“Ain’t I a Woman?”

Feminist Participatory Action-Research with African Migrant Women Living in Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID18928821
AuthorsAloe Cubero (0000-0002-6308-3937, Universitat Rovira i Virgili), Rocio Garrido (0000-0002-2238-0222, Universidad de Sevilla, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume24
Issue4
Pages1611-1634
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of International Migration and Integration / Revue de l integration et de la migration internationale (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1488-3473 • E-ISSN: 1874-6365
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s12134-023-01020-0
OpenAlexW4360976145
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited63

There is a growing trend towards a feminization of migration which calls for an urgent intersectional analysis in migration and integration research. Migrant women are exposed to numerous barriers that make difficult to participate in host communities due to the intersections between their gender, ethnicity, migratory status, etc. These barriers range from structural to daily discrimination in the shape of sexism and racism, particularly for women from regions further south of Africa. Undertaken in collaboration with a local NGO in Southern Spain, this study aims to approach African migrant women’s experiences and to promote agency and participation in host communities. It was framed in Feminist Participatory Action-Research (FPAR) based on photovoice. The participants ( n = 15) generated and shared photo-narratives about their daily experiences during five sessions that were participatively analyzed, classified into four themes as follows: (1) migratory projects; (2) violence and discrimination; (3) health and social care; and (4) to be and resist as an African migrant woman. Photovoice was valued as a safe, non-hierarchical, and caring environment that promoted agency in participants and reflexivity in researchers. Our results highlight the importance and necessity on undertaking FPAR in collaboration with social organizations for emancipatory research praxis and put the emphasis on photovoice as a transformational method

Economic growth · Empowerment · Intersectionality · Participatory action research · Photovoice · Political science · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics