Gendered experiences of conflict and co-operation in heterosexual relations of Somalis in exile in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Political upheaval and poverty at home has been forcing many Somalis to immigrate. These immigrants do not only leave their physical house, families, relatives, loved ones, friends, but also familiarities, culture, customs, and often they do end up in no man's land being between their own and new home culture. Available reports suggest that there are about 15,000 Somalis in Sweden and their majority came here from late 1989 to 1996. About one third these immigrants live in and around the city of Gothenburg. This paper explores and describes gendered experiences of conflict and co-operation in heterosexual relations of Somalis in exile in Gothenburg, Sweden. A qualitative sociological in-depth interviews with 6 women and 7 men was performed during May 1999 to January 2000. A follow up focus group interviews with 10 people (2 women and 8 men) was also carried on. The results show that both the Somali culture and Muslim religion do not support the children being taught sex education in schools or the names of the sex organs being pronounced other than to be used as metaphors. The girls, unlike their age group males, experience a very painful and terrifying process during childhood in which their self-esteem is downgraded by means of serious degrading traditional active violence such as female genital mutilation and visible virginity control. The narratives tell stories in which Somali women are degraded and expected to obey in situations characterised by their man's arbitrariness. They are subject to a very extensive form of social control, which is especially pronounced on issues regarding sexuality. Their integrity as women is, consequently set aside. When Somali refugees came to Sweden some of them came to adopt much of the modern lifestyle and cultural norm systems, preferable young people and some of the females. Relating to a new culture with its new expectations on the norm obedience also created changes in self-esteem. Exile situation tends to generate horizontal conflicts, among spouses and between groups of people. It also tends to generate vertical conflicts because now generations stand up against each other and this is especially pronounced when it is about issues of sexuality and sexual relations. The young generations questions their parents authority. They are now living in new social context and perceive risks, as well as possibilities. Their new dreams and choices, however, do not fit their parents' expectations, which sometimes leads to big problems. From a traditional perspective these deviants lack of respect for traditions and the original culture. From a male perspective this means more specifically a lack of respect for male dominance and superiority.
Aden
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AS
Istituto Superiore di Sanità, International Centre for Health Management, Roma. aziz@iss.it
Dahlgren
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L
Tarsitani
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G
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012998:Somalia / Q000208:ethnology; D013548:Sweden; D014171:Transients and Migrants