Integration from the perspective of young women who came to Sweden as unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls from Afghanistan. An interpretative phenomenological analysis

ABSTRACT

There is a need for increased knowledge regarding refugee women’s experiences of integration. This study concerns young women who came to Sweden as unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) girls, and how they understand integration and their everyday life. Six young women, age 19–24, who came to Sweden as UAS children in the period 2013–2015 participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five themes emerged: Relationships to family members; Being a minority woman; The importance of information; Integrating cultures; and Dreams and agency. Their everyday lives could be difficult, for example since interventions often targeted and were dominated by boys and men. Moreover, the participants sensed that they were in contradictory positions. While striving to integrate Swedish and Afghan customs they described expectations from parents and the Afghan community to live according to Afghan traditions. Despite being in vulnerable positions, they experienced independence and the capacity to change their lives and sought to contribute to equal rights for women. The participants described integration as a process, enhanced by their personal agency and by their social, relational, and material contexts. Based on the results, we discuss how integration can be supported.

SAMMANFATTNING

Forskare har påtalat behovet av ökad kunskap om flyktingkvinnors upplevelser av integration. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka afghanska ensamkommande flickors upplevelser av integration och vardagsliv. Sex unga kvinnor, 19–24 år, som kom till Sverige som ensamkommande mellan 2013 och 2016 deltog i semistrukturerade intervjuer. Materialet analyserades med tolkande fenomenologisk analys. Fem huvudteman urskildes: Relation till familjemedlemmar; Att vara en minoritetskvinna; Vikten av information; Att integrerade kulturer och Drömmar och agentskap. Deltagarna hade upplevt svårigheter som hängde samman med att många insatser, inklusive boende, var riktade mot och dominerades av killar. De beskrev också en position präglad av motstridighet. De strävade efter att integrera den svenska och den afghanska kulturen men var samtidigt tvungna att förhålla sig till föräldrars och landsmäns förväntningar på hur en afghansk kvinna bör leva i enlighet med afghanska traditioner. Trots detta förstod deltagarna sig själva som självständiga individer med förmåga att förändra sina liv och de ville bidra till att flickors och kvinnors rättigheter och livsvillkor förbättrades. De förstod integration som en process som främjades av en känsla av personligt agentskap som i sin tur kunde stärkas av sociala, relationella och materiella kontexter. I artikeln diskuteras hur ensamkommande flickors integration och vardagsliv kan stödjas.

KEYWORDS:

• Afghanistan
• integration
• Sweden
• unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
• unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls

NYCKELORD:

• Afghanistan
• Integration
• Sverige
• Ensamkommande asylsökande barn
• Ensamkommande asylsökande flickor

The number of refugee children in the world has been estimated at 31 million (UNHCR, 2019) and 138,600 of those were unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), which means children and adolescents under the age of 18 who seek asylum without parents or other legal guardians (Swedish Migration Agency, 2019b). In this study, we use the terms UAS girls and UAS young women. This is because our participants at the time of the interviews were 18 years or older but had come to Sweden when they were under the age of 18. We use the term UAS young women when we refer to our participants’ current status. The term UAS girls refers to their prior status and to research and interventions concerning UAS girls. Between 2009 and 2018, a total number of 292,605 UASC sought asylum in the EU, of which 34,205 were girls, 4335 of them from Afghanistan (Eurostat, 2019). Of these UASC who applied for asylum in Sweden between 2000 and 2019, 14% were girls (Swedish Migration Agency, 2019a) and the number of UAS girls who seek asylum in Sweden and the EU is increasing (Freedman, 2016; National Board of Health and Welfare, 2017).

Statistics are important, but cannot demonstrate the varied experiences of refugees. Refugees who come from the same country may belong to different subcultures, religious faiths, and have different social positions (Kira & Tummala-Narra, 2015). Gender is such a position. Research concerning UASC however tends to focus on boys (Bronstein & Montgomery, 2011; Jakobsen et al., 2017). This is unfortunate since UAS girls are more often subjected to sexual exploitation when fleeing as a refugee, and to difficulties in the host country where they might be placed with men in refugee accommodations (Asztalos Morell & Darvishpour, 2018; Freedman, 2016).

The narratives of women who are in multiple vulnerable positions are important sources of knowledge both for understanding the structures of oppression and exclusion, and counteracting them (Ahmed, 2017). To understand how UAS girls could be supported, the interactions of gender, age, and ethnicity need to be acknowledged, since such interacting factors tend to reinforce and maintain inequalities (Taefi, 2009). Afghan girls and women are often portrayed as victims of cultural and religious power structures, waiting to be liberated by the Western world (Boutwell, 2015). The Afghan woman has indeed been a victim of oppression and abuse (Amiri, King, Heydari, Dehghan-Nayeri, & Vedadhir, 2018). As researchers, we would never downgrade the difficulties of UAS girls, but we want to acknowledge that while oppression and trauma should be acknowledged, migrants should not be conceptualised as passive victims (Kaukko, 2016). Every day in Afghanistan, girls and women strive to improve their life situations based on the resources and possibilities that are available to them, even when these attempts are associated with serious danger (Hoogensen & Stuvøy, 2006).

We, the authors of this article, encounter migrants and refugees in our practical work and our research and we understand their difficulties as contextual. We submit that such a perspective is crucial since most refugees adjust to their new country if they experience connectedness, a decent socio-economic situation, and stable living conditions, and have opportunities to learn the language (Keles et al., 2018; Vervliet et al., 2014).

Reception in Sweden

Various authorities are responsible for receiving UASC in Sweden (Eriksson & Hedberg Rundgren, 2019). The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for the asylum investigation and designates a municipality in which the child will settle. The social services in each municipality are responsible for investigating individual needs and providing accommodation (Swedish Migration Agency, 2019b). All UASC have the right to start school immediately, regardless of whether or not they have been granted a permanent residence permit (Çelikaksoy & Wadensjö, 2017). The municipality also appoints a legal guardian, who takes on the responsibilities of a parent and supports the child in the asylum investigation. The child has the right to a legal guardian until the age of 18 (Çelikaksoy & Wadensjö, 2017). Most UAS girls are placed in residential care homes for unaccompanied refugee minors of both genders, but there are some residential care homes specifically for girls. The youngest children are placed in foster homes. The social services are responsible for finding families that are able to provide a stable home for these children (Söderqvist et al., 2016).

Integration

In the EU and Sweden, there is an ongoing debate about the challenges associated with integration and how integration could be supported (Ghorashi & Ponzoni, 2014; Wimelius et al., 2017). Sweden is a country where migrants have immediate access to the benefits of the Swedish welfare state, such as free education, health care, and housing. However, Sweden is also a country in which migrants experience marginalisation, discrimination, and exclusion (Kelly & Hedman, 2016) even though national integration goals include equal rights, obligations, and opportunities for all, regardless of ethnic and cultural background (Wimelius et al., 2017). In this paper, we perceive integration as described by the European Commission; ‘Integration is a dynamic, long-term, and continuous two-way process of mutual accommodation, not a static outcome’ (Council of the European Union, 2004, p. 19).

Integration is a multidimensional concept (Kyeremeh et al., 2019) with social, cultural, economic, and identity elements, and migrants may be more integrated in one area than others (Kyeremeh et al., 2019). Sweden is experiencing ongoing social change in terms of migration patterns and their multi-directionality (Meissner & Vertovec, 2015). To understand this complex change process, variables such as ethnicity and nationality are insufficient (Vertovec, 2007). Vertovec (2007) introduced the concept of ‘super-diversity’ to grasp the complexity and multi-dimensionality of migration, multiculturalism, and integration. The concept of ‘super-diversity’ includes the complexity and interplay between several variables such as language, religion, gender, age, migration status, place, and migrant networks (Vertovec, 2007). For integration to occur, there must be an acceptance of cultural diversity, a positive reciprocity between different social groups, and a sense that all citizens can identify with the society as a whole (Berry, 1997).

Integration is currently seen as a ‘two-way process’ that includes reciprocity and exchange between migrants and the majority society (Korac, 2003; Kyeremeh et al., 2019). Seeing integration as a reciprocal relationship means that it is important to understand how migrants perceive integration and their future in the new country (Korac, 2003). One way to achieve such understanding is through interviews that capture the migrants’ perspectives on integration (Kyeremeh et al., 2019). This is especially important for those who are in multiple vulnerable positions, such as being migrant, juvenile, and female, and thereby exposed to multiple forms of oppression (Espin & Dottolo, 2015).

Refugees have significant needs in resettlement and refugee women’s needs have been described as more complex than those of men. Refugee women’s relatively lower socio-economic status and language barriers may limit their opportunities to access education, employment, health care, and social services for example (Freedman, 2016; Mangrio et al., 2019). Furthermore, the new life in the country of arrival can change power relationships within families and couple relationships, which may lead to increased domestic violence (Freedman, 2016). Unmarried female refugees say that other refugees may perceive them as deviant (Lipson & Miller, 1994).

There is a need for increased knowledge about how to improve the integration of UAS girls (Kaukko, 2016). To achieve this, their experiences should be recognised so that the complexity of their lives becomes visible (Kaukko, 2016). Accordingly, the aim of this study is to gain knowledge about how Afghan UAS young women understand integration and their everyday lives, and how integration could be supported.

Method

Participants and procedure

What is a sufficient number of participants in interview studies is debated (Schreier, 2018). Some researchers highlight the importance of including as many participants as possible to increase generalizability (Sandelowski, 1995). Others (i.e. Robinson, 2014) recommend a small number of participants, since this permits in-depth understanding of their experiences. This study included a relatively small number of participants in order to gain in-depth understanding. Six young women, 19–24 years old, who had come to Sweden from Afghanistan between 2013 and 2015 as UAS girls, participated. By the time of the interviews, they had lived in Sweden from four to six years. They all studied at high school level. Information about locations and other details that could identify the participants were excluded.

Inclusion criteria were (1) being from Afghanistan, (2) having come to Sweden as a UAS girl (3) having permanent residency in Sweden, and (4) being 18 years or older. Participants were recruited through handouts at two non-governmental organisations aimed at UAS girls and young women. Potential participants were informed that they could speak Dari, Swedish, or both languages during the interviews, since the interviewer, who is also the first author of the study, is from Afghanistan and speaks both Dari and Swedish. They could contact the interviewer by telephone or e-mail. Each participant decided the place and the time of the interview. Before the interview began, each participant was told that participation was voluntary and could be cancelled at any time and that they could refrain from answering questions they found uncomfortable. Thereafter, the participants approved participation by signing the letter of consent.

Interviews

To facilitate a focus on the participants’ experiences, the interview was based on open questions. Open questions also permit participants to control what they want or do not want to talk about. Accordingly, the interview guide did not include specific questions. Instead the questions concerned three overarching topics: (1) the participants’ everyday life experiences and understanding of integration (2) experiences of interventions and activities that according to them promote integration (3) advice concerning how UAS girls can be supported. The initial question was ‘Can you tell me about your first time in Sweden?’, thereafter the three topics were explored. The interviewer asked the participants to give concrete examples of the experiences they described. Thereby, he ensured that he had comprehended the participants’ thoughts and experiences correctly, and the risks of misunderstanding were reduced. Only Dari speaking participants were included. All participants chose to conduct the interview in Dari. Thereby, risks of misunderstandings were reduced. It should be noted however that Dari differs significantly from Swedish and English. Our ambition has been to translate the interviews as accurately as possible, but some nuances may have been lost in the translation.

The interviews were conducted between July and August 2019, in four Swedish cities. The interviews were between 65 and 85 min long. They were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by the first author. The co-author read the transcribed interviews carefully and asked questions about their content. Thereby the risks of misinterpretation and misunderstanding were reduced.

Analysis

A qualitative analysis is influenced by the researchers’ pre-understanding (Crossley, 2000). The interviewer is from Afghanistan, but has lived in Sweden for the majority of his life. His connection to Afghanistan may have enhanced his understanding of the participants’ experiences. Shared cultural backgrounds might however also create a naive sense of understanding that hinders exploration. However, the co-author has no connection to Afghanistan. The authors contended with and discussed their assumptions and pre-understandings so that these did not distort the analysis.

Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used since IPA focuses on the lived experiences of the participants and how they understand their everyday lives (Larkin et al., 2006). The analysis involves double interpretation since the researcher strives to understand how the participants understand the studied phenomenon and the contexts in which they live (Smith et al., 2009).

The analytical steps described by Smith et al. (2009) were followed. In the first step, the authors read the interviews, and their initial thoughts were noted. In the second step, the transcribed material was read and re-read and systematic notes regarding the participants’ experiences were made. In this step, each individual interview was analysed separately. Sentences and sections were labelled with codes that captured the meaning of what the participants were expressing. In the third step, codes from each individual interview were scrutinised and codes with similar content were grouped into preliminary subthemes. In the fourth step, the preliminary subthemes from all interviews were assembled. Those with similar content were grouped together, creating five themes. In doing this, the analysis reached a higher level of abstraction. The fifth step was to ensure that the themes were rooted in the interviews and captured the aim of the study. In the final step, the presentation was written and themes were illustrated with quotes. In the presentation of the results and in the quotes, we have tried to stay close to the words used by the participants. They mostly referred to themselves as girls, but sometimes used the word women. Therefore, we use both words. We also made sure that quotes from all participants were included.

Ethical considerations

Research concerning vulnerable groups is associated with ethical risks that need to be minimised. Interviews may awaken difficult feelings and memories. The interviewer, who is a registered psychologist, was prepared to handle emotional reactions. He also acknowledged that the participants might experience current difficulties, and was prepared to terminate the interview if any participant found it overwhelming. No participants said or signalled that they wanted to cancel their participation or that the topics were overwhelming. Moreover, while studies with vulnerable groups involve risks that need to be minimised, it is ethically important to highlight their perspectives on issues that affect their lives.

This study was approved by the Regional Ethics Review Board, University of Gothenburg.

Results

Five themes concerning integration and how integration could be supported emerged. These were: Relationships to family members; Being a minority woman; The importance of information; Integrating cultures, and Dreams and agency. Quotes will illustrate the themes. One participant did not mention the importance of information and one did not mention the integration of cultures. Otherwise, all participants spoke about all themes. When / … / is used, it means that parts of the quotation have been deleted; either because the participant spoke about other topics, or to protect anonymity.

Relationships to family members

When our participants arrived in Sweden, they experienced sadness and loneliness and missed their family members. This was stressful and negatively impacted their school performances and their quests to become integrated. Loneliness and longing for family members could be mitigated however by adults in their social network. Teachers, guardians, social workers, and adults within civil society could have parental functions and provide concrete support, encouragement, and love, as illustrated in the following quote;

My guardian has meant so much to me, I call him “Dad”. He has always said that he will stand by me and that I can always call him if I need to. When he said those things to me, it somehow felt like a light was lit in a dark room within me / … / and that light gave me hope and safety.

The participants reflected on how life might have been if they had lived with their families in Sweden. They understood the family as a possible source of security, but also noted the disadvantages of living with a family. Families could reduce personal freedom for example, which could have a negative effect on integration. Participants compared their current life situation with migrant friends who lived with their families. They understood it as more difficult for their friends to live independently. Even though Swedish law guarantees freedom for girls and women, they sensed that these friends were hindered from exploring interests and possibilities. Thereby their integration was circumscribed, as illustrated in the following quote:

Living with your family in Sweden can be great, but the family could also limit one’s freedom and the life you want to live. / … / Almost all unaccompanied girls I know in Sweden are much more free than girls who live with their parents. Unaccompanied girls can go to school, they can wear whatever they want, they can have boyfriends and have a driving license. But when you, as a girl, live with your family, you fall behind.

The participants had experienced pressure from family members in their home country, including pressure regarding the veil. None of them wore a veil by the time of the interview. Some participants had yet not told their parents that they no longer wear a veil. Not telling the whole truth to parents abroad was a way to protect them from worry and disappointment. However, feelings of guilt could emerge. The participants described double vulnerability connected to the veil. It marked a sense of deviation from other girls, which complicated a sense of integration. In addition, it marked a sense of pressure from family members. The following quote illustrates this;

When I was in school, it felt very bad to wear a veil. I felt excluded from the group / … / I was afraid of my mother and what she would think if I stopped wearing my veil. I was thinking a lot about how to explain to my mom that I no longer want to wear a veil.

Some participants had brothers in Sweden. The brothers could have tried to hinder them from leaving home, and pressure them to wear the veil. Our participants understood their brothers’ behaviours as attempts to protect them from danger. This strategy had been adaptive when fleeing as a refugee, since it protected them from being harmed by men. Nevertheless, in Sweden, their brothers’ behaviours had a negative influence on our participants lives and sense of integration. The attempts to control them diminished with time, however. The following quote illustrates this:

We were not allowed to leave the apartment, during the first two months in Sweden. My brother didn’t allow us to go out. I remember that we didn’t even open the door to the apartment / … /. My brother was afraid that something bad would happen to us if we went out by ourselves. My brother didn’t know either how things were in Sweden.

Being a minority woman

The participants sensed that they had been in vulnerable positions vis-à-vis UAS boys, who could behave inappropriately. Sexual comments about appearance and intimate, inappropriate behaviours were described. When the participants arrived in Sweden, they had lived with UAS boys in various forms of refugee accommodation. Those times were characterised by worry. The following quote illustrates this:

It was the first time in my life that I lived with guys. At an accommodation. I was afraid. I kept thinking about having the door to my room locked. It could also be really hard to go to the bathroom or the shower. I felt unsafe.

According to the participants, most boys understood gender equality after some time, and the relationships between the boys and girls improved. The Afghan community could be a source of concern, however. According to the participants, some individuals in the Afghan community considered UAS girls and young women as ‘morally wrong’. Therefore, our participants avoided the Afghan community and instead emphasised the opportunities they have in Sweden. They understood Sweden as a feminist country where women’s rights are valued, illustrated in the following quote:

It is a little harder to be an unaccompanied girl because we have already broken certain standards, by traveling to Sweden by ourselves. Therefore, as a girl you may feel extra exposed to your own countrymen here in Sweden / … / It’s easier to be judged. In the beginning, it was difficult for me as an Afghan girl here in Sweden because other Afghans talked “behind my back”. But as time goes, it became easier and easier and it’s also easier to get help because Sweden is a feminist country.

The participants wanted to get in touch with Swedish girls. This was difficult however, since Swedish girls come ‘from a completely different world’, as one participant said. Their life challenges and relationship to the idea of freedom were fundamentally different. Participants sensed that for some Swedish girls, sexual activity may be a sign of liberation from patriarchal structures. To our participants, sexual freedom was not understood as specifically important. While discussing sexuality and freedom, one participant said: ‘for me, freedom is being able to go to the gym’.

Sweden was understood as a country where women have rights and opportunities without being dependent on men. The participants sensed that it was important to embrace these opportunities, and to study and become independent and integrated in society. Even though it could be difficult to find one’s place and context, our participants had experiences of supporting each other and there were also rich examples of how teachers, social workers, lay persons and friends at school provided support. They repeatedly described their gratitude for this support and for the opportunity to go to school and to make their own decisions.

In my home country, girls can’t always go to school. I remember when I was a kid, I was always told that girls don’t have to go to school. But when I came to Sweden, I heard quite the opposite, that it is great that girls go to school and educate themselves.

The importance of information

The participants understood information about Swedish society, and about rights and obligations, as fundamental for their integration and for their well-being. The role of the Swedish social services and the support they could offer was specifically mentioned. They highlighted the importance of information about sex and marriage being voluntary in Sweden. According to the participants, some UAS young women perceive marriage as the only path to security and protection, as this is often the case in Afghanistan. They also emphasised the importance of informing UAS young women about available support if one is in a destructive relationship. During their first months in Sweden, they still believed that a man could act inappropriately toward a girl, without the girl having any legal rights. They related that they had friends who were in destructive relationships who were unaware of their rights:

There are many Afghan families where the man and woman have a very destructive relationship. The woman probably doesn’t know about her rights or that a man is not allowed to do anything bad to her. Women don’t dare to protest or divorce because they do not know their rights. They don’t know that social services can protect them in case they are badly treated. They may think that the same rules apply here as in Afghanistan.

The participants emphasised that UAS boys need to be informed about sexuality, gender equality, and laws that regulate the rights of women and that knowledge about gender equality could benefit the integration of both boys and girls. They also believed that such information would lead to a greater understanding of UAS young women’s life situations, and to reducing inappropriate behaviours from UAS boys. The participants understood teachers as specifically important for providing information about the rights and obligations of both men and women in Sweden.

The participants wished they could inform other UAS girls and young women, that in Sweden, you do not need a man to cope with everyday life or to be protected. Furthermore, they sensed that UAS young women should not marry at a young age since this reduces their opportunities to study and become integrated. In the context of discussing information, the participants described the importance of focusing on one’s own life and to study, work, and find a social position, illustrated in the following quote:

I would like to tell other unaccompanied girls that they should study and not just settle for a job at, for example, the home care service. And they should not think too much about getting married. There are plenty of opportunities in Sweden they should use. It’s important for girls who come to Sweden alone to study so that they can gain a high position in society.

Integrating cultures

The participants strived to integrate Swedish and Afghan traditions and made choices regarding what parts of each culture they wanted to adapt to and what they wanted to avoid. The importance of rejecting or adapting parts of the Afghan culture that were considered non-adaptive in a Swedish context, or violated gender equality, was emphasised. The participants had reflected on life in Afghanistan, which led to questioning parts of their own upbringing. The following quote illustrate this:

When I lived in Afghanistan, everyone told me that it was wrong that I, a girl, asked certain questions. For example, if I asked why I had to pray to God, they just said, you have to do it, otherwise I will end up in hell. But when I came to Sweden, everyone encouraged me to ask questions no matter what the questions were.

Participants thought about what parts of the Afghan culture should be maintained. It was considered important to maintain respect for the elderly and for teachers, something that according to the participants is less common in Sweden. Afghan food culture and hospitality were also important to maintain. Difficulties in maintaining these elements were mentioned, however. Hospitality and respect for the elderly were difficult to maintain since the Swedish social structure differs from the Afghan social structure. They sensed that many people, both migrants and people born in Sweden, live isolated from their relatives. This makes it difficult to maintain these social aspects of their Afghan heritage in Sweden. Moreover, since one is far away from one’s own family, one becomes isolated oneself:

I wish I could celebrate our holidays like New Year in the same way as I did in Afghanistan, to put on my best clothes, to go home to my relatives and celebrate with each other. I wish I could do such things here in Sweden too, but it’s very difficult. For example, during Afghan New Year in Sweden we usually sit at home, alone, because we have no relatives to visit.

Dreams and agency

The participants described their escape from Afghanistan as a process characterised by fear and uncertainty. Being a ‘girl alone’ was a vulnerable position and fear of sexual abuse and kidnapping was constantly present. During their escape from Afghanistan, our participants had tried to attach themselves to other families to reduce the risk of being seen as a ‘girl alone’, and thereby reduce the risk of sexual abuse and kidnapping. The following quote illustrates these experiences:

I was on the run for about six months and it was very difficult to be a girl who is a refugee. It felt like everyone saw me as a girl who was on the run from my home and family / … / and that they had the right to do anything with me and my body.

The participants also reflected on their upbringing and how fear and obedience had been ever-present. One participant said that ‘a large part of my childhood has been about fear, which I thought was the same thing as respect’. They also emphasised their future and their dreams and repeatedly mentioned education as important for personal growth and integration, and as a way to avoid vulnerability and oppression. Also being involved in non-profit associations and leisure activities were understood as supportive of well-being and integration. There were also dreams of taking a driving license. Some saw driving as a sign of independence and freedom. One participant expressed it in the following words:

I don’t have a driving license now, but sometimes I dream at night that I am sitting in a car, driving. When I get my driving license, I dream of going back to my country and visiting my mother. Then I want to rent a car and drive her around town. I want to be able to give that feeling to my mother. If I could one day tell my mom that I learned to drive a car, she would be very, very happy and proud of me.

When the participants spoke about the future, they said they wanted to contribute to Swedish society and influence the political agenda in Sweden. They also wanted to improve life for women in Sweden, Afghanistan, and other parts of the world. They dreamt about making women’s life situations visible and advocating for women’s rights.

Discussion

Our participants described a position characterised by multiple vulnerabilities. For example, they described how family members wanted them to follow the traditions of their home country, which conflicted with their strivings toward integration and personal growth. Prior studies have also shown that refugee women are in multiple vulnerable positions (Asztalos Morell & Darvishpour, 2018; Espin & Dottolo, 2015; Freedman, 2016). However, it is important not to equate vulnerability with incapacity to influence one’s life situation (Hoogensen & Stuvøy, 2006). Our participants’ capacity to handle difficulties, resist oppression, and become integrated show that they are determined, able to adapt to new situations, and that they understand and care about family members while maintaining their own boundaries and standpoints. The fact that our participants now live in a democratic society where women’s rights are prescribed by law became a source of motivation to create a fulfilling and independent life for themselves, and contribute to other women and to society.

In Sweden, UAS boys from Afghanistan, their capacity for integration, and their view of gender and equality has been debated (Hosseini & Punzi, 2021). The debate has been polarised and in some cases has contributed to racist accusations. Our participants’ experiences of gendered oppression and abuse from UAS boys need to be acknowledged without exacerbating an already polarised and partly racist debate. We therefore would like to note that oppression of women is not limited to certain cultures (Ahmed, 2017). Moreover, our participants understood some of the controlling behaviours enacted by UAS boys as a form of misdirected care; a remnant from the past, when boys and men actually protected them. According to our participants, the boys’ views on gender and gender equality changed when they had more knowledge about the rights of women. Therefore, they underlined the importance of information. The participants in our study could resist oppression and attempts from UAS boys to control them. Other UAS girls may be in different positions and need more support to access their legal rights and become integrated. Therefore, there should be information and knowledge-raising activities about rights and gender equality directed to all UASC, along with personal guidance. The planning and implementation of such activities should include UAS girls, since they have first-hand knowledge about the kind of information that is needed.

Our participants stated that they are in vulnerable positions, yet in better situations than in their home country and that Sweden was understood as a feminist country. But studies have also shown that UAS girls are subjected to discrimination in host countries (Asztalos Morell & Darvishpour, 2018; Derluyn & Broekaert, 2007). Our participants did not specifically speak about such experiences. However, this does not mean that they have not experienced discrimination. The absence of such experiences in our study may be connected to the fact that our interview guide did not include questions about discrimination. This should be examined in future studies since discrimination may complicate integration.

Our participants sensed that it was important to pursue education and achieve social positions from which they could influence political agendas and make a difference for women in Sweden and elsewhere. Some pointed to the significance of engaging in political activities, others saw non-profit associations and leisure activities as important for social connectedness and thereby for integration. They also underlined that in order to pursue education, get involved in associations and society as a whole and become integrated, support from adults was needed.

Our findings show that vulnerabilities and experiences from the country of origin and when fleeing as a refugee are not similar to vulnerabilities in the new country. Being alone on this journey was a vulnerable position whereas being alone in Sweden was understood as an opportunity to live an independent life and become integrated. Our participants’ vision of independence should not be seen as striving toward detachment from other people. Their visions of independence instead refer to freedom from oppression and opportunities to make choices in their everyday lives. To them, this was a prerequisite for agency and personal growth. They also valued community, solidarity, and interdependency. The social aspects of their Afghan heritage were something they wanted to preserve since these contribute a sense of togetherness and support. Nevertheless, our participants also described loneliness, worry, and longing for family members, not least during Afghan Holidays. According to them, encounters with adults who could support them, inform them about Swedish society, and with whom they could develop meaningful relationships, were important for overcoming difficulties and for becoming integrated. They also wanted to connect to girls who were born and raised in Sweden as well as to other UAS young women and female migrants. This is in line with Ahmed’s (2017) argument that women need to share their stories about oppression and violence, support each other, and act together. When women act together, the burdens created by violence and oppression become less difficult to endure and the sense of togetherness unlocks resources to resist oppressive structures (Ahmed, 2017).

Many interventions aimed at UASC are provided by social workers. We believe that most of these social workers are aware that the difficulties experienced by UASC are contextual and gendered. Nevertheless, housing and activities may not be adequately planned for girls. Our participants had experienced marginalisation and condescending comments in male-dominated environments, including in refugee accommodation, experiences that have also been described by Asztalos Morell and Darvishpour (2018). Therefore, UAS girls should be provided with housing and activities in which they are protected from harassment. We submit that social workers with knowledge and experience in community social work are vital for establishing such housing and activities, including activities that involve supportive adults, together with UAS young women.

In this study, involvement in non-profit associations also emerged as supportive of integration. Sweden is a country with a rich tradition of non-profit associations (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2008). Foreign-born girls are however underrepresented in such associations and their activities (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2008). Involvement in associations might enhance social support and relationships which, according to our participants, counteract loneliness and facilitate integration. We therefore suggest that UAS girls should be supported to initiate contact with such associations, both those that focus on human rights, and those that concern leisure activities.

Final words

This study illustrates that integration is a process, enhanced by personal motivation and agency and by the social, relational, and material context. Furthermore, our participants strived to find their own place, despite expectations to live according to old traditions, and despite being in, or having been in, multiple vulnerable positions. They valued their independence and capacity to change their lives and integrate Swedish and Afghan traditions, and found motivation in knowing that women have legal and equal rights. It should be noted however that the interviewer was male and from Afghanistan. This could have influenced the participants to talk about the relationship between Afghan girls and boys.

The study concerns a small group and our ambition was to present issues that were important to them. However, the openness of the interview might have made the study somewhat scattered. In spite of its limitations, the study contributes nuanced understanding of the difficulties as well as the opportunities experienced by UAS young women. Future studies could focus on specific topics and thereby provide more detailed knowledge on how their everyday lives and integration could be improved. Studies could concern supportive relationships with adults and how such relationships could be established and strengthened. Studies could also concern the impact of information on UASC, and the importance of getting involved in associations and activities.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by (name will be included), grant (number will be included). We would like to thank them for their generous support.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Allmänna barnhuset [grant number 2018-245].

Notes on contributors

Mostafa Hosseini

Mostafa Hosseini is a licensed psychologist and research assistant at Gothenburg university. He has his roots in Afghanistan but grew up in Sweden. For many years he been involved in the organisation Save the Children and The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs with education aimed at social workers who work with unaccompanied refugee minors. As a result of his personal journey and his professional experience, Mostafa’s research interest concerns migration, integration, processes of transformation, and belonging. He is a PhD student at the Department of social work, University of Gothenburg.

Elisabeth Punzi

Elisabeth Punzi is a licensed psychologist, PhD and associate professor at the Department of Social work, University of Gothenburg (GU). Her research concerns how interventions might be adapted to the needs of unique individuals, and the prerequisites for providing person-centered care. She is also interested in Mad studies, the connection between heritage, culture, identity, and creative expressions and mental health. She teaches courses in mental health and qualitative research methods and leads the research cluster ‘Heritage and wellbeing’ at the Centre for critical heritage studies, GU and UCL.