A study by Dossa (2005) was an endeavor to give voice to the suffering of Afghan women refu- gees who resettled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her primary questions related to the role and responsibility of anthropologists in researching and writing about populations who are generally marginalized and oppressed by developing countries’. The study encompassed salient aspects of the study with the Afghan women refugees in the southeastern United States. The Dossa study dis- cussed both feminist theory and the intersection of identifiers that could result in the marginaliza- tion and oppression of the women. The identifiers included gender (female), age (older), minority status (Afghan refugee), native language, culture, and Western stereotypes of Afghan women as help- less victims. These identifiers intersected to create a marginalized living situation for the women.
They were perceived as ignorant and weak. Employment opportunities were scarce so they lived in poverty. They could not afford access to adequate health care or other necessary resources such as education. They felt invisible to a society that had opened its doors to the refugees but failed to welcome them. The lived experience of life in Afghanistan, in refugee camps, and as resettled refugees was neither understood nor appreciated by society at large. The women were viewed in isolation from, rather than in the context of, the experiences and events that comprised their exist- ence. As Dossa noted, the women had been wounded by their native country and were now being wounded by the host country.
Yet, amid oppression and marginalization the women demonstrated resilience and resource- fulness. One woman had found a library within walking distance of her home and learned the bus route to a nearby town, so she could shop. She also recruited assistance from young Afghan girls, strangers to her, when she had appointments at the clinic. After a time, she was able to make the ap- pointments on her own, speaking Hindi she had learned in a refugee camp. The women had joined groups, attended an improvised mosque, and maintained contact with relatives in Afghanistan.
106 Chapter 9 Afghan Women Refugees: Application of Intersectionality Feminist Theory
▸ Implications for Nursing
The nursing profession is linked closely to feminism. Both have a history of advocating for social jus- tice and supporting the oppressed and marginalized populations (Chinn & Kramer, 2011; Longo &
Dunphy, 2012; Polit & Beck, 2012; Rodgers, 2005). Early nurse leaders in the United States accom- plished a great deal for people who were disregarded by upper-class society. Lillian Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City and started the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Mary Breckinridge began the Frontier Nursing Service offering perinatal services for women in remote Appalachia.
Additionally, nurses and the nursing profession have had their own challenges to rise above oppression. Because women have made up the majority of nurses for decades, they have worked in the shadows of physicians, often unappreciated and underpaid. In the same manner minority populations have been oppressed and marginalized by the dominant hegemony of patriarchy, cap- italism, and colonialism, not only in the United States but in many developing countries. The dom- inant hegemony has been White males for most societies and governments that have marginalized and exploited women and other vulnerable populations (Rodgers, 2005).
However, the first- and second-wave feminist movements neglected many women because they did not fit in with the dominant group of White heterosexual educated middle- to upper-class White women. In a similar manner, nursing theories of the 1950s to 1970s were usually developed by a select group of nurse educators and academicians who were no longer involved in the clinical practice of nursing (Chinn & Kramer, 2011; Longo & Dunphy, 2012; Polit & Beck, 2012). The po- sitioning of nurse researchers and academicians at the top of the profession mirrored a patriarchal system and generated a gap between nursing theory and nursing practice.
Initially third-wave feminist movements worked to enhance the lives of Black women but widened to include women in poverty, women of color, and women from developing countries. The intersec- tions of several identifiers such as race, culture, and ethnicity were recognized as multiplying the op- pression and marginalization of other women. Additionally, third-wave feminism ideology valued the unique characteristics and contributions of women who have been neglected by earlier movements. As nursing research has expanded, more qualitative studies are being undertaken. These studies allow the patients’ perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and cultural and ethnic concerns to become the focus. The U.S. population is rapidly diversifying, and nurses must respond by striving to understand, appreci- ate, and practice within the context of those for whom we care. Our patients now have ever more in- tersections of identifiers that can and do multiply their likelihood of marginalization and exploitation.
▸ Conclusion
This chapter has explored the identifiers of Afghan refugee women living in metropolitan areas in the southeastern United States. These identifiers intersect and create marginalization for them.
Nurses who work with the population must recognize the multiplicity of identifiers and understand the context from which the women have emerged to establish a mutually trusting and respectful relationship. Caring for the needs of these women may present challenges to Western nurses who have not been exposed to the Afghan refugees’ cultural, ethnic, religious, and political beliefs. Fur- ther, language presents another barrier to establishing a professional relationship. Nurses must be educated about Afghan women refugees and be willing to practice in a manner congruent with their values and beliefs. The goal is to assist and empower these women to meet the challenges of the intersections and establish a life in the United States that is productive and gratifying.
Conclusion 107
References
Access to care. (2011). Retrieved from http://refugeehealthta.org/access-to-care/
Ackerly, B., & Attanasi, K. (2009). Global feminisms: Theory and ethics for studying gendered injustice. New Political Science, 31(4), 543–555.
Alexander-Floyd, N. (2010). Critical race black feminism: A “jurisprudence of resistance” and the transformation of the academy. Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 35(4). 810–820.
Baehr, A. (2013). Liberal feminism. In Edward N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://
plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2013/entries/feminism-liberal/
Barfield, T. (2010). Afghanistan: A cultural and political history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Bell, D. (Producer), & Pearce, R. (Director). (1990). The long walk home [Motion picture]. United States: Dave Bell Associates;
New Visions Pictures.
Bielkiewicz, G. (2011). Theories from the sociologic sciences. In M. McEwen & E. Wills (Eds.), Theoretical basis for nursing (3rd ed., pp. 250–273). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Braunstein, E., & Folbre, N. (2001). To honor and obey: Efficiency, inequality, and patriarchal property rights. Feminist Economics, 7(1), 25–44.
Burr, J., Gerst, K., Kwan, N., & Mutchler, J. (2009). Economic well-being and welfare program participation among older immigrants in the United States. Generations, 32 (4), 53–60. Retrieved from http://asaging.org/publications
Carastathis, A. (2013). Basements and intersections. Hypatia, 28(4), 698–715.
Carastathis, A. (2014). The concept of intersectionality in feminist theory. Philosophy Compass, 9(5), 304–314.
Chinn, P., & Kramer, M. (2011). Integrated theory and knowledge development in nursing (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Clarkston, Atlanta, GA. (2016). Retrieved from http://globalfrontiermissions.org/clarkston-atlanta-ga/
Collins, P. (1990). Black feminist thought in the matrix of domination. In P. Collins, Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (pp. 221–238). Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman. Retrieved from http://www .hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/252.html
Collins, P. (1999). Reflections on the outsider within. Journal of Career Development, 26(1), 85–88.
Collins, P. (2007). The politics of black feminist thought. In K. Waters & C. Conaway (Eds.), Black women’s intellectual traditions: Speaking their minds (pp. 393–418). Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Press. Retrieved from http://
eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=81559c31-db6b-4eef-af8d-12f414537e9d%40 sessionmgr113&vid=5&hid=102
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139–167.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.
Crenshaw, K. (2008). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color.
In A. Bailey & C. Cuomo (Eds.), The feminist philosophy reader (pp. 279–309). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Dossa, P. (2005). “Witnessing” social suffering: Testimonial narratives of women from Afghanistan. BC Studies, 147, 27–49.
Dua, E., & Trotz, A. (2008). Transnational pedagogy: Doing political work in women’s studies. (An interview with Chandra Talpade Mohanty). Atlantis, 26(2), 66–77. Retrieved from http://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis/article /viewFile/1418/1260
Echols, A. (1989). Daring to be bad: Radical feminism in America 1967–1975. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Edberg, M., Cleary, S., & Vyas, A. (2011). A trajectory model for understanding and assessing health disparities in immigrant/
refugee communities. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health, 13(3), 576–584.
Einspahr, J. (2010). Structural domination and structural freedom: A feminist perspective. Feminist Review, 94(1), 1–19.
Eschle, C. (2002). Engendering global democracy. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 4(3), 315–341.
Falcóna, S., & Nash, J. (2015). Shifting analytics and linking theories: A conversation about the “meaning-making” of intersectionality and transnational feminism. Women’s Studies International Forum, 50, 1–10.
Fix, M., & Passel, J. (1994). Immigration and immigrants: Setting the record straight. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org /UploadedPDF/305184_immigration_immigrants.pdf
Fraser, N. (2007). Feminist politics in the age of recognition: A two-dimensional approach to gender justice. Studies in Social Justice, 1(1), 23–35. Retrieved from http://amr.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/SSJ/article/view/187/182
Gillis, S., Howie, G., & Munford, R. (2007). Introduction. In S. Gillis, G. Howie, & R. Munford (Eds.), Third wave feminism:
A critical exploration (pp. xxi-xxxiv). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Head, T. (2013). Third wave feminism. Retrieved from http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/p/third _wave.htm
108 Chapter 9 Afghan Women Refugees: Application of Intersectionality Feminist Theory
Heywood, L., & Drake, J. (2007). It’s all about the Benjamins: Economic determinants of third wave feminism in the United States. In S. Gillis, G. Howie, & R. Munford (Eds.), Third wave feminism: A critical exploration (pp. 114–124). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hollander, N. (2010). Anti-Muslim prejudice and the psychic use of the ethnic other. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 7(1), 73–84.
Hooks, B. (1984). Feminist theory: From margin to center. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Hooks, B. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Howard-Hassmann, R. (2011). Universal women’s rights since 1970: The centrality of autonomy and agency. Journal of Human Rights, 10, 433–449.
Howie, G., & Tauchert, A. (2007). Feminist dissonance: The logic of late feminism. In S. Gillis, G. Howie, & R. Munford (Eds.), Third wave feminism: A critical exploration (2nd ed., pp. 46–58). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Huber, D., Saeedi, N., & Samadi, A. (2010). Achieving success with family planning in rural Afghanistan. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 88, 227–231.
Immigration Policy Center. (2015). Retrieved from http://immigrationpolicy.org
Lipson, J., & Dibble, S. (2009). Afghans. In J. Lipson & S. Dibble (Eds.), Culture and clinical care (pp. 1–13). San Francisco, CA: UCSF Nursing Press.
Longo, J., & Dunphy, L. (2012). Postmodern philosophy and qualitative research. In P. Munhall (Ed.), Nursing research:
a qualitative perspective (5th ed., pp. 94-109). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Lotz, A. (2007). Theorizing the intermezzo: The contributions of post feminism and third wave feminism. In S. Gillis, G. Howie, & R. Munford (Eds.), Third wave feminism: A critical exploration (pp. 71–85). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Manganaro. L., & Alozie, N. (2011). Gender role attitudes: Who supports expanded rights for women in Afghanistan? Sex Roles, 64, 516–529.
McWhorter, L. (2009). Racism and sexual oppression in Anglo-America: A genealogy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Mohanty, C. (1984). Under Western eyes: Feminist scholarship and colonial discourses. boundary 2, 12(3), 333–358. Retrieved from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0190-3659%28198421%2F23%2912%3A3%3C333%3AUWEFSA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y Mohanty, C. (2003). Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Mohanty, C. (2008). Women workers and capitalist scripts: Ideologies of domination, common interests, and politics of solidarity. In A. Bailey & C. Cuomo (Eds.), The feminist philosophy reader (pp. 379–401). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Mohanty, S. (2006). Unequal access: Immigrants and U.S. health care. Immigration Policy in Focus, 5(5), 1–7. Retrieved from http://immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/unequal-access-immigrants-and-us-health-care
Orelus, P. (2012). Unveiling the web of race, class, language, and gender oppression: Challenges for social justice educators.
Race, Gender & Class, 19(3–4), 35–51.
Pandey, S., & Kagotho, N. (2010). Health insurance disparities among immigrants: Are some legal immigrants more vulnerable than others? Health & Social Work, 35(4), 267–279.
Paylish, C., Noor, S., & Brandt, J. (2010). Somali immigrant women and the American health care system: Discordant beliefs, divergent expectations, and silent worries. Social Science & Medicine, 71(2), 353–361.
Polit, D., & Beck, C. (2012). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Rashid, S. (2011). The emerging phenomena of post-9/11. Political Theology, 12(5), 752–761.
Reilly, N. (2011). Doing transnational feminism, transforming human rights: The emancipatory possibilities revisited. Irish Journal of Sociology, 19(2), 60–76. Retrieved from http://www.womenshumanrights.info/articles/Reilly-Transnational _Feminism.pdf
Richardson, L., & Norris, M. (2010). Access to health and health care: How race and ethnicity matter. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 77, 166–177.
Rodgers, B. (2005). Developing nursing knowledge: Philosophical traditions and influences. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Rogers, J., & Kelly, U. (2011). Feminist intersectionality: Bringing social justice to health disparities research. Nursing Ethics, 18(3), 397–407.
Rostami-Povey, E. (2007). Afghan refugees in Iran, Pakistan, the U.K., and the U.S. and life after return: A comparative gender analysis. Iranian Studies, 40(2), 241–261.
Rupp, L. (2006). Worlds of women: The making of an international women’s movement. In I. Grewal & C. Kaplan (Eds.), An introduction to women’s studies: Gender in a transnational world (2nded. pp. 240–244). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Russo, A. (2006). The feminist majority foundation’s campaign to stop gender apartheid: The intersections of feminism and imperialism in the United States. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 8(4), 557–580.
Tober, D. (2007). Introduction: Afghan refugees and returnees. Iranian Studies, 40(2), 133–135. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees http://www.unhcr.org.uk/
109 References
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (2016). Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/statistics/unhcrstats/5943e8a34 /global-trends-forced-displacement-2016.html
van Egmond, K., Bosmans, M., Naeem, A. J., Claeys, P., Verstraelen, H., & Temmerman, M. (2004). Reproductive health in Afghanistan: Results of a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey among Afghan women in Kabul. Disasters, 28(3), 269–282.
Viladrich, A. (2012). Beyond welfare reform: Reframing undocumented immigrants’ entitlement to health care in the United States, a critical review. Social Science & Medicine, 74(6), 822–829.
Viruell-Fuentes, E., Miranda, P., & Abdulrahim, S. (2012). More than culture: structural racism, intersectionality theory, and immigrant health. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12), 2099–2106.
Welsh, A., & Brodsky, A. (2010). After every darkness is light: Resilient Afghan women coping with violence and immigration.
Asian American Journal of Psychology, 1(3), 163–174.
Zong, J., & Batalova, J. (2015, October 28). Refugees and asylees in the United States: Spotlight. Retrieved from http://www .migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states#Top%20Refugee-Receiving%20States
110 Chapter 9 Afghan Women Refugees: Application of Intersectionality Feminist Theory
▸ Introduction
According to Meleis (2012), “A theory is an organized, coherent, and systematic articulation of a set of statements related to significant questions in a discipline and communicated as a meaning- ful whole” (p. 29). A theoretical framework places a study and its data interpretation with ideas that are more abstract than the specifics of the study itself (Casanave & Li, 2015). The purpose of this chapter is to describe and evaluate a theory that supports qualitative research using life his- tory methodology to study an Omani woman who grew up during the Omani renaissance, chose a career in nursing, then subsequently became a nurse leader. Criteria from Chinn and Kramer (2015) will inform the description and critical reflection of the theory.
▸ Background and Overview of Research
The Sultanate of Oman (hereafter referred to as Oman) is a country in Southwest Asia, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Oman is an Islamic country, with Arab culture
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Describe a theory that supports qualitative research using life history methodology.
2. Explain the relevance of the theory to the research.
3. Evaluate the theory using criteria from Chinn and Kramer (2015).