From Guardianship to Autonomy
Mobility, Freedom, and Gender Role Negotiation Among Saudi Women Sojourners in Canada
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19483618 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Honaida Shahbar (King Abdulaziz University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 163 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/socsci15030163 |
| OpenAlex | W7133301232 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
In a period of rapid social and economic change in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030, increasing numbers of Saudi women undertake international sojourns for study and professional development. This article examines how these temporary migrations serve as sites for renegotiating gender roles, autonomy, and mobility. Using feminist narrative inquiry, we conducted 13 in-depth biographical interviews with Saudi women sojourners (students and spouses) living in Ottawa, Canada, and analyzed data using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants described a liminal autonomy: the startling acquisition of everyday freedoms—driving, unchaperoned mobility, and mixed-gender interaction—contrasted with prior constraints under male guardianship. Yet these freedoms were constrained by two transnational forces: a digital leash of family/community surveillance from home and a racializing gaze in Canada, where Islamophobia and othering complicated daily life and identity work. Women critically assessed a “moving target” of reform in Saudi Arabia, celebrating new mobilities (e.g., driving) while expressing skepticism toward the 2022 Personal Status Law, perceived as codifying patriarchal authority. We argue that sojourner autonomy is fragile, intersectional, and perceived as reversible upon return. The study advances theory by articulating liminal autonomy, showing how polymedia reproduces control across borders and distinguishing lifestyle freedoms from structural autonomy. Implications include intersectional campus supports, culturally attuned counseling, and recognition of returning sojourners as agents of social change
Autonomy · Citizenship · Life course approach · Liminality · Narrative · Negotiation · Reflexivity · Thematic analysis · Cultural Competency in Health Care · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Socioeconomic Development in MENA
Becoming Intercultural
The Son King
A Society of Young Women
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
The measurement of sociocultural adaptation
Cross-Cultural Adaptation
Mapping the Margins
Ritual Passage and the Reconstruction of Selfhood in International Labour Migration
The New Mobilities Paradigm
Regimes of Mobility Across the Globe
Insiders and Outsiders
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |