1. RESILIENCE AMIDST DOMINANT DISCOURSES:
AN EXPLORATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE LIFE OF
REFUGEE WOMEN FROM MIDDLE EASTERN BACKGROUNDS
RESETTLED IN METROPOLITAN ADELAIDE
by
Emmanuelle N. Marie BARONE
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Bachelor of Social Work, Honours Degree
in the School of Social Work and Social Policy,
Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences (DEASS),
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia,
St Bernards Road, Magill,
South Australia, 5072
September 2007

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my supervisor Dr Frank Tesoriero. Your wealth of knowledge and precious
insights have guiding me to find my own way through this journey. For
everything you taught me during all these years, for your passion and your
tenacity, for your friendship, I thank you Frank, from the bottom of my heart.
I warmly thank Sophie Diamandi who gave some of her precious time to
supervise my work while Frank was away.
To the agencies’ workers who so graciously spent time with me for this research.
To Michel, my husband, who supported me with understanding, patience and
kindness.
To Magali, my little sister, for her constant encouragements and her love from the
other side of the world. Merci ma chérie.
To my dear friends Aurelie and Delphine who listened to me and to my thoughts;
discussing and supporting you have been there for me; you made me laugh and
cheered me up. Merci du fond du coeur.
To Tom Mann, who was my English teacher in 2002. His book about his
experience as an English teacher at Woomera in 2000-01 is part of my references.
I thank Coral Sharp who assisted with editing, and especially Victor Krawczyk,
for his thorough editing work and his supportive encouragements.
Most importantly, I thank the beautiful women who opened their lives to me. I
feel privileged by your trust. This work is the fruit of your experiences,
determination and generosity. I thank you so much for sharing sisterhood with me
and with the people who will read this thesis.
i

3. ABSTRACT
Western discourses portray refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds as
vulnerable, weak and powerless women, victims of war and persecution (Shaaban
2006a). The ‘politics of fear’ generated by the Howard government increased the
stigma of terrorism this group of women carried since the 11th
September 2001,
also called the 9/11 (Amnesty International 2007:2;Lawrence 2006).
In research on resilience, Harvey and Delfabbro (2004:11) recommended
reporting more on people who have overcome adversity instead of focusing on
disadvantaged youth and children. I was then interested in opening up further into
the concept of resilience through exploring its manifestations in the experiences of
refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Research on refugee women has usually focused on the clinical aspects of trauma,
exploring so called deficits and rarely addressing the positive aspects of this group
of women. This study then addresses a gap in knowledge about the concept of
resilience associated with refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds.
This research adopts a feminist perspective. The feminist qualitative methodology
allowed the six participants in the study to tell their stories through semi-
structured in-depth one on one interviews. Thematic analysis was used to reveal
themes emerging from the data.
The participants spoke about their aspirations and their achievements in their life
from their perspectives. Five themes were chosen because of their commonality
amongst all participants, their relation to the feminist approach, their relation to
western discourses, and the significance of their impact on the women’s life. The
themes were analysed through the lens of the concept of resilience. The women’s
resilience drawn from the literature was underlined throughout the themes.
Implications for social work, future research and social policy were identified.
ii

4. I declare that this thesis:
Resilience amidst dominant discourses: An exploration of factors affecting the
life of refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds resettled in
metropolitan Adelaide
Is the result of my own research, that it does not incorporate without
acknowledgment any materials previously published, written or produced by
another person except where due reference is made in the text.
Date:
Emmanuelle N. Marie BARONE
iii

5. ABBREVIATIONS
9/11 11th
September 2001. The attack on and destruction of the
two towers of the World Trade Centre in New York
ARA Australian Refugee Association
DIAC Department of Immigration and Citizenship since 2007
Previously called DIMA
DIMA Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
HREOC Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
MWA Muslim Women’s Association
PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
RAWA Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
STTARS Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and
Rehabilitation Service
TPV Temporary Protection Visa
UN United Nations
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
VFST Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture
iv

6. GLOSSARY
The following definitions are mostly drawn from Bulbeck’s (1998) and O’Connor,
Wilson & Setterlund’s (2003) glossaries.
Cognition
The action of thinking, reasoning and making sense of the environment.
Culture
Set of values, norms, customs and habits related to a given group, Culture can be
associated with countries, states, regions, groups, organisations, companies and
corporations.
Discourses
Sets of ideas, concepts and practices. These modes of thinking relate to
institutional frameworks such as politics, religion, law, psychiatry, sociology and
social work. Discourses usually convey values and norms according to a society’s
dominant beliefs. They preset ways of thinking that can influence other ways of
thinking. These features can create and/or perpetuate, and/or change power
structures imposed to specific groups in societies.
Discrimination
Unfair and irrational negative treatment of people on the basis of characteristics
conveyed through discourses and which do not justify such treatments on the basis
of gender, religion, race, ethnicity, language, culture, sexual practices, age, health
and mental health. Discrimination is usually used as an expression of power over
different groups in society.
Epistemology
Derived from the Greek ‘episteme’ which means ‘knowledge’ and ‘logos’ which
means ‘explanation’. Epistemology questions the nature and source of knowledge.
v

7. How do we know what we know? What are the agents constructing knowledge
and how are they impacting on it?
Ethnocentrism
Judging another culture in terms of what is valued and ‘normal’ in one’s own
culture. An ethnocentric approach imposes one’s own culture as superior in
comparison to other cultures. The concept of orientalism (see chapter three) is an
example of ethnocentrism.
Feminism
A social movement striving against subordination and inequality towards women.
Feminism fights to achieve social justice for vulnerable groups. It challenges the
power of discourses and social constructs such as gender, racism and
discrimination. There are different forms of feminism providing different
approaches of analysis of oppression in society.
Gender
The notion of gender refers to a socially constructed distinction between men and
women in terms of behaviours, societal and economic roles, and sexual identity in
a particular society. Gender is the social construction of masculinity and
femininity and is influenced by discourses.
Majority World
Term used as replacement for the term ‘Third World’ in order to eliminate the
notion of hierarchy involved in the terms ‘First’, ‘Third’ and ‘Fourth World’.
Media
Groups of organizations communicating information to reach mass audiences such
as television, newspapers, radio and the internet.
Minority World
Term used as replacement for the term ‘First World’ in order to eliminate the
notion of hierarchy involved in the terms ‘First’, ‘Third’ and ‘Fourth World’.
vi

8. Patriarchy
The hierarchy of social relations where men dominate women. Patriarchal
structures are present in most societies and are supported by many discourses. The
power of patriarchy is such that the domination and subordination between
genders is accepted as the norm in society.
Resilience
When used in psychology, resilience is an ability to cope and recover from stress,
misfortune and catastrophe. It is also used to indicate a characteristic of resistance
to future negative events.
Snowball sampling process
Participants know about the project through ‘word of mouth’. People talk to other
people about the study, either in the family, friends, community, work place
environment. People who want to participate find their own way to get in contact
with the researcher. This method allows a high level of motivation from the
participants but takes longer than other methods.
Stigma
Mark of social disapproval about people and groups’ personal characteristics or
beliefs that are against cultural norms. Stigmatisation enhances negative attitudes
towards individuals that influence interpersonal interactions.
Woomera
The Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre opened in 1999 and
closed in 2003. Thousands of asylum seekers, men, women, accompanied and
unaccompanied children, spent months and sometimes years in this detention
centre. Detainees at Woomera were mostly from Middle Eastern backgrounds
(Mann 2003:1-2).
vii

9. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements i
Abstract ii
Declaration iii
Abbreviations iv
Glossary v
Table of Content viii
Foreword xi
Dedication xii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Rationale 1
1.1.1 Key Facts and Figures 2
1.1.2 Current Literature on Women and People with
Refugee Background 4
1.2 Research Questions and Aims 6
1.3 Structure of the Thesis 6
CHAPTER TWO: RESILIENCE AND TRAUMA 8
2.1 Introduction 8
2.2 Theoretical Perspectives 8
2.2.1 Trauma and Refugees 11
2.3 Factors of Resilience 13
2.4 Resilience as a guiding Concept for Analysis 15
CHAPTER THREE:REFUGEE WOMEN FROM THE MIDDLE EAST
17
3.1 Introduction 17
viii

10. 3.2 Discourses and Gender 18
3.3 Western Discourses about the Middle East 20
3.4 Feminism in the Middle East 21
3.5 War and Gender 22
3.5.1 Gender Issues in Refugee Policies 24
3.6 Refugee Policy in Australia 26
CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY 30
4.1 Introduction 30
4.2 Theoretical Perspective 31
4.3 Methodology 32
4.4 Method 32
4.5 Selection of Participants 33
4.6 Research Instruments 34
4.7 Data analysis 36
4.8 Ethical Considerations 37
4.9 Limitations of the Study 38
4.10 Where the Researcher positions her Self 41
4.10.1 As the Researcher 41
4.10.2 As a Migrant Woman 42
CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 44
5.1 Introduction 44
5.2 Gender 45
5.3 Discourses and Stereotypes 50
5.4 Education 52
5.5 Sense of Reality 53
5.6 Aspirations and Meaning of Life 56
5.7 Conclusion 58
ix

11. CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS 60
6.1 Summary 60
6.2 Implications for Social Work Practice 60
6.3 Implications for Social Policy 63
6.4 Implications for Future Research 65
‘I’LL NEVER RETURN’ by Meena 67
REFERENCES 68
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Synopsis Interview Schedule
Appendix 2 Information Sheet
Appendix 3 Consent Form
x

12. FOREWORD
Since the 11th
September 2001, terrorism, war and other forms of human misery
seem to be the favoured ways political and media discourses commonly portray
the Middle East (Amnesty International 2007:2; Lawrence 2006:1-3; Shaaban
2006b). The discourses rarely speak about positive events or the remarkable
achievements of human beings in trying circumstances. A mood of negativity and
fear is becoming our reality (Amnesty International 2007:1; Lawrence 2006). This
is why I am interested in exploring a positive manifestation of life in the face of
great struggle, a force inherent in humanity and the human spirit, resilience.
This thesis attempts to open paths towards better understandings of refugee
women from Middle Eastern backgrounds, and to explore their experiences
through the concept of resilience.
This dissertation attempts to stay close to the women’s life stories. However, this
work also mirrors my perception of reality. It is my truth for the present time. I am
open to change my mind and my views. This work genuinely reflects my current
thoughts, passion and respect for women who go through such difficult journeys
to find happiness.
I attempted to write this work in a way to reach people across institutions, hoping
that everyone would find ideas and concepts in it to critique, discuss, and reflect
on. I also tried to stay true to the women who so generously shared their stories
and aspirations.
xi

13. DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to all the women in the world who are fighting for their
rights to live with dignity, security and happiness.
xii

14. Persecution and flight, asylum and resettlement, racialization and alienation, all
woven into essentialist discourses of nationhood construct me as a refugee
(Kuwee Kumsa 2006:230)
xiii

15. 1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale
This thesis enriches our understanding about resilience and refugee women from
Middle Eastern backgrounds. As will be developed in chapter two, the reason for
using the concept of resilience in relation to this group of women is its focus on
the positive while:
Most of individuals who face adversity have more positive outcomes than
one might predict based on the risk factors in their lives (Waller
2001:291).
For the purpose of this thesis, resilience will therefore be the guiding concept and
the lens used for analysing the women’s stories revealed in the interviews. This
research attempts to ascertain if this group of women identifies as weak victims
belonging to a stigmatised group, as western discourses tend to convey or as
resilient women fighting for their aspirations through adversity.
Much of the literature tells us about women from refugee background (Ghorashi
2005; Pittaway & Bartolomei 2005; Schweitzer, Melville, Steel & Lacherez 2006).
In contrast, this thesis enables the women to speak for themselves (HREOC 2003;
Kuwee Kumsa 2006). Furthermore, the existing literature tends to highlight
problems and traumas. This thesis explores the positive manifestation of resilience
amongst refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Many studies support the view that women refugees are a vulnerable group
(Carlsson, Mortensen & Kastrup 2005; Manderson, Kelaher, Markovic &
McManus 1998). Many refugees are women (UNHCR 2007) and many of them
arrive in Australia (Brennan 2002; Crock & Saul 2002:xvi; Healey 2002:2).

16. 2
Refugees worldwide are victims of human rights abuses (Piper 2000:80; Amnesty
International 2005:5) and experience significant losses and traumas (Kinzie
2007:199; Bowles 2001:222). As will be discussed in chapter three, refugee
women from the majority world, also called ‘Third World’, suffer moreover for a
range of reasons related to gender, the status of their home country and the nature
of relationships between the majority world and minority world nations (Cleves
Mosse 1993:v; Sedghi 1994).
Australia belongs to the developed ‘western’ minority world nations. The
Australian refugee policy and public attitudes tend to increase the vulnerability of
refugee women while creating stigma and discrimination (Bernstein & Weiner
1999:3; Jamrozik 2005:98; Stilwell 2002:427-428; Lawrence 2006:27).
Information given by four key staff members from four agencies (Survivors of
Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service (STTARS), Australian
Refugees Association (ARA), Migrant Health Centre, Muslim Women’s
Association (MWA)) indicate that, amongst the refugee groups, women from
Middle Eastern backgrounds have ongoing unmet needs as they tend not to access
the human service provisions as much as other groups, such as refugee women
from African backgrounds. As a result, this research focuses on refugee women
from Middle Eastern backgrounds.
1.1.1 Key Facts and Figures
There were 12 897 people entering Australia under the Humanitarian Programme
in 2005, with 1347 of them settling in South Australia. Over 2001-05, 5 601
Humanitarian Programme entrants settled in South Australia (DIMA 2006a:7), and
91.2 per cent of them have settled in metropolitan Adelaide (DIMA 2006c:6).
In the top ten countries of birth for Humanitarian Programme entrants in South
Australia over 2001-05, Afghanistan is second with 870 entrants, Iraq is third with
434 entrants, and Iran fifth with 346 entrants (DIMA 2006c:7). There were

17. 3
therefore 1650 people born in the Middle East who resettled in metropolitan
Adelaide over 2001-2005.
As Humanitarian Programme entrants in South Australia, during 2001-05, women
entrants represent 44 per cent. Most of the single entrants were male while single
women were mothers with children; 63 per cent of all entrants were under 25 years
of age (DIMA 2006c:10-14).
Considering the data given by DIMA (2006a, b & c) there are about 726 women
from the Middle East who have resettled in Adelaide Metropolitan over 2001-05,
the majority of them being single mothers with children.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) considers that people
coming from countries culturally different to Australia have high needs for
settlement services (DIMA 2006c:7-8). People from countries assumed to be
culturally different to western cultures usually do not have pre-established
understandings of the social, cultural, political, economic and legal norms of the
Australian society, have limited English proficiency, and their qualifications and
skills are not recognised within the Australian system (DIMA 2006c:7-8).
According to this information, the majority of women from Middle Eastern
refugee backgrounds have high needs for support and resettlement services.
Facts and figures given by DIAC about Humanitarian arrivals between July and
December 2006 in South Australia show 858 entrants for the period of six months,
with 406 entrants from the Middle East, the majority of them being from
Afghanistan (DIAC 2007:67-68). Considering this official information, 48 per cent
of Humanitarian Programme entrants in South Australia over July to December
2006 are from the Middle East.

18. 4
These facts and figures suggest that since 2006, there are significant increases in
numbers of refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds who are resettling
in South Australia compared to the years 2001 to 2005.
1.1.2 Current Literature on Women and People with Refugee
Background
There are today about 20.8 millions people who are refugees or internally
displaced persons in the world (UNHCR 2006 & 2007) and this is equivalent to
the total Australian population. Resettlement in western countries like Australia is
offered to less than 3 per cent of the world’s refugees (Hosking 1990:7-8; UNHCR
2006 & 2007).
Refugee studies are an emerging area in the current literature in the general social
sciences, although it has been developed mostly in psychology. Studies have been
conducted about refugee camps in relation to high poverty, difficulties and safety
issues refugees have to face (Hejoj 2007); studies have also been done in regard to
resettlement in western countries such as Australia (HREOC 2003; VFST 1998)
and are a comprehensive source of information about a large array of issues such
as integration, health and mental health, cultural adjustment and reconstructing
community.
There is limited literature on refugee women. Research and studies written on
women from refugee backgrounds are mostly clinical and usually highlight mental
health issues and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from a western
perspective (Kinzie 2007:2005). Research is predominantly conducted under the
umbrella of disciplines such as Psychiatry, Health and Mental Health. These
studies are necessary to explore and analyse traumas, PTSD, depression and
anxiety women refugees may experience and they have provided recommendations
in relation to refugees’ traumas, general health, and mental health that might
inform therapeutic treatments, activities and settlement programs (Carballo,
Grocutt & Hadzihasanovic 1996; Carlsson et al. 2005; Kirmayer, Lemelson &

19. 5
Barad 2007; Robertson, Halcon, Savik, Johnson, Spring, Butcher, Westermeyer &
Jaranson 2006). In contrast to this pathologic or deficit approach on refugee
women, this research looks at their resources through exploring resilience.
People demonstrating clinical patterns of traumas are more visible than people
coping with traumas through their capacity and resilience (Glicken 2006:xi,3-5).
As a result, this thesis addresses resilience as ‘non-visible feature’ that could
provide social scientists and human services policy makers and practitioners with
an alternative range of tools to support refugees, and particularly refugee women.
In support, Glicken (2006:4) argues that studying resilient people who overcame
the same tragedies as people who developed pathologies might improve the
effectiveness to help treat and cure those pathologies.
Research in psychology has been conducted on ‘hardiness’ or ‘hardy personality’
(Maddi, Harvey, Khoshaba, Lu, Persico & Brow 2006) which has been identified
as a core factor of resilience (Maddi et al 2006:577). However, this type of
research has not been done directly with refugee women and not amongst refugee
women from Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Nevertheless, psychological longitudinal research (Neuman & Kreuger 2003:32-
33) on other groups such as disadvantaged youth and children, war veterans and
holocaust survivors, emphasize the concept of resilience as a fundamental starting
point to acquire knowledge and information about human development (Harvey &
Delfabbro 2004:3-4; Kinzie 2007; Konner 2007).
From a Social Work perspective some Australian studies and reports on refugees
stress the importance of working with a multicultural approach and cross-cultural
skills (Schweizer et al. 2006; VFST 1998; Williams 2001). These studies direct
attention to the ‘special needs’ women refugees have according to their experiences
and culture in general. They address issues with a holistic approach which ‘takes
account of the entire situation and context and the ways in which different

20. 6
perspectives relate’ (Fook 1996:5). Although they address the ‘special needs’ of
the women these studies generally do not consider them as experts possessing
strengths and coping skills nor that the women’s expertise could help create and
implement programs for refugee women.
The current literature does not give sufficient information about the coping skills
and resilience of refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds, so there is a
need to explore further into this area.
1.2 Research Questions and Aims
This research aims to identify if refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds
demonstrate factors of resilience or not, in contrast to western discourses which
define this group of women as weak and powerless. It also aims to add
understandings about refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds through
their stories and their experiences.
The research questions are:
- What are the achievements refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds
are proud about in their life?
- What are the strengths they feel they have developed through their
achievements?
- What helped them go through the difficulties and hardship they experienced?
- What do they want as women in Australia or in their country of birth?
- What are their aspirations for the future in relation to themselves, their family,
and community?
1.3 Structure of the Thesis
Chapter one presents key facts and figures indicating the significant proportion of
refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds who have resettled in
metropolitan Adelaide. It highlights the clinical approach which has been limited
to discussions on traumas and pathologies. It identifies knowledge gaps that relate

21. 7
to the notion of resilience in the lives of refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds and the benefits such research could bring in this subject.
Chapter two develops the theoretical perspective of resilience, which is the key
concept of this research. It briefly explores trauma responses of refugees through
PTSD and explains that trauma and resilience are compatible. Different factors of
resilience found in the literature are developed in the last section of this chapter.
Chapter three describes how refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds
appear in the literature. It addresses western discourses and their impact on
creating stereotypes and gender discrimination (Shaefer & Horejsi 2006:95).
Finally, critique is made about the Australian refugee policy.
Chapter four outlines the research methodology underpinning the thesis, its aims
and objectives. It describes the method, details instruments and procedures used
throughout the project. The limitations are discussed. The researcher describes
where she places her self in this research.
Chapter five is the data analysis. It presents the data through five themes which are
gender, discourses and stereotypes, education, sense of reality, aspirations and
meaning of life, and discuss if women’s resilience is discerned in these themes.
Finally, chapter six gives a summary of the research and presents implications for
social work, social policy and future research.

22. 8
CHAPTER TWO
RESILIENCE AND TRAUMA
An oak and a reed were arguing about their strengths. When a strong wind
came up, the reed avoided being uprooted by bending and leaning with the
gusts of the wind. But the oak stood firm and was torn up by the roots
(Aesop cited in Stokes 2002:87).
2.1 Introduction
The concept of resilience was chosen because of its positive approach in contrast
to some discourses which stereotype refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds as weak and powerless. The concept of resilience appeared to be a
useful tool to analyse the data in terms of building understandings beyond these
perceptions of weakness and powerlessness.
According to the theories of resilience, people can build strengths through difficult
experiences and challenges. Resilience and vulnerability are compatible
characteristics. People are able to develop strengths while being in an oppressed
position (Edwards & Ribbens 1998:10; Freire 1972:25-27).
The clinical arena tends to categorize and victimise women with refugee
backgrounds under the label of a traumatized and/or vulnerable group without
considering the ubiquity of human resilience (Konner 2007:326). Considering the
duality of strengths and oppression, contextualized, refugee women might possess
a high level of resilience to defeat extreme events and hardship which are, at some
times, part of their lives.
2.2 Theoretical Perspective
Resilience research started in the disciplines of psychiatry and developmental
psychology (Waller 2001:290). Resilience is depicted as the human ability to
confront and cope with hardship. As a term used in psychology, resilience defines

23. 9
‘the ability to thrive, not just survive, after having encountered some great
difficulty or adversity’ (Young-Eisendrath 1996:20). Resilience is about enduring
and overcoming trauma and difficulties, and developing meaning in life (Waller
2001:290).
Coutu (2002:46) calls it ‘one of the great puzzles of human nature’ and Deveson
(2003:7) identifies it as ‘the natural drive of all living things – possibly the least
understood force on Earth’. There are no universal rules about resilience and
research in psychology suggests that ‘resilience does not occur in spite of
adversity, but because of it’ (Waller 2001:290). Why some people develop
resilience when others do not is an outcome of the ‘reciprocal interaction between
the individual and the environment’ (Waller 2001:291).
From a biological organic perspective, resilience is associated with adaptation,
evolution, and survival (Konner 2007:307) as ‘the art of life lies in a constant
readjustment to our surroundings’ (Okakura Kakuzo cited in Stokes 2002:81).
More spiritual perspectives see resilience as transforming adversity and hardship
into wisdom and compassion (Deveson 2003:6). Kübler-Ross (1990:58-59) sees
hardship and adversity as tools towards growth and self-discovery ; she argues
that resilience cannot develop while sitting in a beautiful garden, but rather when
one has to face pain, accept suffering and try to understand it, like a gift given for a
specific purpose.
There are polemics between theories, some studies arguing that resilience is
mostly genetic, others claiming that resilience can be learned, others arguing that
resilience is a complex mix of nature and nurture, genetic predisposition and
learned responses to difficult environments (Coutu 2002:48; Waller 2001:291).
In order for the oppressed to be able to wage the struggle for their
liberation, they must perceive the reality of oppression, not as a closed

24. 10
world from which there is no exit, but as a limiting situation which they
can transform (Freire 1972:25-26).
Coutu (2002:48) concurs with Freire’s words and observed that theories overlap
each other. She identified that people have to possess three main characteristics to
be resilient over life: a steady and clear sense for the acceptance of reality, strong
values that life is meaningful, a strong ability to grab opportunities and to
improvise.
Life itself is a continual process of stress and coping. Konner (2007:307) argues
that resilience brings a successful evolution. Every change in life is a factor of
stress: people adapt, evolve and respond differently to stimuli according to their
genetic heritage and their individual experiences (Deveson 2003:48-49; Konner
2007:307). For Konner (2007:308,320) all humans are resilient to one degree or
another; resilience is ubiquitous, it is inherent to humans’ evolution and
adaptiveness.
An ecological model of factors affecting resilience
Adapted from a diagram about children and adolescents’ resilience building
process by The Resiliency Resource Centre 2007.

25. 11
This diagram depicts resilience as the result of constant interplays in interactions
between various internal and external factors such as: the individual’s biological
nature, his/her values and beliefs, his/her environment at the micro, mezzo and
macro levels, the availability of protective factors such as a loving environment or
mentors, and the impact of risk factors such as trauma and hardship. The complex
correlation between protective and risk factors may give birth to resilient people as
they learn throughout the process of surviving and thriving to overcome adversity
(Healey 2007:36-37).
As said in chapter one, refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds
experienced significant losses and traumas through war and the consequences of
war (Kinzie 2007:199). Trauma can trigger resilience: the stress factor triggers a
reaction of survival that promotes adaptation (Konner 2007:305).
2.2.1 Trauma and Refugees
As a clinical concept, Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PTSD) amongst
refugees is the story of both psychological and physical traumatization through
having suffered, endured or witnessed extreme acts of horror or/and cruelty
(Kinzie 2007:194-195). However, Kinzie (2007:197) argues that:
There is no single stress or traumatic event, but rather prolonged series of
traumas and losses (Kinzie 2007:197)
that impact on the health and mental health of people with refugee background.
The trauma response is complex and depends on various factors such as the type
and duration of trauma, the person’s personality, her/his coping assets, culture,
supportive or non-supportive environment. Furthermore, trauma does not end
when the person arrives in the host country but can take on different features
through new difficulties such as economic problems, cultural dissonances,
discrimination, rejection, and ostracism (Kinzie 2007:197).

26. 12
Being a refugee almost always means one has experienced multiple losses. Family
members, friends, safety and security, country of origin, cultural roots, a defined
future, and loss of identity, loss of self. Kinzie (2007:198) argues that the western
approach to multiple losses and traumas is quite different from other cultures and
that western therapies tend to promote confrontation, and exposure to trauma with
naïve and simplistic ethnocentric approaches (Kinzie 2007:198). Other cultures
will promote healing through mourning and acceptance, supported through
religion and beliefs (Kinzie 2007:198).
As a western psychiatric diagnosis, the PTSD label carries a significant social
stigma (Konner 2007:313). This stigmatisation can have economic as well as
social consequences for people. Western psychiatric systems tend to remove the
locus of control from the individual into the medical arena (Konner 2007:313).
This is disempowering the person and can significantly decrease people’s abilities
and strengths of self-reliance, self-healing, and self-determination (Konner
2007:313). Western systems analyse and label traumas and depression, often
delivering therapeutic treatments from ethnocentric perspectives without cross-
cultural understandings about people’s strengths and resilience; without
acknowledging that the people they ‘cure’ and ‘treat’ for their own good might
know what is good for themselves and possess better ways to heal from their
traumas (Kirmayer et al 2007:1-5).
The psychiatric diagnostic of PTSD is a baseline psychological indicator
(Kirmayer et al 2007:xix). When used as a central concept to understand refugee
women PTSD runs the risk of focusing on pathologies and eliding the women’s
specific story and truth (Kirmayer 2007:377). This unilateral approach perpetuates
dominant discourses labelling refugee women as weak, vulnerable and powerless.
When used as the prime concept addressing issues relevant to refugee women from
Middle Eastern backgrounds PTSD might trigger culturally inappropriate
responses and undermine the women’s expertise and power over their own lives
towards recovery of traumas (Konner 2007:320).

27. 13
To be resilient does not mean to be immune from trauma; it means to have high
coping and ‘bouncing back’ (Coutu 2002:46) skills to overcome traumatic events
and situations. Highly resilient people recover faster from traumas and depression
than less resilient people (Konner 2007:308).
Konner (2007:322) argues that ‘experience of self-reliance and survival in
challenging environments strengthened resilience’ as well as ‘the necessity to
survive to meet other stresses and to protect dependants’. This seems to concur
with issues of survival refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds had to
face in their country of origin and throughout displacement. At a different level, it
is concordant to the issues they are confronted with in their country of resettlement
where they have to adapt and meet other stresses.
Coutu’s (2002:50) words ‘resilient people will build bridges from present-day
hardships to a fuller, better constructed future’ stress that resilient people make
decisions that create significance in their lives and establish concrete goals for the
self.
2.3 Factors of Resilience
Research on resilience has mostly targeted traumatized and disadvantaged children
and youth (Cyrulnik 2003; Harvey & Delfabbro 2004). Konner (2007:320) adds
that ‘these [studies on resilience] may hold the clues to primary and secondary
prevention’ strategies in the human services. Research on youth resilience
uncovered resilience factors such as the ability to get people (adults) to help you,
and to recognize and take opportunities (Coutu 2002:48). A high level of cognition
which strengthens problem solving skills has also been identified as a factor of
resilience (Konner 2007:322).
Young-Eisendrath (1996:21-22) argues that while resilience is rooted in many
diverse factors, one main significant factor is the person as such, his/her very
meaning of the self, the individual constructing who he/she is, and how he/she

28. 14
perceives his/her life, and the interrelation between the self and the environment.
This concurs with the resilience factor of the internal locus of control (Brooks &
Goldstein 2004:7), as well as with the factor of determination, a strong personality
and will to make the best of life (Konner 2007:310). This relates also to the
individual capacity to accept and see the reality as it is and to make a meaning of
it, which means formulating his/her own personal truth towards it:
Happy the man [and the woman] who early learns the wide chasm that lies
between his [her] wishes and his [her] powers (Goethe cited in Stokes
2002:105).
Two main identified resilience factors are the ability to face and accept reality and
to make meaning of it (Coutu 2002:48); to have a clear and sober view of it, being
down-to-earth about what is important for survival, and a sense of possibilities
useful to seize opportunities as they occur (Coutu 2002:48):
When we truly stare down reality, we prepare ourselves to act in ways that
allow us to endure and survive extraordinary hardship (Coutu 2002:50).
The ability to make meaning in life is an essential resilience factor (Coutu
2002:48). Cyrulnik (2003:30-31) stressed that making meaning of suffering is an
important aspect of resilience. Konner (2007:325) talks about the psychiatrist
Viktor Frankl who developed a therapy where suffering is dealt with through the
search of meaning in life.
In his research about survivors of holocaust camps, Vanderpol (cited in Coutu
2002:47-48) found that powerful resilience factors were a sense of humour
providing a critical sense of perspectives, the ability to develop attachments to
others, and to possess an inner psychological space as a protection against abusive
intruders.
There are debates about the interrelations between what research calls protective
factors, risk factors and resilience factors (Cyrulnik 2003:18; Harvey & Delfabbro

29. 15
2004:4), and how these interactions develop and enhance people’s resilience. As a
protective factor, as demonstrated through longitudinal studies (Konner 2007:309),
a loving environment in childhood would enhance people’s resilience abilities.
Other results show that stress could be an incentive factor enhancing the
development of resilience (Konner 2007:309-310). Another factor is the positive
impact of a significant supportive person and/or social groups on the individual
facing a traumatic event or difficult environment (Konner 2007:310).
Caring for family members or a group of people can be a protective factor
increasing resilience factors (Cyrulnik 2003:18; Konner 2007:320). The supply of
healing resources found in family and community also provides great assistance
(Konner 2007:320). A loving environment or a source of love during childhood
was well identified in numerous research studies as a protective factor supporting
resilience factors (Cyrulnik 2003:21,30-31).
Resilience is neither a constant state nor discernible in single actions (Young-
Eisendrath 1996:22). This capacity to respond to adversity and hardship with
development and growth is rooted in the complex relationships between diverse
interpersonal protective factors and environmental factors which can be either
protective or risk factors (Young-Eisendrath 1996:21-22). Therefore, to define
resilience with specific guidelines is still a matter of assumptions; theories and
research present validity from different perspectives (Harvey & Delfabbro 2004;
Luthar 1991; Spaccarelli & Kim 1995; Waller 2001). Further research on
resilience is necessary to enlarge the spectrum of knowledge and understandings
across its various factors and theories.
2.4 Resilience as a guiding Concept for Analysis
In order to use resilience as a guiding concept for analysis, the following factors
emerging from the prior discussion will be used as indicators of resilience factors
to understand the women’s stories revealed in the interviews.

30. 16
It is important to say that no information stating whether or not these indicators
have been validated across cultures was found in the literature. Some of these
factors can carry individualistic or collectivistic notions. They can correspond to
different perceptions according to cultures, norms and customs. Therefore, for the
purpose of this thesis, the analysis will need to assume that there is some relevance
across cultures. However, cross-cultural validation of these resilience factors has
to be researched and tested in the future.
- Ability to confront hardship - ability to cope with hardship
- Ability to thrive, not just survive, after great difficulties
- Enduring and overcoming trauma / difficulties
- Adaptation – Evolution
- Transforming adversity and hardship into wisdom and compassion
- Making meaning of suffering
- Clear sense of reality - Acceptance of reality
- Developing meaning in life - Strong values that life is meaningful
- Strong problem solving skills - ability to grab opportunities and to improvise
- Internal locus of control – self-reliance – determination
- Risk taking – taking control of own life and destiny
- Strong sense and meaning of self – Sense of self-worth
- Building bridges from present day hardship to a better constructed future
- Loving environment during childhood - Ability to develop attachment to others
- Significant supportive person as role model or helping during hardship
The absence or presence (and the extent) of resilience amongst refugee women
from Middle Eastern backgrounds will be observed through these indicators. The
absence or presence of resilience factors in the women’s stories will either confirm
or contradict western discourses.

31. 17
CHAPTER THREE
REFUGEE WOMEN FROM THE MIDDLE EAST
3.1 Introduction
This chapter addresses the issues of gender and discourses associated with refugee
women from Middle Eastern backgrounds. As the women’s stories will reveal in
chapter five, social constructions of gender and ethnocentric western discourses
have an impact on the women’s lives.
It makes a difference in their approach, behaviours and attitudes if people
understand the circumstances and culture of refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds (Crawley 2001:1). As will be discussed in chapter five through the
participants’ interviews, it is not because they are now living in Australia that their
culture, values and traditions, which are woven into their lives and identity
somehow dissolve. This chapter will then provide some understandings of what it
means to be a refugee woman from the Middle East.
As they are women and refugees, it is essential to address the position of women
within the context of war, oppression and subordination; what this means for these
women in terms of gender. This shall guide readers towards better understanding
of the position women have as a refugee and as a woman in a war environment.
This shall also assist readers to better understand some specific situations and
challenges these women might experience, and whether or not they demonstrate
resilience throughout their stories, told in chapter five.
This chapter also emphasizes that while women suffer from subordination and
exploitation imposed by social discourses and beliefs constructed by male
hegemonic ‘realities’ and priorities (Shaefer & Horejsi 2006:95), Middle East
feminism strives for equality and emancipation of women (RAWA 2007; Shaaban
2006a).

32. 18
Finally, this chapter will address stereotypes and attitudes conveyed by refugee
policy in Australia.
3.2 Discourses and Gender
In western or eastern societies, women are neither a homogenous group that can be
generalized upon nor passive victims of patriarchal societies or domination
(Crawley 2001:8; Lerner 1986:5). Western discourses express white cultural
norms and values. They define women in the Middle East as ‘victims’ oppressed
by patriarchy, confined and locked up in their culture, struggling against
domination and not seeing the whole ‘picture’ of (western) feminism. They are
conceptualized as passive, powerless and weak in contrast to western women who
are said to be ‘modern’, educated, sexually liberated and actively able to achieve
their goals (Crawley 2001:8).
Knowledge produces power (Foucault 1972) and Said (cited in Lewis 1996:15-16)
developed the concept of ‘orientalism’ as being a discourse:
In which the West’s knowledge about the Orient is inextricably bound up
with its domination over it (Lewis 1996:16).
Therefore, western discourses conceptualise the Middle East through ethnocentric
values and norms, stereotyping the Orient as backward, not modern, inferior and
dully traditional (Lewis 1996:16). Furthermore, Said (Lewis 1996:16) said that the
western representation of the Orient does not reflect the true reality but is a
conceptualisation created by the West to keep its domination in place as:
Dividing the world into Muslims versus West, good countries versus evil
ones and, in fact, as a result colonized versus colonizers (Shaaban 2007).
According to Said’s (in Lewis 1996:15-16) ‘orientalism’, western discourses
construct notions of superiority of western women compared to the ‘backward’
women in Middle East countries. They promote stereotypes, definitions and labels
about women in the Middle East such as underdeveloped, inferior and ignorant

33. 19
(Ahmed 1992:155; Sedghi 1994:91-92). It is argued that western discourses and
western feminism do not consider the possibility of resilience amongst Middle
Eastern women, as western cultures conceptualise the Middle East as inferior to
themselves. Therefore, western stereotypes and stigmatisation impact on the life of
refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds as they influence how
Australian people behave towards resettled refugees and what they feel about
themselves.
Subordination of women in relation to men has a long world history and the
creation of patriarchy has very complex foundations (Lerner 1986:6-9). Lerner
(1986:201-203) argues that patriarchy existed already in 3000 B.C.; the fact that
women were excluded from the creation of symbol systems (written transmission
of knowledge) paved the road to a male development of institutionalisations.
History and transmission of knowledge has been written by men (Lerner
1986:200-201).
Societies became strongly patriarchal as the Christian Church claimed that Woman
was created by God to be Man’s companion. Lerner (1986:161) confirmed that
western civilisation drew its gender system from Judeo-Christian religious texts.
When Islam conquered the Middle East in the seventh century C.E., it sustained
the Christian movement justifying and legitimizing misogyny with adaptation of
biblical stories (Ahmed 1992:36). However, Western and Middle East
civilizations, both do not acknowledge that they have the same foundations, and
history is silenced to serve political interests of many men (Ahmed 1992:37):
Nor is it only the Western world that developed historical constructs to
serve vested political and ideological interests. Islamic civilization
developed a construct of history that labelled the pre-Islamic period the
Age of Ignorance and projected Islam as the sole source of all that was
civilized (Ahmed 1992:36-37).
Despite western discourses claiming the Middle East as world of Islam being
extremely oppressive for women, the western world of Christianity is not less

34. 20
domineering and presents the same patriarchal constructs oppressing women
(Fawzi El-Solh & Mabro 1995:4).
As refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds live under the influence of a
patriarchal culture and an environment where gender roles are defined by men
(Brodsky 2003:37), it would be worthwhile to explore the history of these
dominant discourses further down the track. However, this thesis is focused on
exploring factors of resilience amongst refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds and will not be able to provide a systematic historical account of
women in patriarchy (Lerner 1986).
3.3 Western Discourses about the Middle East
A large number of countries in the Middle East have been under western colonist
domination or influence until they regained their independence during the last
twentieth century (Shaaban 1998).
People in societies live under a set of rules, norms, ethics, morality and principles
historically established by religious, political, economical, judicial, pedagogical or
medical foundations (Foucault 1985:3-4). Those sets vary according to each
country and the cultures that exist in these nation-states.
Subjugated in Said’s (Lewis 1996:15-17) concept of ‘orientalism’, the Middle East
is seen by the West to be one whole same group of people (Shabban 2006b), a
monolithic assemblage of countries controlled by one religion, Islam (Fawzi El-
Solh & Mabro 1995:1-2). Western discourses mix politics and religion and see
Islam as a political ideology. It is more appropriate to say that political regimes of
countries in the Middle East have different policies to support Islamic values and
laws (Nakanishi 1998). Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, or Yemen are different at various levels; each
country has its own political regime, economic system, social structures and

35. 21
languages (Shabban 2006b). Discourses and media give us erroneous images of
people in the Middle East (Shaaban 1998:101).
Like everywhere in the world, women in the Middle East enjoy different political
and socio-economic rights according to their country’s political regime and
policies. Shaaban (1998:101-103) explores the ‘ambiguous relationship that is
deliberately maintained between religious polity and secular society’ and its
impact on women’s achievements at political and socio-economic levels. She
addresses the balance between Islamic policy and secular laws.
3.4 Feminism in the Middle East
Privileged western societies tend to legitimise feminism in an ethnocentric way
through a modernist approach and impose a ‘feminist colonialism’ on Middle
Eastern women’s way of life, culture and beliefs (Narayan 1997:3-5). Western
modern feminism considers women in the Middle East as not participating in the
‘feminist cause’ (Narayan 1997:4-5; Sedghi 1994:90-91).
Western feminism, as a movement and as a social and philosophical theory,
developed within western countries through mostly ‘white’ scholars influenced by
their specific culture, economic and political environment (Sedghi 1994:91-92).
While western women began to overtly challenge patriarchy in the twentieth
century, Middle Eastern women had already started to contest male hegemony
during the eighteen century through movements for human rights and education, as
well as resistance against colonialism and imperialism (Sedghi 1994:92; Shaaban
2006a). Nowadays, women activist movements are struggling in countries such as
Iran, Syria (Shaaban 1998:103), Yemen, Afganistan (RAWA 2007) and Egypt
towards equal opportunity, education and better positions for women in society;
they fight against repression, class inequality and imperialism (Sedghi 1994:92), as
well as for peace, freedom, democracy and women’s rights in general (RAWA
2007).

36. 22
Middle Eastern feminist perspectives argue against a monolithic view of feminism,
and claim that Middle Eastern women do not have the same perspectives, history,
environment, narratives, ethnicity, and culture as Western women (Narayan
1997:3-5; Shaaban 2006a). In the context of world politics and often oppressive
governments, Middle East feminism struggles against domination by class, race,
and gender, fighting for control over life, ownership of life choices, and the power
to decide for themselves (Sedghi 1994:90).
Middle Eastern feminism addresses women’s liberation and equal social and
economic rights to men as equally important for men and for women; this is a
‘theme of nation and civilisation’ (Shaaban 2006a); Middle East feminism is not a
struggle for women alone, but also for men, state and society alike.
3.5 War and Gender
From her experience and research in Syria and Lebanon, Shaaban (1988) speaks
about her admiration and faith towards the women she met. She describes them as:
Brave fighters, bold thinkers, uncompromising partisans, affectionate
mothers, great friends, and mostly unselfish in their attitudes and beliefs.
Behind the façade of a ‘weak’ sex, I discovered courageous, original
minds and principled moral values (Shaaban 1988:2).
.
Middle East feminism acknowledges women’s resilience (RAWA 2007; Shaaban
2006a). Shaaban (1988:1) claims that women in the world of wars are in struggles
they do not control and suffer from violence they do not initiate. However, they
take guns to fight back, raise their voice to speak back, defying the western
stereotype of the passive and compliant dutiful Arab woman (Shaaban 1988:1).
It is essential to challenge knowledge and understandings of the experiences of
women in war. According to the notion of gender, men are active, public, political,
while women are passive, private and apolitical (Crawley 2001:18-19). This
gender related discourse has essential implications for women in the context of

37. 23
war because persecution in the ‘private’ sphere is not officially recognized as a
persecution of war. There is a dichotomy between the private and public sphere in
discourse about refugees.
As such, a woman can fear persecution because she is a woman. This takes a
different connotation in the context of war and also addresses the causal socially
constructed relationship of gender within the context of persecution (Crawley
2001:7):
A woman may be persecuted as a woman (eg rape) for reasons unrelated
to gender (eg activity in a political party), not persecuted as a woman but
still because of gender (eg flogged for refusing to wear a veil), and
persecuted as and because she is a woman (eg female genital mutilation)
(Crawley 2001:8).
While many women experience severe hardship and oppression in the context of
gender subordination in the world of wars, the majority world women’s resistance
to western stereotypes is active and present (Crawley 2001:9; RAWA 2007):
This approach to the politics of protection suggests that the ‘problem’ is
not so much the actual invisibility of women but rather how their
experiences have been represented and analytically characterized
(Crawley 2001:9).
Within the context of war, many women suffer from harm that takes place within
their community and not specifically from being involved in a political resistance
(Crawley 2001:5). Women are targeted because they are particularly vulnerable
with their dependants:
Women, along with their dependants, are often the first victims of
political, economic and social repression in significant part because of
laws and social norms which dictate gender-related behaviour and
treatment (Crawley 2001:3).
Because of their reproductive role, women often generate ethnic identity
maintenance. In some cultures, to tarnish and inseminate women through sexual

38. 24
abuses is a powerful weapon to destroy families, communities or even a whole
ethnic lineage (Crawley 2001:3-4). In political or religious conflicts, sexual
violence and torture are also used on women to get information about activities
and location of family members (Crawley 2001:3-4).
All of these assaults often carry traumatic social repercussions from shame to
social stigma to reprisals by relatives (Crawley 2001:3). These women not only
tend to blame themselves for their ordeal, they also might be rejected and
ostracized by their family and community. Many women live with traumas from
their experiences of war without ever being able to talk about it because of their
fear of rejection (Crawley 2001:202-203) or to become victim of ‘honour killing’
(Crawley 2001:109).
In some countries, including in the Middle East the culture of ‘honour killing’, or
‘crime of honour’ is a patriarchal norm and gives men the power to decide on a
girl or a woman’s life (Crawley 2001:109). This means that a woman or girl raped
by the enemy or by anyone can be the subject of a crime of honour and can be
killed by her relatives to clean the shame brought upon the family. The perpetrator
of the crime will not be pursued (Crawley 2001:202-203). The principle of honour
killing is a powerful weapon enemies use on communities in the context of war.
Families and communities are destroyed through the use of the crime of honour. In
this case, women are persecuted within their own community because they are
women.
Consequently, in the context of war the protection of the family’s honour can
maintain the power structures which lead to subjugation and dominance by men
over women and children (Crawley 2001:18-19).
3.5.1 Gender Issues in Refugee Policies
For many women applying for refugee status, because of the political nature of
conflicts, it is often more difficult to get their voices heard as their cases will be

39. 25
considered ‘non-political’ and therefore not in as great a need for protection
(Crawley 2001:4-5). As discussed above, the gender distribution of roles does not
consider women to be active members of the public sphere. Crawley (2001:21)
argues that the key criteria to be recognized as a refugee are in the public sphere –
as the male area – and not in the private sphere - the female area. There is a gender
inequality as the 1951 Refugee Convention does not refer to gender differences.
Politics is viewed as men’s territory and carries a masculine identity (Crawley
2001:21).
International refugee laws do not make any distinction between male and female
refugees, their interpretations at national and international levels do not consider
gender biases (Crawley 2001:4-5). There is no gender connotation in the word
refugee and little attention is given to the impact of gender differences on women
refugees. Although some countries, such as Australia, began to recognize specific
needs for women refugees, specific measures have to be taken to ensure women
refugee have access to the same level of protection and material assistance as men
(Crawley 2001:1).
Australia has extended its interpretation of the Refugee Convention to gender-
related persecution according to the UNHCR approach and recognition of gender-
specific human rights abuses inflicted to women (Crawley 2001:12). The Women
at risk visa subclass 204 has been created in 1989 for women who are subject of
persecution and in vulnerable situation (DIMA 2006b:7).
Gender-related persecutions are experiences of women who are persecuted
because of their status and identity as women. Therefore, the concept of being
persecuted as women is different as being persecuted because they are women
(Crawley 2001:7). It is essential to officially recognize that gender-specific
persecution exists and that there are experiences and forms of serious harm, which
are specific to women in the context of war (Crawley 2001:7).

40. 26
Crawley (2001:1) argues that there is a high priority to define measures in
responding to the ways gender shapes the experiences of women refugees, as this
has not been done at a political level. Gender relations and gender differences
change and vary according to the social-cultural setting, economic environment,
religion and politics although there is a broad trend placing women in a position of
disadvantaged. This means that women refugees’ experiences have to be
contextualized with the aforementioned factors. Spijkerboer (cited in Crawley
2001:10-11) suggests that current systems of framing a ruling/verdict on women
refugees can actually reproduce the structures from which some of them have
suffered.
3.6 Refugee Policy in Australia
The debate surrounding the refugee policy is very complex. Millbank (2004:28)
advocated that Australia was an ‘honest’ country regarding its refugee policy
compared to European countries. However, it is argued that the government
promotes exclusion and the division within the Australian population through the
Australian refugee policy’s political and economic purposes; refugees are
stigmatised by judgmental approaches and attitudes. People’s opinion is strongly
influenced and triggered by their fears, pressures, and social conditioning
(Muggeridge 1973:24); refugees are depicted as ‘the others’ suspicious and
uncivilized people.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, different governments have taken
various approaches towards refugee policy, each of these having different values,
goals and priorities (Bernstein & Weiner 1999:3; Stilwell 2004:427-428). The
refugee policy developed considerably since the early 1990’s (Crock 1998:v),
reflecting the political decisions which have been made about asylum seekers and
refugees (Leach & Mansouri 2003:20).

41. 27
In 1954, Australia ratified the United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees. In 1958, the Migration Act 1958 replaced the Immigration Act
1901 (York 2003:2).
A refugee is legally defined as any person who owing to a well founded
fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the
country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is
unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.
This is the definition, article 1A, of the United Nations 1951 Convention Relating
to the Status of Refugees. According to this convention, Australia is under the
obligation to offer support and to ensure that the person established to be a refugee
is not sent back unwillingly to his/her country of origin. Furthermore, based on the
United Nations 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of
Refugees, Australia has the obligation of giving protection to refugees (Crawley
2001:4-5).
In 2002, Brennan claimed that the annual intake of 75 000/80 000 migrants, the
Howard government retains only a maximum of 12 000 places for refugees
(Healey 2002:25). Since 2004, the government allocates a maximum of 13 000
places for Humanitarian Programme entrants, including off-shore programmes
(DIMA 2006b:6). In 2005-06, for a total intake of 123 214 permanent entrants to
Australia, only 12 451 were Humanitarian Programme entrants when 66 218 were
skilled entrants and 42 302 were family entrants (DIAC 2007:8).
Between 1992 and 2002, about 25 per cent of the refugees who have resettled in
Australia are from the Middle East (York 2003:7). In 2005-06, an allocation of
3902 places were given to applicants from Middle Eastern backgrounds (DIMA
2006b:8), about 30 per cent of the total of places allocated per year for refugees by
the Australian government.

42. 28
In July 2004, Senator Vanstone said that refugees granted with the Temporary
Protection Visa, or TPV, and working as ‘lower skilled workers’ would ‘now’ be
‘recognised’ as ‘contributing’ to Australia’s economy, and that modifications
would be made to visas’ criteria to enable the TPV workers ‘with skills acceptable
to Australian employers’ to be sponsored by their employers (Vanstone 2004). The
‘winners’ of the refugee policy are mostly the skilled people (Brennan 2002:35)
responding to the criteria of a pragmatic Australian economic policy focused on
economic growth and western development (Healey 2002:6,13). This confirms that
social policies are not made to focus on humanity but rather on the economic
treatment of a problem and the political impact on the electorate.
Furthermore, negative discourses about refugees aggravate the resentment some
Australian citizens might feel against ‘the others’; the low wage workers from
refugee background are the ‘low wages invaders’ (Bernstein & Weiner 1999:xvi).
Burke (2002) called it ‘borderphobias’, the government playing a ‘politic of fear’
to better ensure and control its power on its electorate (Hamilton & Maddison
2007:33). The Howard government manipulates and releases selected information
to influence public opinion (Argy 2005). The Tampa issue showed the
government’s opportunism to use people’s fear of terrorism after the 11th
September as reason to apply new tougher refugee and asylum seeker policies
(Hamilton & Maddison 2007:33; Jamrozik 2005:98; Reus-Smit 2002:v).
The Howard government claimed the necessity of maintaining a ‘safe’ country for
its citizens and assured ‘border protection’, allowing:
Patterns of violence and coercion in the form of domestic security,
surveillance, and the ‘deterrence’ of asylum seekers (Burke 2002:1).
Perera (2002:2) denounced the new ‘moral threshold’ the 2001 ‘border protection
bill’ brought to Australian people. This bill removed the ‘key asylum-seeker
landing areas from Australia’s migration zone’ (Perera 2002:2), involving

43. 29
mandatory sentences for crew members taking asylum seekers on their boat, and
legitimating:
Necessary and reasonable force’ to ‘push off’ asylum seekers boats from
Australian waters (Perera 2002:2).
Burke (2002:5) cites Hoh as stating that racial ‘violence and exclusion, the
legitimation of colonialism and imperialism, and the control and subjugation of
‘Others’ has historically coexisted with liberalism’ such as in Australia.
Supported by the ‘politic of fear’ (Burke 2002), the Australian refugee policy
legitimates a restricted annual number of Humanitarian Programme entrants to just
10 per cent of the total intake of new entrants per year.
Piper (2000:83-84) condemned the press for its powerful discriminatory role
towards asylum seekers and refugees, and deplored sensational stories fed by
politicians (Hamilton & Maddison 2007:134-135); these front page headings sell
newspapers, regardless of prejudices they might cause. Discriminative media
coverage, as well as recent refugee policy more generally has a detrimental impact
on people from Middle Eastern backgrounds regardless of the status they have in
Australia, as there has been the promotion of negative stereotypes and fallacious
labels among the Australian community.

44. 30
CHAPTER FOUR
METHODOLOGY
I want to create a space in which I can know my own feelings and desires,
but I seem instead to hear a cacophony of voices. Some of these voices are
so effective and powerful that they close up any space I may have for
knowing my feelings, and they accomplish that without any stridency
(Ribbens 1998:31).
4.1 Introduction
This research project is about refugee women and aims to gain a better
understanding about the resilience of refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds who have resettled in Adelaide. The core feature of this research was
to give a voice to the women and to draw knowledge from the analysis of their
stories. Accordingly, a feminist perspective using a qualitative approach was
chosen as the research methodology.
Harding (1991:123-124) believes that feminist research should begin with listening
to women’s experiences and lives. Feminist research allows women to appreciate
their own experiences because of the value given to them through the research:
I would not know to value my own experience and voice of those of other
women if women had not so insisted on the value of women’s experiences
and voices (Harding 1991:124).
Furthermore, the feminist methodology acknowledges the ambiguity of serving
academic audiences and remaining loyal to the participants’ voices. The
knowledge gathered within the ‘private sphere’ is transformed into a new language
designed for academic audience and across institutions (Edwards & Ribbens
1998:2). The implications of a private language being conveyed to a public
audience are further endorsed with Standing (1998:190) who draws attention to the
‘ways in which we represent and interpret the women’s voices, which reinforces
hierarchies of knowledge and power’.

45. 31
This chapter explains the method of this research, describing some aspects and
issues that rose during the process. Limitations associated with the feminist
methodology as well as with other factors have been identified. The researcher
attempted to be vigilant about her method, reflecting on her motivations and
assessments, aware of the impact discourses could have on her approaches,
reactions and analysis.
4.2 Theoretical Perspective
Feminist epistemology stresses knowledge to be influenced by gender and
discourses (Anderson 2005:188). Feminism has been working since the latter half
of the twentieth century at challenging and deconstructing discourse formations
such as gender, patriarchy, racism and homophobia (Payne 2005:251; St Pierre &
Pillow 2000:2-3); investigating political patterns and social constructions,
questioning narratives and myths (Jackson & Pearson 1998:12-13). Women’s
movements and collective actions have strong historical and cross-cultural impacts
(Molyneux 1998:65) demonstrating wide and diverse forms of solidarity women
have engaged in (Cleves Mosse 1993:61; RAWA 2007).
Feminist perspectives in social work are driven to address the position of
subordination of women in societies (Cleves Mosse 1993:26; Payne 2005:251).
Feminist theory brought gender analysis and reflection into social work,
questioning gendered power relations and hierarchy, labels and stereotypes
imposed on women in any patriarchal society. Feminism strives to eliminate
gender inequalities, discrimination and oppression (Payne 2005:251; Jackson &
Pearson 1998:2-3). Feminist social work focuses also on the interrelation between
women’s personal experiences and public issues and what are the approaches and
interventions that can address public issues within the domestic sphere (Payne
2005:252).

46. 32
4.3 Methodology
This project draws on feminist methodology with exploratory and interpretive
components, as it creates knowledge from the perspectives of the women’s lives
(Harding 1991:vii). The feminist approach gives a voice to the women and
supports the notion of women’s diversity; it is driven by addressing the position of
women in societies (Cleves Mosse 1993:26; Payne 2005:251; Reinharz 1992:252).
The exploratory component lies in the approach of the researcher to open up new
paths into understandings about the resilience of refugee women from Middle
Eastern backgrounds (Walter 2006:8).
The interpretive part of this feminist approach recognizes the social world as
socially constructed environment influencing the life of refugee women from
Middle Eastern backgrounds (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2006:23). It addresses
discourse formations on gender and patriarchy (Payne 2005:251; St Pierre &
Pillow 2000: 2-3), as well as discourses (Jackson & Pearson 1998:12-13)
specifically impacting on the life of refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds in Australia.
4.4 Method
Five workers from five organisations working with women from refugee
backgrounds were personally conducted on the research project. The intention was
to recruit participants through professional ‘gatekeepers’ working in the field.
However, only two of the participants were recruited through an agency. Agencies
were working mostly with refugee women from African backgrounds and did not
have specific programs for women from the Middle East. Two agencies refused to
give access to their clients arguing that the women were highly vulnerable.
The process of seeking intermediate gatekeepers is often used in qualitative
research concerned with accessing ‘stigmatized’ groups such as refugee women
(Miller 1998:63). Interestingly and unintentional, I recruited four of the

47. 33
participants through the snowball process (Royse 1999:164). I did not initiate this
snowball sampling. Through my various visits to agencies and my constant
networking with people in the community or working in the field, the women
heard about the research project and contacted me because they wanted to
participate.
The research approached the ‘private sphere’ using a qualitative method
(Mauthner & Doucet 1998:139). The qualitative method addresses social issues
with a holistic perspective; it engages the different factors impacting on the
researcher and the participants (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2006:5).
Semi-structured interviews were used and each participant was interviewed twice,
within an interval of seven to ten days. The reason for this is developed in section
4.6 ‘Research Instruments’. The semi-structured interview questions provided a
framework allowing space for prompts and probes exploring issues and stories
specific to each participant (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2006:125-126).
The participants were invited to choose the place and time for the interviews which
mostly took place at the participant’s house. This interview situation gave some
power to the interviewee to control the interview, which is preferable in the
context of in-depth interviews (Standing 1998:189). Only the interviews involving
a gatekeeper, who also participated as the interpreter, took place at the agency and
this for practical reasons according to the gatekeeper’s time; this will be discussed
in section 4.9 ‘Limitations of the study’.
4.5 Selection of Participants
Only refugee women from Middle Eastern backgrounds were selected (having
entered Australia through the Humanitarian Programme), aged 18 and over, living
in metropolitan Adelaide and wanting to participate in the study. To understand
and converse in English was highly desirable. Two participants did not speak

48. 34
English and the agency worker took the role of the interpreter as she was
accredited to do so in the agency.
This research had a non-probability sampling design (Neuman & Kreuger
2003:209). I used purposive sampling through deliberate choice of specific people
(Neuman & Kreuger 2003:209); I recruited participants from a representative
sample responding to the characteristic of the group and who were willing to
participate in the study (Neuman & Kreuger 2003:211). The choice of a
representative sample (Neuman & Kreuger 2003:178) ensured a reliable
representation allowing the exploration of different life experiences related to each
other through determinant characteristics, which included being a woman and a
refugee from a Middle Eastern background. All the women recruited through
either snowball system or through gatekeepers, were selected through purposive
sampling.
The research was explained to potential participants, access and consent were
negotiated with the women. According to the feminist methodology, interviews
were more a social interaction rather than a formal ‘questioning’. Privacy was
respected during the interview about personal experiences and confidentiality
(Mauthner 1998:49). While nothing troubling occurred, it was acknowledged that
participants might feel unable to continue for personal reasons, in case of painful
memories and emotions that could be evoked through the interview process (Miller
1998:64).
4.6 Research Instruments
The interview is a privileged space where a specific form of interaction
takes place allowing both participant and researcher to construct meanings
and interpretations about the narrative (Mauthner 1998:51).
The main research instrument was the in-depth semi-structured interview (Hesse-
Biber & Leavy 2006:125-126; Neuman 1997:80). Qualitative collection of data

49. 35
was used involving following principles: attention to reflexivity, power
relationships, participants’ voices, my own voice and the emotions in the research
process (Mauthner 1998:39). Each participant was interviewed twice except for
one woman for practical reason. First interviews with each participant were about
one hour and the second interview was about thirty minutes.
The purpose of two interviews per participant was to build rapport between the
interviewee and the researcher, as well as gathering specific data for use in the
second interview. The week-long interval between the interviews was intended as
reflective time for the participants to think about what was said during the first
interview and what they wanted to add in the second interview.
As Hosking (1990:2) stresses in feminist approach, it is important to acknowledge
the women’s diversity and uniqueness, to give attention to the whole person, to
develop a rapport of respect and trust, to show flexibility, to understand the
cultural background, the political and social impacts, spirituality and beliefs,
accepting and not judging, listening to women without labelling them. The process
of a second interview enabled in-depth personal information through the rapport
created during the first interview. Some participants even offered to participate in a
third interview.
The semi-structured interview was chosen because of the expectation that
‘interviewees often have information or knowledge that may not have been
thought of in advance by the researcher’ (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2006:126). When
such knowledge emerged, the researcher was then able to explore further the topic
relevant to the participant, acknowledging diversity.
During the interviews, attempts were made to create a space in which the
participants felt able to voice their feelings and personal experiences, what they
had been living through (Harding & Pibram 2004:869). This was made easier
through the fact that most of them took place at the participant’s home as they

50. 36
requested (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2006:124); the women generously opened their
home, their ‘sacred space’ where they had power to express what they wanted
(Sheafor & Horejsi 2006:221). All interviews involved an informal dialogue
between the women and the researcher, both sharing personal information
(Standing 1998:189).
The women freely offered a very large amount of in-depth data, which made me
think that the participants trusted me. I was able to show understanding, while
sometimes opening myself to the participants through appropriate self-disclosure
with a clear connection to the participant’s topic (Shaefor & Horejsi 2006:151-
152). I felt I understood and could somehow ‘identify’ with the women. Two of
the participants told me they felt I understood them. The fact that the data collected
is strongly related to the theory of resilience tells me that I managed my interviews
well; I kept the interviews flowing along while gathering relevant data (Cameron
2005:81). I noticed that to record the interview allowed me to be relaxed and
focused on the participant’s story instead of having to take notes. All participants
agreed for the interviews to be digitally recorded.
The data collected from the participants recruited through the snowball system
were largely more in-depth and descriptive than the data from the participants
recruited through an agency. This concurs with Hesse-Biber and Leavy’s
(2006:124) assertion that the best interviews are those with participants wanting to
share their story and experiences. Yet, the two participants recruited through the
agency were also willing to share their stories. This aspect is discussed in section
4.9 about limitations.
4.7 Data analysis
Qualitative data analysis is geared towards creating meaning (Willis 2006:259).
The raw data was the eleven digital recorded interviews which were formatted into
written transcripts. For confidentiality reasons, each participant was asked to give
a fictitious name for data analysis purpose, ensuring the participant’s identity was

51. 37
kept anonymous. The recording of the women’s voices allowed the researcher to
identify the exact words used by the participants It also transmitted the way how
the stories were conveyed through voice tones and emphasised words; this
enhanced the data analysis process.
‘Transcription is an important part of the analytical process’ (Willis 2006:264) and
especially with a small number of participants. The transcription procedure
enabled the researcher to clearly remember facial expressions and body language
(Willis 2006:264); this facilitated her perception and understanding of the given
information from the participants’ perspective. Indeed, considering that more than
50 per cent of our emotional meanings are conveyed through non-verbal
communication it is essential to be attentive of non-verbal language, what we
perceive and what we convey (Cameron 2005:29-32).
The thematic analysis was used for this research (Willis 2006:271). The transcripts
were coded through themes in categories and subcategories to fragment the rich
data (Willis 2006:266). Themes common to all participants emerged. The themes
relevant to the concept of resilience, the feminist approach and to dominant
discourses were chosen; those were analysed through the lens of resilience and
emerged relationships were depicted, drawn on the literature.
4.8 Ethical Considerations
Although two of the participants were recruited through gatekeepers, the women
were under no obligation to participate in the research project; there were no
consequences for women who chose not to take part in the study. This was clearly
explained to the potential participants during the information session that took
place prior to the final recruitment and stated in the information sheet. The latter
was read to the potential participants during this session; the women were invited
to ask any questions and to gain further understanding about the research project,
the people who would have access to the information, the questions that I would
ask them. The women felt free to decide and this enabled voluntary participation

52. 38
of the participants. There was no incentive for the women to take part. Apart from
three women, all women attending the information session decided to participate
in the research.
The women knew from the information session they could decline answering and
withdraw from the interviews at any time. This was reiterated to them prior to each
interview.
Confidentiality and anonymity were respected. The two participants recruited
through the agency gave authorisation to the gatekeeper to contact me and
organise the interview. The participants recruited through the snowball process
either called me directly or asked the person we both knew to give me their contact
details for me to call them.
Participants of the research remained anonymous; there were no personal details
on the interview schedule as well as on interview transcripts. The women’s names
were only on the consent forms. No name was recorded or stored except on the
consent forms. The data analysis did not give any participant’s description or any
place. The researcher ensured that there was no information able to identify any
participant in the thesis.
The Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences Human Research Committee
of the University of South Australia has approved this research project, and ethical
procedures and strong principles of maintaining confidentiality were adhered to
throughout the research process.
4.9 Limitations of the Study
Methodology in social research is concerned with procedures for making
knowledge valid and authoritative (Ramazanoglu & Holland 2002:9).

53. 39
Western authorities of knowledge nurtured by scientific procedures (Foucault
1972:382-383) criticize feminist methodology as being intellectually inferior and
unscientific, not based on systematic process and methods (Harding 1991:297).
It can be seen as a limitation that, in order to be acknowledged and legitimated in
the academic sphere, the feminist research has to use the constructs, concepts,
paradigms and epistemology of dominant existing ‘knowledge’ and theories
(Foucault 1972:388; Harding 1991:108).
There are debates about feminist epistemologies lacking academic authority
(Harding 1991:297). Ramazanoglu and Holland (2002:2-3) argue that modern
academic spheres do not recognize feminist epistemology as authority of
knowledge, as it does not respond to academic conventions of rationality and
validity. This is a limitation for feminist research while Edwards and Ribbens
(1998:16-17) address the risk and dilemma of silencing and mutilating the voices,
while following the conventions to gain authority and credibility:
How we represent the voices of the women in our research, in a way
which is faithful to their experiences and language, but does not position
them as ‘others’ and reproduce hierarchies of power and knowledge
(Edwards & Ribbens 1998:19).
There are also criticisms about the existence and recognition of ‘gendered’
knowledge (Ramazanoglu & Holland 2002:3). It is often judged as a limitation that
feminist methodology is mostly used by women who have a feminist self-identity
and then consciously take a feminist perspective (Neuman 1997:80), like myself in
this research. Furthermore, the qualitative nature of the research exploring
women’s lives hindered complete objectivity where the researcher used
interpretations from her perspective (Edwards & Ribbens 1998:4).
The small number of participants was a limitation. This was due to the difficulty of
finding women responding to the selection criteria in such a short time.

54. 40
An important research limitation is the asymmetrical power relation between
researcher and interviewees despite all ‘good intentions’ of the researcher
(Edwards & Ribbens 1998:3). Even though the researcher discussed this issue with
the participant prior to each interview, comforting her that she was free to talk
about what she wanted, without any judgment of any kind and that nothing was
expected from her, participants might (consciously or unconsciously) have given
answers to please the researcher (Song 1998:114). However, the snowballing
process helped to break down this unequal power relation as the participants took
the initiative to speak (Standing 1998:188).
The issue of language was some form of limitation especially when an interpreter
was needed. Women will mostly not talk about personal issues if interviewed in
presence of a family member or an interpreter, and especially in the presence of a
man (Crawley 2001:204-205). The relationship between participants and
gatekeepers can be problematic, ‘affecting both whether and how women feel able
to speak about their experiences’ (Miller 1998:63). The interpreter was a female
worker the women knew well and seemed to have a very good relationship with.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that these interviews did not present as much in-
depth personal information as the interviews without interpreter made with the
snowball recruitment process.
There were factors that changed the dynamics of the interviews, the presence of a
third party and the formality of an official environment. This impacted on me as
the researcher and I assume that this influenced the women as well. While I always
kept eye contact and my body language focused on the participant, I did not feel as
comfortable as during interviews with English speaking participants. I felt like a
part of communication was lost in the process. Preventing a flowing exchange
between two people, the presence of an interpreter made it more difficult to build a
rapport in such a short time; more than two interviews would have been needed to
create a relationship. Questions and answers were spoken twice, which reduced the
scheduled one-hour to thirty minutes effective interview. I could not use prompts

55. 41
as much as I did with English speaking participants. It would have been good to
allow two hours for each interview.
I come from a non-English background. Two of the participants said at the end of
the interview that they felt understood by me and that they usually did not have
this feeling with Anglo-Saxon people. This can be seen as having a positive impact
on creating rapport between researcher and participants and on the interpretation of
data. Nonetheless, the production of knowledge can be biased through my
incomplete knowledge of the English language, and my responsibility in the
analysis of the women’s experiences as in soliciting and selecting information for
the study.
4.10 Where the Researcher positions her Self
Reflexivity means reflecting upon and understanding our own personal,
political and intellectual autobiographies as researchers and making
explicit where we are located in relation to our research respondents
(Mauthner & Doucet 1998:121).
4.10.1 As the Researcher
A reflective approach affirms the importance of experiential and
interconnected ways of knowing the world, and favours more
emancipatory and participatory research practices (Fook 1996:5).
Mauthner (1998:49) argues that reflective approach is central in feminist
methodology. Both where the researcher positions her/him self and in the very
production of knowledge, the subjectivity of the researcher is involved within the
process of creating, interpreting and theorizing research data (Mauthner & Doucet
1998:121; Willis 2006:260). During this research I strived to reflect on the
relationships between the theories and the issue of power between academic
knowledge and the women’s knowledge (Fook 1996:1-2). I questioned the values
involved in the relationship between the women and myself, the effect the research
and I had on their lives, the effect the built relationship between the women and

56. 42
myself had on me as a researcher and as a person, and what were my intentions
and motivations (Mauthner & Doucet 1998:121; Willis 2006:263). The feminist
approach was appropriate to address the intimate relationships between science,
knowledge and power (Harding 1991:48).
As the researcher, I tried to constantly reflect upon how I knew about things and
how I viewed and understood the knowledge I produced (Edwards & Ribbens
1998:2), the private lives I translated into the format of public knowledge
(Edwards & Ribbens 1998:2):
Third world [majority world] voices cannot be heard by public western
audience without the researcher as interpreter. This is the inescapable
nature of his/her dominance (Edwards and Ribbens 1998:3).
Conscious about the unequal relation to knowledge I was aware of my privileged
and determinant position in interpreting and representing participants’ voices.
Moreover, it is essential to acknowledge the impact of western dogmatic hierarchal
society on interpretation and theorization of research data (Mauthner & Doucet
1998:121).
It was a challenge to work in a context where male domination and gender
inequality might be strong and deep-rooted. However, cultural relativism assisted
me towards a neutral and non-judgmental approach, to ensure that the research
process and data analysis are not directed by my emotional and political inputs
(Neuman 1997:410).
4.10.2 As a Migrant Woman
Understanding stories of suffering and healing depends on a shared world
of assumptions, ideas, values and motivations (Kirmayer 2007:363).
While it could be attributed to personal information inappropriate to be introduced
into an academic work, this section is congruent to and is a direct result of the use
of feminist methodology and the reflective approach. It is a reflection on the

57. 43
relationship and the impact of this research with my identity as a social worker; as
well as the impact of my identity as a migrant woman on the production of
knowledge within this thesis.
I am a migrant and I am a woman. Born in a western society, I have been
privileged in many ways throughout my life. I grew up in a complicated family
setting and went through hardship and very difficult times. I will not dare to
identify myself with women from the Middle East who have been displaced from
their home and went through war. Yet, I am able to empathise with them in a very
close manner.
I arrived in Australia as a new migrant in December 2001. I could not speak
English. I experienced discriminatory stereotypes and labels. I know the difficulty
in regaining confidence and finding your identity in a country you feel is not
yours. Here again I will not compare my still protected environment as a western
white woman with the extreme challenges refugee women from Middle Eastern
backgrounds are confronted with. However, the experiences I have been living
through have given me some tools to communicate with and better understand the
positions of the women I have been interviewing.
Acknowledging Fook’s (1996:4) use of intuition in reflective research, throughout
the rapport created with the women, it was strengthened that, as women, we are all
connected through our wishes and dreams. The colour of our skin or the country
we are born in does not matter, we have the same spirit and the same heart. We are
sisters, mothers and daughters. We are friends and neighbours, students and
teachers, colleagues and partners. Together we are part of the world. We are
humanity.
According to reflective and feminist approaches, this journey increased my
understanding about my values, my spirit, my motivations as a social worker and a
researcher, as a migrant, a woman and a mother. It developed my identity as a
feminist. Somehow, it made me whole.

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CHAPTER FIVE
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 Introduction
Six women participated in this study. For the purpose of this analysis, they chose
fictitious names: Kian, Aaisha, Fatema, Shiva, Najiba, and Hayat. The participants
have been living in Australia from between 8 months and 20 years. They come
from three different countries and these are Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. They
represent three different religions. However, while religion is acknowledged as
important, this analysis does not focus on issues related to specific religions or
differences throughout countries in the Middle East. This chapter does not address
religion unless it relates directly to the manifestation of resilience.
This analysis attempts to identify whether the women display patterns of resilience
throughout their experiences in the past, their aspirations for the future, and within
the context of gender and dominant discourses.
Several themes emerged from the data in terms of feminism, discourses, gender
issues and resilience. The five chosen themes of commonality were gender,
discourses and stereotypes, education, sense of reality, aspirations and meaning of
life.
For each theme, the women’s stories were analysed through the lens of resilience,
using the key words listed in chapter two.
Due to word constraints, not all women’s stories are discussed in each theme.
Also, some quotes highlight several of the themes but each story will not be
repeated under every theme. This to avoid too many repetitions of similar analysis
as the chapter develops.

59. 45
In an attempt to reduce the hierarchy of reproduction of knowledge (Standing
1998:192) I included large quotations from the women’s words, validating them as
experts of their own voices.
5.2 Gender
In this analysis, the concept of gender is correlated with resilience factors in terms
of gender/power structures being constraints affecting the women’s life. This
theme was in all six stories.
This extract of Kian’s story concurs with the patriarchal context and culture of the
Middle East, as it has been discussed in chapter three. Kian’s parents fled with her
brother and left her behind because she was a girl (Brodsky 2003:37); she was just
a baby ‘my dad did not want a girl to bring up in Australia, so I got left behind
until I was twenty’. When she arrived in Australia she was told to marry her cousin
‘I was not allowed to marry anyone else but him, because I was promised to him’.
Arranged marriages are usual in Middle East cultures, girls having to follow their
father’s decision, like Kian ‘if you get told ‘do that’ and you don’t do it, you really
got no choice, you have to do it’.
Arranged marriages can be considered patriarchal, men’s power over women’s
lives ‘this is control and supervision of women sexuality, some form of seclusion’
(Ahmed 1992:52) telling women what is appropriate and inappropriate to do
regardless of freedom, health, well-being, rights of education and democracy
(Crawley 2001:107-109).
After eleven months in Australia, Kian ran away from her parents’ house with just
the clothes she was wearing. She was scared her father would find her:
I was really scared my dad is gonna find me and kill me. Because it’s kind
of, THAT is really, no no, to do THAT in my country, to escape, in my
country is kind of death sentence really, because there, if you run away

60. 46
and your family find you they can kill you and they won’t get charged for
it, because you are breaking the family tradition and name.
This can be associated with the ‘crime of honour’ discussed in chapter three. The
fear Kian experienced relates to honour killing that features in some Middle
Eastern societies (Brodsky 2003:40).
In terms of factors of resilience as listed in chapter two, Kian demonstrated risk
taking, taking control of her own life and destiny, and determination when she
took the risk of leaving a place where she had food and shelter (Healey 2007:9).
She knew she could be killed for escaping but she had the courage to confront it,
and a strong will to survive and have her own say for her future. She left not only
to flee an oppressive situation or fearful situation, but to build a new future with
her own hands. She knew what she wanted. She used the words ‘risk’ and ‘escape’
several times, which carries a notion of acting with courage towards survival and
freedom, and not just to flee from something dangerous. Kian had goals and
objectives, she wanted to find her self and be master of her own life:
I just thought, you know, what’s the worst gonna happen? … I felt like I
was dead anyway, like if, you know, I got told every day, if I’m not doing
this I gonna get killed and buried and nobody gonna know about me, or I
gonna get married to somebody I gonna hate my life with. So if I plunge
am I gonna die? I could have died back in Iraq, you know, with a bomb,
but I could risk to come in here, so why can’t I take a risk and see what’s
out there? … because it was not good for me there, because what I had in
Iraq, even it was nothing, I had lots of love from my grand-mother, and I
didn’t have any of that in here. So, kind of, to run away, is to find that ME
again, to be that person, to be me.
In terms of resilience factors, Kian demonstrated a strong sense of self-support by
a sense of worth. She rejected an imposed gender role she did not want and strived
to be herself. In terms of protective factors, she knew she was worthy to be loved
because she had been loved by her grandmother before (Cyrulnik 2005:31). She
listened to her aspirations and took the risk to go ‘out there’ to live her life like she
wanted.