The place of public space in the lives of Middle Eastern women migrants in Australia

ABSTRACT

For Middle Eastern migrants to Australia, the process of acculturation is compounded by Islamophobia, which is on the rise, with many incidents occurring in public spaces and targeting women. Through in-depth interviews, this paper examines how women migrants from the Middle East, especially Muslim ones, are affected. The study finds that Middle Eastern women migrants have a different perspective on public space compared to local populations, and this difference stems from their cultural, political and religious backgrounds. These findings can help cities create inclusive and culturally-sensitive public spaces, which catalyze a ‘sense of belonging’ and ‘sense of place’ among migrants.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the participants in this study who gave up considerable time to be interviewed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Incidents have been recorded in other Western countries, such as France and the United States (see: Kwan 2002; Johnson and Miles 2014).

2. For example, in 2009 the Swiss government imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets in mosques. In 2010, France banned face covering and the burqa. In 2018, the Danish government released a plan to abolish ‘ethnic ghettoes’ in order to ensure ‘integration’ while protecting ‘Danishness’. In Amsterdam, Turkish immigrants have been displaced and their amenities reduced.