Normative, agitated, and rebellious femininities among East and Central African refugee women

Abstract

This article discusses femininities among East and Central African refugee women self-settled in Nairobi, Kenya. It argues that while normative approaches to refugee studies depict a homogeneous refugee femininity inherently synonymous with vulnerability and ‘victimhood,’ femininity among refugee women in Nairobi is heterogeneous, fluid, and complex. It is premised on individual refugee women's marital statuses in relation to economic situation. The article argues that femininity is a constraint in some instances and a resource in others, such that what exists among the refugee women is not a single femininity but a continuum of femininities. Specifically, the article conceptualizes femininity under three categories, namely: normative, agitated, and rebellious femininities.

Feminidades normativas, agitadas y rebeldes entre mujeres refugiadas de África del Este y Central

Este artículo analiza las feminidades entre mujeres refugiadas de África del Este y Central auto establecidas en Nairobi, Kenia. Sostiene que si bien los abordajes normativos a los estudios de refugiados describen una feminidad refugiada homogénea, inherentemente sinónimo de vulnerabilidad y “victimidad”, la feminidad entre las mujeres refugiadas en Nairobi es heterogénea, fluida y compleja. El trabajo se basa en el estado civil de las mujeres refugiadas individuales en relación con su situación económica. El artículo argumenta que la feminidad es una limitación en algunas instancias y un recurso en otras, de manera que lo que existe entre las mujeres refugiadas no es una feminidad única sino un continuo de feminidades. Específicamente, el artículo conceptualiza la feminidad bajo tres categorías, a saber: feminidad normativa, agitada y rebelde.

东非与中非难民女性的规范性、激动的以及反抗的女性特质

本文探讨来自东非及中非，并自发定居于肯尼亚内罗毕的女性难民的多重女性特质。本文主张，难民研究的规范性取径，描绘了一个本质上与脆弱性和“受害状态”同义的均质女性特质，但身处内罗毕的女性难民的女性特质，却是异质、流动且复杂的，并取决于每个女性难民有关经济境况的婚姻身份。本文主张，女性特质在部分的情境下是个限制，但在其他的情境下却是资源，是故并没有存在于女性难民中的单一女性特质，而是连续的多重女性特质。本文并特别以下列三大范畴对女性主义进行概念化，亦即规范性、激动的，以及反抗的女性(#x7279;质。

Keywords::

• femininity
• refugee women
• vulnerability
• self-policing
• resistance
• opportunities

Palabras claves::

• feminidad
• mujeres refugiadas
• vulnerabilidad
• auto-vigilancia
• resistencia
• oportunidades

关键词::

• 女性特质
• 女性难民
• 脆弱性
• 自我维安
• 反抗
• 机会

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the refugee women and men who participated in the research. I also extend my gratitude to Hinda Ali Abdirahman for her insightful views on issues relating to refugee women in Nairobi.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rose Jaji

Rose Jaji is a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from Bayreuth University, Germany. Her doctoral thesis focuses on integration and refugee women in Nairobi, Kenya. Her research areas of interest include migration, gender, human rights, peace and conflict studies as well as governance and democracy. She writes on refugee masculinities and femininities and refugee containment among other themes related to forced migration and gender.