Immigrant Women’s Voices and Integrating Feminism Into Migration Theory

Book excerpt: Migration is a multifaceted phenomenon that plays a critical role in today’s world, yet there have been few attempts to look beneath the surface of the mass movements of people. Particularly, the changing face of migration is becoming more feminized, with women increasingly moving as independent or single migrants rather than as the wives, mothers, or daughters of male migrants. Yet, in literature on migration, the voices of women are still silent. This creates an urgent need to advance academic research on female international migration by examining women as independent migrants. Immigrant Women’s Voices and Integrating Feminism Into Migration Theory comprehensively documents the experiences of immigrant women across the globe and the important theories that define their experiences. The chapters give firsthand accounts of women speaking about their own experiences on migration and topics associated with women and migration. This book aims to give women their own voice and to stand apart from previous literature in which male relatives spoke on behalf of immigrant women to tell their stories for them. While highlighting topics on women in migration including feminism, gendered social roles, first-person narratives, and the female identity, this book is ideally for professionals in social science disciplines as well as practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students wanting to expand their knowledge on women and migration, gender violence, and women empowerment.