Gender and the Resettlement of Yazidis in Calgary: A Deep Dive in the Resettlement, Health, Carework and Education Processes
Date
2020-11
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Abstract
Feminist scholars of refugee and immigration studies have shown gender to be the organizing principle for resettlement experiences of newcomers. This chapter, co-authored by researchers and practitioners, focuses on how the gendered needs of the Yazidi refugee families in Calgary shaped their resettlement services and experiences. Based on keen observations by staff at the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society and the physicians and healthcare providers at the Mosaic Refugee Clinic in Calgary, combined with in-depth interviews conducted by University of Calgary researchers with nearly all Yazidi families in Calgary (45 families that include 241 family members) we focus on four key aspects: 1. Restructuring of the resettlement program by CCIS to meet the needs of Yazidi women and men, but mainly women; 2. Readjusting healthcare services by gender at the refugee clinic; 3. Care provisions in the families of the Yazidis that was fulfilled by women (internal and external to the families) care providers; and 4. Gendered and un-gendered educational outcomes for the children in Yazidi families. We argue that centring gender-based needs of the Yazidi community in the resettlement services have resulted in a feminist reorientation of the resettlement services and experiences of the Yazidis in Calgary.
Description
Keywords
Refugee resettlement, gender, Yazidis, carework, community organizations
Citation
Banerjee, P., Coakley, A. L., Narula, B., Saheb Javaher, N., Theodore, R., & Thraya, S. (2020). Gender and the Resettlement of Yazidis in Calgary: A Deep Dive in the Resettlement, Health, Carework and Education Processes. "Metropolis Canada Conference (22nd): selected presentations". pp. 114-131.