|
Español
-
Français
Contribution on Migration
for ICAE Virtual Seminar:
Women, migration and education
Fanny Gómez REPEM Colombia
In 2005 it was estimated that there were 191 million migrants in the world
(176 millions in the year 2000), among them 13 million refugees, half of
them women. Of the total migrant population women represented 49.6%. At the
end of 2007 women represented half of the world migrant population.
Nevertheless, men are still taken as the “norm” in the legal resolutions on
migration, ignoring the needs, aspirations and capacity to act independently
from women.
In spite of their contribution to poverty reduction and to the socioeconomic
development of their countries of origin, it was only very recently that the
UN, governments, development cooperation agencies and NGOs interested in the
problematic became aware of the important role played by migrant women and
of the specific risks they face; of the need to make an explicit
acknowledgement of their needs and of the urgency to pass laws that promote
a more organised and human migration having as a basic prerequisite equality
between men and women.
Among the contributions made by migrant women it is important to highlight,
in spite of the limited data, the role played by “financial remittances”
(which improve the quality of life of their families and communities) and of
the “social remittances” (constituted by their theoretical and practical
knowledge, new attitudes that promote social development, relevance of human
rights, economic autonomy and personal empowerment, and in general by ideas
that promote changes of the traditional roles of women and men).
The migration of women has advantages and disadvantages: on the one hand for
some women migration opens doors to societies that are more egalitarian,
with less oppression and discrimination; on the other hand, for many women,
it can entail costs, such as current forms of slavery suffered by victims of
sexual traffic and domestic workers. These women are among the most
vulnerable to infringement of their human rights due to their multiple
conditions of migrants, women, poor, and very often black or indigenous.
Adding to this, their situation of discrimination and violation of their
rights worsens when they are the ones with easier access to jobs that are
difficult, degrading or unprotected as in the case of seasonal jobs in
agriculture, sexual work, domestic work, and in general the vast range of
services (hotel chambermaids, receptionists, limpiadoras…) and “care” of the
sick, the elderly and minors that women in the developed world quit from
because they join the labour market. This discrimination deepens in
countries where labour legislation excludes sectors of the economy in which
migrant women prevail, such as the domestic service and the sexual
entertainment industry.
When migrants come from countries with a culture where gender discrimination
is entrenched, and above all when it is illegal migration, women face
serious risks, either in their countries of origin falling into the hands of
smugglers of dealers of documentation (pressure to provide sexual favours,
excessive debt) or in the country of destination (sexual relations with
customs authorities in exchange for protection or permits). This happens
usually to women with educational disadvantages, limited access to
information and knowledge about benefits and disadvantages of migration, of
the regulations to migrate legally and under security conditions, of
migration policies, rights of migrants, etc.
The previous notes only refer to women who migrate for economic reasons; it
is necessary to also take into account migration for family reunification,
for marriage, and be very careful when looking at the infringement of rights;
women who migrate forced by political or armed conflicts in their home
countries. Women migrating for family reunification usually do this as
“family dependents”. This already marks a situation of dependency with
limited access to social services such as health and education and also
legal work. In the case of qualified women this implies wasting their
qualifications and competence. If the relationships with their partners end,
they can face deportation and/or loosing the legal custody of their children.
Women who migrate to get married, either for agreed or forced marriages, or
brides looked for through internet (with high demand in Asia and Russia)
usually end up being victims because on many occasions the companies who
hire them are hiding deals of human trafficking or from the sex industry.
Although forced trips imply risks for any person, women and girls faced them
in particular ways in the escape, in the shelters or in the final
settlements where the economic situation is so difficult that women heads of
households trade in sexual relations to receive food for their families.
Also, sexual harassment is the reason why in these places women refuse to
use showers and toilets as they are afraid of being raped.
Teenagers and young women run greater risks in areas where armed groups take
them as cooks, laundry cleaners or sexual slaves.
A condition that affects migrant populations in general is the inability to
express themselves in the language of the receiving country, reinforced by
the fact that when migrants arrive they usually settle in communities where
they find people from their own country who help them to adapt, to find home
and work. This ethnic enclaves of migrants do not promote communication in
the language of the country of destination, they reinforce exclusion and
inhibit processes of integration into the new culture.
This brief reference to some of the situations faced by migrant women
presents dilemmas and challenges to Adult Education. How to make use of the
opportunities provided by a world more and more interconnected, in spite of
the problems of human security and the limited enjoyment of rights? How to
enlarge the contribution of international migration to the development of
the countries and at the same time reduce the risks for migrants?
Answers to these problems can be provided by adult education programmes that
promote legal migration, that make the migration norms known, and by
programmes and campaigns that value cultural diversity and support the
effective integration of migrants into the receiving society. Although
migration -legal, illegal and/or forced- infringes on and limits the rights
of migrant women, it is necessary to look for opportunities with this
framework. For this the assimilation and integration of migrants into the
receiving countries through intercultural training that is responsive to
the specific needs and the multiple conditions (race, age, religion, etc.)
is essential. In this line it is also important to sensitize the receiving
population about the personal, social and working needs of the migrant women,
as a strategy for inclusion and protection. For this purpose education is a
useful tool and it must include elements of inter-culturality, it must pay
attention to the diversity of the receiving population (students,
entrepreneurs, public servants, migration employees, etc.) as well as of the
women who find themselves in a country different from their own.
“Multiculturalism, besides recognising different value systems and cultural
practices within one society, implies to build a shared commitment with
basic values that are not subject to negotiations. As in a legal state,
human rights, equality among women and men, diversity and tolerance”.
Integration and tolerance are part of a bidirectional process that requires
adaptation from both parts.
Migrants, men and women, are first of all human being whatever their
situation, regular or irregular, and like the population that receives them
they have aspirations and dreams for a better life.
Programme |