs of mgrant women and fames foowng ther move to
Brtan. As noted n the study n reaton to Iranan women: "women who dd not work n Iran, were
forced by economc crcumstances to take up pad empoyment after they moved to Brtan". For
women who had recenty arrved n the country, anguage - rather than regous or cutura - barrers
were seen by many to be a greater obstace to engagng wth the oca and wder communty. The
nsghts nto these womens perspectves fundamentay chaenge stereotypes of Musm women,
who are often depcted as a monothc and nvaraby subordnated group by vrtue of ther regon.
Smary, research on Ngeran Pentecostasm n the UK hghghts the compextes surroundng
expectatons of 'femae submsson' among ts foowers n London. In 2009 a report by the ppr |16|
stated that the rse of Pentecostasm n the UK was perhaps the most sgnfcant change n the UK
demographc of fath, ctng mgraton from Afrca as a substanta contrbutng factor. The same
year, ths partcuar branch of Pentecostasm had approxmatey 150 parshes n London aone,
demonstratng the reach wthn Ngeran communtes vng n Brtan. A study presented at the
symposum uncovered Ngeran womens conscous abty to acqure agency wthn ths regous
framework. Accordng to the author, Katrn Maer, t s through acts of submsson n the home, such
as takng care of the chdren and dong the housework, thereby conformng to Bbca
requrements, that these Ngeran women can smutaneousy adopt eadershp roes wthn, for
nstance, the church. Ths was exempfed by the experences of a femae pastor, who was seen to
be both obedent (to her husband) and powerfu (n the church) at the same tme. Ths research
further confrmed a need to go beyond the conventona bnary often promoted n (secuar) western
femnsm of obedence versus agency.
In contrast, research |17| presented on burgeonng "Neo-Hndusm" practced by some Hndu Tam
women, demonstrated a much cearer break from Sr Lankan Hndu tradton wthn eements of
the daspora. Ann Davd gave us a rare gmpse/nsght nto the changng nature of regous
practces n a converted house "on the corner of a suburban road behnd the man hgh street n East
Ham". In ths "unusua" ste of Hndu worshp, "femae devotees no onger reman smpy
partcpants, but are becomng transformed nto regous specasts and eaders of rtua". Ths
strongy contradcts "tradtona and current practce n manstream Hndu tempes" n Inda, Sr
Lanka and n the daspora, where mae prests offer the "ony access to dvne power for the
Page 2 of 5
Religion, gender and migration: beyond 'obedience vs agency'
Pubshed on openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)
women". Though Davd cautons that womens pace n Hndu tradtons s compex and "ceary
cannot be vewed through a ens of Western femnst standponts that search for womens equaty
and rghts", she nevertheess spoke of the "sense of freedom and empowerment n ther womens
nvovement n rtua practces" as a "domnatng theme" n conversatons and ntervews durng her
fed research. These changes may represent "gender empowerment, but aso the partcuar
changng prortes of Hndus n dasporc contexts". Regon n ths context of mgraton s seen to
pay an "emancpatory functon" for women.
Ths fts comfortaby wthn the broader understandngs of gender and (forced) mgraton |18|,
whch often stress the nversons or reconsttutons of gender roes and reatons resutng from
mgratory experence(s). Davd proposes that vng on the boundares n a dasporc meu brngs
unsought and unforeseen changes whch can provoke a need for contnuty as we as the desre for
nnovaton. Ths suggests that the experences of ths communty of Tam Hndu women - as wth
most mgrant communtes - can n many ways be thought of as |anus-faced, at once ookng back
to and mantanng a transnatona nk wth Sr Lanka whe ookng forward to fe n the current
ocaton. Whe the deveopment of ths "new regous movement" s not representatve of a Tam
Hndu women vng n the UK, ts presence n East Ham contrbutes to ongong processes of Tam
transnatona pace-makng n the area. Ths serves to construct and promote a (perceved)
coectve Tam dentty wthn the Brtsh host popuaton, whch n turn draws many Tam mgrants
and asyum seekers towards ths London Borough.
Athough regon can, and does, pay postve roes wthn mgrant communtes n UK, t s aso
mportant to recognse the excusonary dmensons of fath-based communty formaton(s), often
mperceptbe to host communtes and wth detrmenta mpcatons for ndvduas on the margns.
Ths, accordng to Nck G |19|, s apty exempfed by the Posh Cathoc communtes n Engand
and Waes. The Posh Cathoc Msson (PCM) has been a key par of the Posh daspora snce the
post-war perod, ntent on uphodng the Posh anguage, and Posh Cathoc vaues and tradtons
by provdng youth groups, charty events, Saturday schoos and cutura events asde from ts
regous functons. The PCM s, as a resut, seen by the host communty to be a centra meetng
pont for Poes, and the quckest way to systematcay communcate wth the communty, especay,
t s assumed, f theyve |ust come over from Poand. Thus, oca pubc servce provders, such as
the Poce, empoyment agences, or admnstratve cty agences, target churches for nformaton
dstrbuton on heath and safety, oca schoos, and |ob opportuntes. What ths fas to rease,
however, s the changng composton/face of the PCM n recent years to the extent that the church
s no onger representatve of the Posh communty n the UK. There has been a marked decrease n
eves of church attendance, partcuary among the younger post-2004 mgrant Poes who have
found aternatve meetng paces, ncudng cafs, restaurants and even brares. The evdent
consequence of what G cas the "nerta of host organsatons n adaptng to changng mgrant
condtons" s that non-church gong Poes "often mss out on the nformaton and opportuntes"
provded through the church. Ths takes us back to the need to recognse the dversty wthn
regous communtes. It aso adds further support to the dea that the roe of regon s fud,
partcuary wthn mgrant communtes who are constanty changng and (re)adaptng n reaton to
both ther country/communty of orgn, as we as ther new or current ocaton.
Overa, the presentatons gven at ths symposum made me queston a number of my own
assumptons concernng women and regon. I say women here because the gender dmenson of
the symposum focused amost excusvey on femae experences of regosty. Ths refects a
common tendency n both academc and non-academc settngs of equatng gender wth women,
whch serves to renforce the dea that men and boys are somehow gender-neutra bengs. It woud
aso have been nterestng to engage wth ssues surroundng sexuaty, whch are often cosey
nked to gender. However, the symposum dd mpart - at east for me - a cear awareness that
assumptons made as a (western femnst) observer can be mseadng. Indeed, the pont that
resonated amost unanmousy through the works presented was a need to go beyond smpfed
bnares of obedence versus agency and submsson versus freedom. Though I am wary of
advocatng for an absoute doctrne of cutura reatvsm, perhaps we shoud be more open to a
sense of rego-cutura reatvty and to the dverse ways n mgrant ndvduas and communtes
reate to and engage wth regon n UK contexts and esewhere.

Page 3 of 5
Religion, gender and migration: beyond 'obedience vs agency'
Pubshed on openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)
SdeboxesRelated stories:Coheson: preventon, acton and vson |20|
Mgraton: ves, oves and anguage |21|
The tactca cosmopotansm of mgrants |22|
Dfferent pasts, shared future |23|
Mgraton: deveopment on the move |24|
Mgraton pocy: from contro to governance |25|
Coud dversty be makng us more cv? |26|
Famy Mgraton - don't fa nto the Dansh trap |27|
Unmaskng the myths of ant-mutcuturasm |28|
The Crses of Mutcuturasm |29|
Mgraton: the rse of the radca rght |30|
Potcs, race and the recesson |31|



Ths artce s pubshed by Cho Lews, and openDemocracy.net under a Creatve Commons
cence |32|. You may repubsh t wth attrbuton for non-commerca purposes foowng the CC
gudenes. For other queres about reuse, cck here |33|. Some artces on ths ste are pubshed
under dfferent terms. No mages on the ste or n artces may be re-used wthout permsson uness
specfcay censed under Creatve Commons.


Source URL:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/cho%C3%A9-ews/regon-gender-and-mgraton-beyond-obe
dence-vs-agency%E2%80%99
Created JJ/28/20JJ - JJ:54

Links:
|1| http://www.opendemocracy.net/themes/5050-theme
|2| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050
|3| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/5050-edtors-pck
|4| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/centrestage
|5| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/pathways-of-womens-empowerment
|6| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/peope-on-move
|7| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/regon-gender-potcs
|8| http://www.opendemocracy.net/author/cho%C3%A9-ews
|9| http://www.observatore-regon.com/2011/09/gender-mgraton-and-regon/
|10| http://www.a|azeera.com/archve/2006/10/200849161625566914.htm
|11|
http://www.dayma.co.uk/debate/artce-1296132/The-burka-empowerng-women-You-mad-mnster
.htm
|12|
http://www.dayma.co.uk/debate/artce-1353512/Arranged-marrages-Musm-peer-nks-forced-un
ons-Asan-gang-groomng.htm
|13| http://www.guardan.co.uk/word/2008/may/11/raq.humanrghts
|14| http://www.nspredbymuhammad.com/yougov.php
|15| http://soc.sagepub.com/content/eary/2011/10/19/0038038511416170.abstract
|16|
http://www.vsabureau.com/uk/news/17-12-2009/study-nto-uk-mmgraton-reveas-fath-of-mgrant.
aspx
|17| http://www.sprngernk.com/content/76158g63433323p/
|18|
http://books.googe.co.uk/books?d=fxIqksCODIMC&prntsec=frontcover&dq=camno+and
+krufed&h=en&e=n4_BTpbDAoOq8AOt4GuBA&sa=X&o=book_resut&c
t=resut&resnum=1&ved=0CDIO6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=fase
|19| http://www.envpan.com/abstract.cg?d=a42219
|20| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/phoebe-grffth/coheson-preventon-acton-and-vson
Page 4 of 5
Religion, gender and migration: beyond 'obedience vs agency'
Pubshed on openDemocracy (http://www.opendemocracy.net)
|21| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/vaughan-|ones/mgraton-ves-oves-and-anguage
|22|
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/oren-andau-rann-freemante/tactca-cosmopotansm-of-mg
rants
|23|
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/|ane-esuantswa-godsmth/tte-dfferent-pasts-shared-future
|24| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/akex-genne/mgraton-deveopment-on-move
|25| http://www.opendemocracy.net/peope-mgratoneurope/mtarsng_borders_3735.|sp
|26| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/phoebe-grffth/coud-dversty-be-makng-us-more-cv
|27|
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/anne-stotenberg/famy-mgraton-%E2%80%93-dont-fa-nto-
dansh-trap
|28| http://www.opendemocracy.net/ger-mennens/unmaskng-myths-of-ant-mutcuturasm
|29| http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkngdom/aana-entn-gavan-ttey/crses-of-mutcuturasm
|30|
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/montserrat-gubernau/mgraton-rse-of-radca-rght-and-faure
-of-manstream-potcs
|31| http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/phoebe-grffth/potcs-race-and-recesson
|32| http://creatvecommons.org/censes/by-nc-nd/3.0/
|33| http://www.opendemocracy.net/about/syndcaton
Page 5 of 5