Women Autonomy of Migration and Emotional Distress : Case Study of Syrian Refugees/Asylum-seekers in the UK

Workshop Presentation
Nour Hadjadj  

The ongoing conflict in Syria forced many women to cross borders independently in order to flee, and in the process, they started challenging a number of social boundaries. Arguably, Syrian women gained more autonomy following the 2011 events, in ways unimaginable before the conflict. However, the impact of war and displacement they experienced had affected the way they interact with the outside world after resettlement. Some of them have been labelled as ‘mentally ill’. Overall, the effects of the experiences of being a refugee for women and the role this plays in their lives are poorly understood. This research aims at understanding female migration on various levels. It aims at considering the psychological distress they go through, assess their ways of addressing the challenges they face and examine to what extent they can exert autonomy during and after relocation. In order to do so, the research employs the concepts of Autonomy of Migration (AoM), Feminism and the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF). These concepts highlight the importance of moving away from the traditional theories and looking at the individuality of refugees in responding to social facts like forced displacement and trauma from the perspective of female refugees themselves as autonomous agents. This research collected qualitative data by doing ethnography in different sites around the UK, where encounters with female refugees allow for an insight into their experiences and life stories.