Gaziantep’te Yaşayan Suriyeli Tek Ebeveyn Kadınların Annelik Deneyimleri: Zorluklar, Baş Etme Yöntemleri ve Sosyal Hizmet İhtiyaçları

Abstract

The aim of the research is to understand how the motherhood experiences of Syrian single-parent women migrating to Turkey are shaped by the social and cultural dynamics in their country of origin, and accordingly, the difficulties they experience in the migration experience and the opportunities for empowerment. From this point of view, within the scope of the research, 16 Syrian single-parent women were interviewed to try to understand how their motherhood experiences were formed and by which power relations they were shaped, and its impact on their daily lives before and after migration was tried to be discussed with a critical social work approach. The findings obtained in this context were analyzed under two main themes. (1) Development of Maternal Identity in the Gender Regime (2) Coping Mechanisms, Empowerment Practices and Social Services Experiences of Refugee Single Parent Mothers After Migration and Divorce Experiences.

As a result of the research, it has come to the fore that the Syrian women interviewed are defined as belonging to the private sphere in their country of origin due to their gender identities built under their motherhood roles and responsibilities, they are made dependent on men and consequently they face various socio-economic and psychological difficulties. In the migration experience, it has been observed that they experience difficulties due to the multidimensional problems of refugee family life, due to the gender regime and not having enough basic life skills to sustain their lives. In order to overcome these problems they encountered in the social spheres with migration, they had to take different actions that would lead them to go out of their motherhood roles built on the basis of gender in their countries of origin, and accordingly, it was determined that there were changes in their daily practices. In this context, it has been determined that women are empowered in their daily lives in Turkey through gains that can sustain their lives, such as being visible in public life on the basis of gender, and being involved in working life. In addition, it was observed that they were exposed to discrimination by members of the local community in their migration experience, and that they were exposed to genderbased violence and abuse as a divorced woman. In this context, suggestions on social work practices are presented with a critical perspective on the multidimensional problems they face as a single parent mother in the migration experience and the construction of motherhood on the basis of gender.