Refugee, woman and domestic worker

Somali women dealing with dependencies in Yemen

Bibliographic Data

ID12915697
AuthorsMarina De Regt (0000-0002-7325-9705, International Institute of Social History, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume3
Issue1
Pages109-121
Publication date2009-12-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrican and Black Diaspora An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1752-8631 • E-ISSN: 1752-864X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17528630903319904
OpenAlexW2030079105
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited20

This paper examines changing gender relations among Somali couples in Yemen. Since the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia in 1991 hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees have come to Yemen. Most of them intend to move on to other countries on the Arabian Peninsula, or to Europe and North America. The possibilities to leave Yemen are, however, limited. Somali women often work as domestics; yet Somali men have difficulties finding paid labour. As a result Somali men have often become economically dependent on women, who have become the main breadwinners. Yet, Somali women remain socially dependent on men because they need male protection in Yemen. These mutual dependencies between men and women may lead to the arrangement of marriages but also to the break-up of couples. Somali women's work as domestics is an additional source of tension; while it is the reason for their economic independence, this particular type of work has made them dependent on other families

Business · Geography · Independence (probability theory · Political science · Refugee · Settlement (finance · Sociology · Somali · Work (physics · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Engineering · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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