Moroccan women in Madrid: between change and continuity

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on individual migration and acculturation processes experienced by Moroccan women in the area of Madrid, based on qualitative research conducted in the Spanish capital in 2008. The results show that Moroccan women restructure their daily practices through complex acculturation processes, orienting them towards both the society of origin and that of arrival. They experience a constant struggle in getting to know the traditions of Spanish society, reorienting their former traditions and inventing new solutions. Moroccan women develop new ways of adapting themselves to their situation in Madrid. This acculturation process bridges the continuity with their culture of origin and reflects changes related to the new context. The studied women move in a transnational space with rigid borders, which is intersected by several social categories such as their education, ethnicity and gender, influencing their relative position within this space.

KEYWORDS:

• Migration
• acculturation
• transnationalism
• Spain
• Morocco
• Europe

Acknowledgements

This article is based on a study conducted at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Madrid in 2008, in the framework of my Master’s thesis for the International Master in Migration Studies at the Universitat de València. I would like to thank Kouider Djilali Beloufa for his collaboration in the data collection process. Furthermore, Noel Clycq, Giusella Latorre, Paul Spickard and Judy Wu as well as the anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments and suggestions. Finally, thanks to Mary Graham for proofing the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.