Mulki Al-Sharmani

Transnational family networks in the Somali diaspora in Egypt: women's roles and differentiated experiences

Diasporic Somalis are increasingly leading a transnational life in which family members are sustained through networks of relations, obligations and resources that are located in different nation-states. These networks and relations enable diasporic Somalis to seek safety for themselves and their relatives, minimize risks and maximize family resources. In this article, I examine three key dimensions of such a way of life, namely: migration; remittances; and transnational family care. I focus on the roles that women play in this family-based support system. For instance, women move and facilitate the movement of other family members; they remit to family members; and they provide care for children and sick relatives. But these transnational households are not free from tensions. Family members are placed in hierarchical relations shaped by age; parental authority; possession of western citizenship; financial resources; and bonds of familial reciprocity and gratitude. Women gain appreciation from relatives and a sense of self-respect for their new roles. Some of the women also make use of the family network to arrange for the care of their children and sick relatives, while they engage in transnational trading activities. However, young and single female relatives often sacrifice or delay their individual dreams because of their familial obligations. I conclude that transnationalism – as a way of organizing and sustaining livelihood, resources and relations of Somali families – is not always emancipating or marginalizing for Somali women. Rather the benefits and challenges of such a way of life for women are different, mixed and uneven.

Egyptian Family Courts: A Pathway of Women's Empowerment?

A significant new law was passed by Egyptian legislators in 2004 introducing family courts to arbitrate family conflict in an effort to promote non-adversarial legal mechanisms. The aim of this paper is to examine how this new legal system is working for female plaintiffs. Through an analysis of court practices in a number of divorce and maintenance cases, this essay will make two central arguments: First, I will argue that the benefits family courts are currently providing to female plaintiffs are limited due to a number of gaps and shortcomings in the legislation, mechanisms of implementation, resources, and the capacity and the training of court personnel. In addition, the legal process in the new courts as well as the substantive family laws that are being implemented continue to reflect gender inequality and biases against women. Secondly, I will argue that the shortcomings of the new court system also result from the approach of addressing gender inequalities through the piecemeal approach of fragmented procedural reforms as well as the contradictions arising from the divergent agendas of the alliances built between different reform actors (e.g. womens rights organizations, government bodies, and legal institution).

Marginal Actors? Diaspora Somalis Negotiate Their Citizenship

This chapter illustrates the discrepancies between citizenship as a universal discourse of equal rights and the realities of socio-economic marginalisation for certain groups of citizens. This point is illustrated by exploring the transnational citizenship practices of diaspora Somalis in Kenya, Egypt, Europe and the United States. Horst and Al-Sharmani argues that these discrepancies are caused by the fact that ‘belonging’ is a crucial element of in understandings of who is a citizen or not. The chapter explores how diaspora Somalis look for alternative discourses and experiences of citizenship. Obtaining the right type of citizenship is an important aspect of their strategies, but diaspora Somalis then realize that does not provide them with the rights they had hoped for. Instead, they develop a transnational sense of citizenship, which in many ways questions how citizenship is experienced and used by marginalized citizens and non-citizen residents.

Striving against the ‘Nafs’: Revisiting Somali Muslim Spousal Roles and Rights in Finland

I analyze how Somalis in Helsinki re-interpret religious norms on marriage in light of: 1) the challenges of socioeconomic hardships and marginalization in Finland; and 2) ethical principles in Islamic tradition that underlie religious rulings such as striving against the selfishness of the ‘nafs’ (self) and seeking spiritual advancement. I examine how norms on spousal roles and rights are contested and reinterpreted. I highlight how young women, in particular, foreground the ‘ethical in their religious understandings of marriage norms. I explore if Veit Bader’s1 concept of ‘internal religious governance’ can analytically explain these processes. I draw on data from individual interviews and focus group discussions with women and men; and interviews with mosque imams and a clan elder.