Syrian Women Migrants in Tunisia: The Experience of Forced Migration and the Difficulty of Settling Down

Based on a gender approach in sociology, this study focuses on the state of invisibility experienced by Syrian women due to the hegemonic male cultural system common to both the host and sending societies, which is further exacerbated by the social status of the asylum seekers. The current study shows that the state of invisibility experienced by Syrian women is set off against an opposite dynamic witnessed in their marital relationships and their role in the family. While the Tunisian labor market has been quasi-closed to male Syrian asylum seekers for legal and economic reasons, the craft skills of their female counterparts have enabled them to work in the informal sector. Equally, their abilities to manage and adapt to extreme situations have helped them gain a better position compared to the precarious status of their male counterparts.

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Abstract

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Based on a gender approach in sociology, this study focuses on the state of invisibility experienced by Syrian women due to the hegemonic male cultural system common to both the host and sending societies, which is further exacerbated by the social status of the asylum seekers. The current study shows that the state of invisibility experienced by Syrian women is set off against an opposite dynamic witnessed in their marital relationships and their role in the family. While the Tunisian labor market has been quasi-closed to male Syrian asylum seekers for legal and economic reasons, the craft skills of their female counterparts have enabled them to work in the informal sector. Equally, their abilities to manage and adapt to extreme situations have helped them gain a better position compared to the precarious status of their male counterparts.

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