Transnational migrant families: navigating marriage, generation and gender in multiple spheres

Authors

  • Mulki Al-Sharmani Faculty of Theology, Study of Religions Unit, University of Helsinki
  • Marja Tiilikainen Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki
  • Sanna Mustasaari Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59670/ml.v14i1.311

Keywords:

transnational families, Muslim migrants, marriage, gender, generation

Abstract

This special issue seeks to enrich readers’ understandings of the transnational family practices and relations of selected migrant groups of a predominantly Muslim background in a number of Western contexts. It presents theoretically and empirically grounded studies that investigate how these family practices and ties are transnationally shaped, navigated and experienced by different family members. It focuses on two aspects of family life: marriage and the second generation’s aspirations and transnational experiences. Under the first theme, this special issue examines how marriage, migration and kinship interplay in transnationally shaped social fields where multiple legal and normative systems intersect in the lives of migrants. With regards to the second theme, the issue investigates how the children of migrants navigate and experience transnational family norms, ties and practices. Throughout the issue, individual articles shed light on the gendered dimensions of the different family practices and experiences.

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Author Biographies

Mulki Al-Sharmani, Faculty of Theology, Study of Religions Unit, University of Helsinki

Mulki Al-Sharmani (Ph.D. Docent) is an Academy Research Fellow at Faculty of Theology, Study of Religions Unit, University of Helsinki. Her research work and publications cover the following areas: modern Somali Diasporas with a focus on gender and transnational family life; Muslim marriage norms and practices; Islamic jurisprudence and Muslim family laws; gender reform and feminist legal activism, and Islamic feminism. She is currently working on two projects funded by Academy of Finland: the first is her own project on Islamic feminism (2013−2018), and in the second group project on Transnational Muslim Marriages (2013-2017), she is leading the sub study on marriage norms and practices among Somali Finnish families.

Marja Tiilikainen, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki

Marja Tiilikainen (PhD, Adjunct Professor) is Academy Research Fellow at the Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki. She has conducted long-term research on Somali migrants and carried out ethnographic research in Finland, Northern Somalia and Canada.  Her main research interests include everyday Islam, cultural aspects of health and healing, and transnational family life. She currently works on two research projects funded by the Academy of Finland: first, her individual project Islam and Security Revisited: Transnational Somali Families in Finland, Canada and Somalia (2012-2017) and second, Transnational Muslim Marriages: Wellbeing, Law and Gender (2013-2017) that she leads.

Sanna Mustasaari, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Sanna Mustasaari (LL.M.) is Doctoral Candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki. Her doctoral dissertation (Reframing Recognition: Transnational Families, Belonging and Law) focuses on the recognition of transnational familial ties and family configurations in the context of multiculturalism and transnational law.

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Published

2017-01-15

How to Cite

Al-Sharmani, M., Tiilikainen, M., & Mustasaari, S. (2017). Transnational migrant families: navigating marriage, generation and gender in multiple spheres. Migration Letters, 14(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.59670/ml.v14i1.311

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2017): Special Issue: Transnational Migrant Families: Navigating Marriage, Generation, and Gender in Multiple Spheres

Section

Editorial

License

CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0