Muslim refugee women speak out : a critique of the Canadian guidelines on refugee women facing gender-related persecution

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dc.contributor.authorBelfrey, Melissa Wynneen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-13T00:07:54Z
dc.date.available2024-08-13T00:07:54Z
dc.date.copyright1997en_US
dc.date.issued1997
dc.degree.departmentFaculty of Arts and Science
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Women's Studies
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Gender Studies
dc.degree.levelMaster of Applied Science M.A.Sc.en
dc.description.abstractThis study focuses on the experiences of refugee women seeking asylum from gender-related persecution. Over eighty percent of the world· s 23 million refugees are women, yet over two-thirds of those claiming refugee status at Canada's borders are male. Few women claim refugee status mainly because it is more difficult for women to fit the necessary parameters set out by the United Nations (UN) Convention on refugee status. Canada was the first nation to implement Guidelines on Woman Refi1gee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution (1993), to address this problem. I have interviewed five refugee women from the Middle East and Asia, who have come to Canada within the last five years seeking refuge. The participants were chosen for their potential to illuminate the international problem of women seeking refuge from gender-related persecution, and the consequences of the Canadian Guidelines· recommendation that women refugee claimants should base their claims on the grounds of belonging to a "particular social group". The participants ' stories were analyzed and the data organized into themes. This analysis was informed by feminist research perspectives. I explored concepts related to the Middle Eastern female refugee experience. the invisibility of gender-related persecution, and the need for a sixth category "gender", under which refugee status can be claimed. The themes that emerged are interwoven, revealing that although the concerns of both genders are assumed to be contained in the UN Convention' s definition of "refugee"·, the Convention falls short of recognizing that in many situations women are persecuted and require refuge precisely because they are women. Findings show that the participants face specific forms of persecution and specific problems seeking refuge from this persecution, because they are women and because of the social expectations that result from their gender. This study reveals the unique characteristics of refugee women facing gender-related persecution, and the need for the unique Canadian Guidelines to go even further to up hold our obligation to refugee women through the UN Convention. Implications for Canadian refugee policy, and areas for further research are discussed.
dc.format.extent111 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/17208
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleMuslim refugee women speak out : a critique of the Canadian guidelines on refugee women facing gender-related persecutionen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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