Cultural Norm Transmission/Disruption amongst Somali Refugee Women: The Beauty and Privilege of Intergenerational Relationships

Zamzam Dini, Cawo Abdi, Beatrice (Bean) E. Robinson and Jennifer Jo Connor ()
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Zamzam Dini: Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Cawo Abdi: Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, 909 Social Sciences Building, 267 19th Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Beatrice (Bean) E. Robinson: Eli Coleman Institute of Sexual and Gender Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S 2nd St., Suite 180, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Jennifer Jo Connor: Eli Coleman Institute of Sexual and Gender Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S 2nd St., Suite 180, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: Since the onset of the Somali civil war in the late 1980s, more than 2 million Somalis have been internally displaced or crossed international borders to seek haven. Yet, research on diasporic Somali women’s intergenerational communication about marriage, sex, and female genital cutting (FGC) remains scant. This paper draws from data we collected from 15 women over the age of 45 who were part of a much larger project on refugee women and sexual health and well-being. The analysis centers on how Somali women across the generations recalibrate definitions of family. We analyze the new roles that sisters, aunts, and grandmothers occupy in the lives of younger women, as family dispersal often results in the absence of biological mothers. In the new settlement, the findings showcase both continuity and change in how sex, marriage, and female genital cutting (FGC) are discussed among female family members. Our findings support not only the dynamic nature of family roles that women occupy across generations but also the malleability of cultural practices as families navigate changing cultural, legal, and social norms in their new settlements.

Keywords: intergenerational relationships; Somali women empowerment; FGC and decision-making; refugee family systems; social movements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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