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Cette etude qualitative a examine l'impact de la reinsertion de 21 refugies somaliennes qui vivent a Toronto et relate l'effet negatif de cette reinsertion sur l'habilite de ces femmes a remplir leur role dans la sphere domestique et aupres de leurs enfants ainsi que leur role social dans le domaine de l'education et du travail
Refugee women who flee to the West from third world countries typically move from traditional, patriarchal, family-centred cultures to technological, democratic, and individualistic societies (Lipson and Miller). Their resettlement in host countries so different from their own may bring about a variety of social and economic changes, including the altering of roles in both the private sphere of home and family as well as the public sphere of education and work (Kay). A review of recent research suggests that the effects of resettlement on women's roles are complex and varied. Women who functioned primarily in the private sphere in their native land typically maintain this role in the host country, although often in a more restricted way. Women with roles in the public sphere, especially those with professional careers, often suffer a loss of prestige and self-esteem as they find themselves unable to get jobs commensurate with their training and experience. Despite these negative trends, there are some women who actually better their positions in the host country, as opportunities for self-improvement become available (DeVoe; Kay; Koenig; Sales and Gregory).
In this article, we report on the impact of resettlement on the roles of Somali refugee women. Somalis constitute the largest group of African refugees in Canada and are among its most disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities (Affi 1997a; Opoku-Dapaah). Most Somali refugees live in Ontario, with about 75,000 in the Greater Toronto Area (Somali Immigrant Aid Organization). Somali refugees use the word sharciga, meaning "the law," to refer to the process of being approved as permanent residents, or landed immigrants, in Canada. Our goals are to: (1) explore the private and public roles of Somali women awaiting sharciga; (2) compare those roles to the ones they carried in their homeland; and (3) consider how their roles have been altered as a result of current Canadian immigration regulations.
Our article draws on data collected for a larger qualitative research project...