2

This document was drafted with the aid of the European Union. EuroMed Migration II has sole responsibility for the content of this document; under no circumstances can it be considered to reflect the position of the European Union.

This study is based on the technical work and expertise of Ms. Belarbi,

The Consortium : GIZ, ICMPD, CIVI.POL., FIIAPP, CeSPI, University of Sussex, EPLO

3

The Barcelona process launched in 1993 is the general framework for cooperation between the European Union and the nine countries in the southern Mediterranean. This framework gained a section on Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) in 2002. In this context, the European Commission, acting on a decision of the Council of Ministers of the EU, decided to launch a new cooperation programme in the fields of justice, migration and security.

This project, EuroMed Migration II (2008-2011), is the successor of the first EuroMed Migration I project, and benefits from financing of 5 million euros from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation EuropeAid. It has reinforced Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the field of migration to provide an effective, targeted response to the phenomenon of migration in its various forms.

The EC has always given priority interest to these questions by considering them to be an integral part of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. This regional cooperation favours a partnership approach to migration issues in both their North-South and intra-regional dimensions.

During the three years of this project, a large number of activities have been carried out on the themes of Legal Migration, Illegal Migration and Migration and Development. The problem of migration is a complex issue that must be handled on the basis of a global approach; it requires joint management policies that correspond to common interests.

Various mechanisms for cooperation, dialogue and exchanges of experience have been put in place between officials in the ministries of the Mediterranean partner countries and the EU to discuss the different questions in depth.

This dialogue has enabled the creation of schemes to promote opportunities for legal migration, to support measures to favour the link between migration and development, and to reinforce activities fighting trafficking of human beings and illegal immigration.

The study on ‘Women migration between MEDA countries and the European Union’ was drafted as part of this project. This study looks into the migration of women on the two shores of the Mediterranean, highlighting female migrant movements, the contribution of migrant women to development and social change.

The percentage of migrant women in Europe has increased in recent years. This phenomenon shows that the growth of female migration has become a new parameter in the migration issue.

This study considers this phenomenon from various viewpoints:

European countries.

The study highlights the multi-dimensional process of female migration. Its diagnosis will contribute to a better understanding of this complex question and to discussions at national and regional level.

Head of UnitDirectorate General for Development and Cooperation EuropeAidEurope, Southern Mediterranean, Middle East and neighbourhood policyCentralised Operations for Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

4 5

1. Migration: General context ................................................................................ 6

2. Migration and migration of women: a matter of concern for the international community and the social sciences. ................................................................................. 7

3. A gender approach to migration is becoming inevitable ..............12

4. Migration of women from MEDA countries to Europe: a topical issue ..................................................................................13

5. Objectives of the study ...................................................................16

6. Methodology ....................................................................................17

7. Plan ...................................................................................................18

Introduction

1 Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas (1938), Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. “1966, Chapter 3, p. 109.”

2 UNFPA (2006), State of World Population 2006. A passage to hope. Women and international migration.

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Migrations are nowadays at the heart of policy debates at the national, regional and international level. Their scale and complexity are prompting governments, international institutions and the civil society to address the challenges and opportunities of this social phenomenon and to consider appropriate solutions.

Engendered by the varying needs of countries in the North and in the South, international migration has become a major phenomenon in contemporary societies. “Migrate out of choice, rather than necessity,”1 according to the first of the ten principles set out in the report of the Global Commission on International Migration, would be the prime objective. This presupposes a series of changes: a new form of world governance, in-depth political and economic reforms, consistent development of the emigration countries, safe movement for migrants, organised and supportive reception with respect for human rights by the host countries.

The feminisation of migration has become one of the new parameters of this phenomenon in recent years. According to the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM), women constitute half of all migrants in the world, which totalled 200 million in 2004.2 The globalisation process has certainly changed the world and contributed to the acceleration and expansion of international migration. The opening of markets, the movement of capital, the development of information technologies and means of communication and transport have facilitated and strengthened contacts between individuals, groups and nations. The flagrant economic and social inequalities between countries in the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as the despair of certain social groups such as women and young people, have accordingly

1 “Women, men and children should be able to realise their potential, meet their needs, exercise their human rights and fulfil their aspirations in their country of origin, and hence migrate out of choice, rather than necessity. Those women and men who migrate and enter the global labour market should be able to do so in a safe and authorised manner, and because they and their skills are valued and needed by the states and societies that receive them.” Report of the Global Commission on International Migration (2005). Migration in an Interconnected World: Principles for Action. “printed in Switzerland by SRO-Kundig, p. 4.”

2 Migration in an Interconnected World: Principles for Action. Report of the Global Commission on International Migration. “October 2005, p. 1.”

become clearly apparent, with migration emerging as the only way out of their many difficulties.

Nevertheless, the financial and economic crisis of 2008 hampered the economies of countries in both hemispheres, affecting even more the integration of migrants in society and the world of work. The Report of the World Bank (2009-2011) underscores that because of the current financial crisis remittance flows to developing countries are down:3 “Remittances which were expected to amount to US$ 320 billion in 2009, dropped by 7.3% from 2008, when they amounted to US$ 328 billion”.4 The reduction of remittances may have negative effects on the beneficiaries and their governments. According to Dilip Ratha, the principal economist of the “Development Prospects Group” at the World Bank, a minimal 7% to 10% drop can cause difficulties for migrants and their families, in particular for governments with budget deficits.

Migration had never been a major preoccupation of international organisations nor a priority on their agendas.5 Only the issue of refugees was on the agenda, in fact. It was not until the conference on population in 1994 that a full chapter on the issue was drawn up. That chapter was adopted by the 160 countries present in Cairo, but was not implemented. Moreover, the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families was ignored.6 It was disseminated widely only at the end of the 1990s, and then only thanks to the mobilisation of NGOs working with migrants, associations and federations of human rights intent

3 Remittance flows to Latin America dropped in large measure because of the slowdown in the construction sector in the US. The new forecasts show a 6.9% drop in remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean. Remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa are also expected to drop by 8.3%. Nevertheless, although down, remittance flows to South-East Asia were expected to stay high in 2009. India, China and Mexico are the prime destinations of remittances among developing countries.

4 Report of the World Bank (WB) published in conjunction with the International Conference on Diaspora for Development held on 13 and 14 July 2009.

5 Katleen Newland (2004), The Governance of International Migration: Mechanisms, Process, and Institutions. Study conducted at the request of the GCIM.

6 Katleen Newland (2004). Op cit.

8 9

on getting a sufficient number of states to ratify it, which led to its entry into force in July 2003.

International migration has become a real cause of concern in the 2000s, particularly at the UN. The problems faced by people crossing countries and continents, who use legal and illegal migration channels and live with fear and under duress day in and day out, are becoming marketable commodities in the hands of traffickers, and prompted UN Secretary General Kofi Anan to review the place of the migration issue on the international stage, to reconsider and set it as a priority on the agenda of UN activities. In this vein, the 55th session of the UN General Assembly (November 2000), proclaimed 18 December “International Migrants Day.”

The creation of the Global Commission on International Migration by the UN Secretary General in 20037, the discussions and organisation of the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in 2006 (which brought together for the first time heads of state and of government) gave impetus to the reflection on and the adoption of appropriate policy measures for an improved management of international migration. At the Millennium Summit of 2000 and the World Summit of 2005, world leaders recognised that international migration contributed to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

This investment by the international community has prompted the governments of industrialised countries to reconsider their migration policies, to think about new guidelines such as circular migration, the management of illegal migration, the links between migration and development, the migration of skills, and the encouragement of female migration in specific branches of the economy, particularly services and agriculture.

Already in 1999, in its Resolution A/Res/54/210 on women in development, the UN General Assembly called on the Secretary General to update the world survey on the role of women in development, by focusing on the international movement of populations, and more particularly of women. Similarly, in his report on the reinforcement of the UN system (57th session), the Secretary

7 The GCIM (December 2003) started its works in February 2004. The objectives assigned to this commission were to put migration on the world agenda, analyse existing gaps and examine relations between migration and development.

General declared that “the time had come to take into account the global aspect of migration and its relation with development”.8

For its part, the 1995 Beijing platform contends that migration and mobility generate changes in family structures and introduce additional burdens for women. It also underscored that women working in formal and informal sectors, migrant women are recognised as being the least protected. It also underscored that women and children are more vulnerable as refugees and displaced persons.

Adopted by the General Assembly in November 2000, the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime establishes international cooperation to “prevent, suppress and punish” the trafficking of some three to four million women and children coerced into prostitution and forced labour each year throughout the world”.9 The additional protocol to this convention (January 2004) may be considered as the first international legal tool in the fight against the trafficking of human beings, mostly of women.

Interest in female migration increased further when in December 2003, the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) organised a consultation of experts in Sweden on “migration, mobility and impact on women”. Similarly, the UN High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (September 2006) is a crucial opportunity for putting the migration issue, and in particular the gender aspect thereof, on the international agenda.

In this respect, the governments, development agencies and international organisations have endeavoured to chart strategies to manage the migration flows, strengthen the positive impact of migration on the countries of origin and the host countries, and gauge the contribution of migrant women towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

The UNFPA State of World Population Report 2006, devoted essentially to female migration,10 is the most significant example of the interest shown by the different UN bodies in the mobility of women. The last UNDP Report 20

8 UN, World survey on the role of women in development 2004/Expert consultation: aide mémoire. “CM/MMW/2003/INF.1. 14 January 2004.”

9 L’ONU se dote d’un outil juridique contre le trafic d’êtres humains, Fr.news.yahoo.com. 28 January 2004.

10 UNFPA, State of World Population 2006. A Passage to Hope. Women and International Migration. “106 p.”

10 11

(Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development) broaches this international concern, where women are integral parts. Other sectoral studies conducted by the World Bank or other centres or institutes on migration in countries in the northern and southern hemispheres focus particularly on migrant women.

Female migration has been the subject of numerous research studies by social scientists since the end of the 1980s, as attested by the many monographs, special issues of periodicals or instruction modules devoted to the topic. These works have in particular questioned the neutral approach in the masculine11 until then at the core of studies on the migration phenomenon. The studies endeavour to follow migrants in their movements, at the workplace, and to discover them in their household and in their relations with institutions. These works have given migrants a certain visibility in research as well as in public policies. We should nonetheless note that comparative analyses and fieldwork on women migrants are still limited.

An issue of the International Migration Review (1984) devoted to migrant women broke new ground compared with previous studies, especially one of its articles which attracted particular attention: ‘Birds of passage are also women’ (Morokvasic, 1984), presented as a response to the metaphor used by Michael Piore (1979) for immigration, seen only as mobility of men.12 Women historians and sociologists have examined the issue: the pertinent analysis of Nancy Green 13 or the pioneering works of Janine Ponty 14 have given the subject greater consistency and legitimacy.

Needless to say, the neglect or exclusion of women from studies on migration has not expelled them from history, but rather reflects a misogynist strain in history, because it is often written by men. An effort to deconstruct the social approaches and representations is still needed to give women their rightful place in migration. It is also worth wondering about grey and uncertain areas and questions that have hitherto been evaded or scarcely broached.

11 Christine Catarino, Mirjana Morokvasic (2005), Femmes, genre, migrations et mobilités, Revue Européenne des Migrations internationales. “vol. 21 - n°1, pp 7-27. http://remi.revues.org/index2534.html.”

12 Ibid. 13 Green Nancy (2002). Repenser les migrations. “Paris, PUF.”14 Ponty J., Polonais méconnus. Histoire des travailleurs immigrés en France dans l’entre-

deux-guerres. “Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne, 1988.”

The ‘EuroMed Migration II’ project financed by the European Commission has managed to include a specific study on the migration of women from MEDA countries to Europe to give greater visibility to female migration between the two sides of the Mediterranean, by focusing on female migration movements, and the contribution of women migrants to development and social change.

The migration demand from the South to the North of the Mediterranean nowadays tends to address a European demographic deficit and the lack of development in the South. In the Europe of 27 states, with a population of 500 million, some 20 million are migrants from third countries with legal resident status.15 Eurostat figures show that the population of the European Union grew by 2.1 million inhabitants in 2008 to reach an estimated figure of 499.8 million on 1 January 2009. This growth of 2.1 million resulted from a natural growth of 0.6 million inhabitants and a migration balance of 1.5 million in the EU 27. In the 16 Eurozone countries, with an estimated population of 328.7 million on 1 January 2009, natural growth amounted to 0.4 million and the migration balance to 1.2 million.16

The percentage of migrant women in Europe increased substantially these five decades. Whereas the rates remained stable between 1960 and 1980, 48.5%, there was an increase between 1990 and 200017, when the rates attained 51.7% and 52.4% respectively. These figures show that women have not remained on the margins of this migration process, that they have always been involved, particularly in Europe, which ranks first in the world for the reception of migrants.

Eurostat figures show that there are more men than women migrants and that the latter are younger than the men. The gender ratio of migrants to the EU was 114 men against 100 women.18 The prevalence of men was generalised in all EU countries, apart from some exceptions, whereby the gender ratio of European immigrants is higher than that of non European immigrations: 125 men for 100 women and 108 men for 100 women respectively. France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy received more women than men migrants

15 Migration, un passeport pour la pauvreté. Une étude de Caritas Europa sur la pauvretéet l’exclusion des immigrants en Europe. 3e rapport sur la pauvreté en Europe. “Caritas. Brussels, June 2006. 186 p. 11.”

16 Reuters: Stephen Hird published in L’Express.fr. on 3 August 2009.17 Hania Zlotnik, op cit. 18 Eurostat, op cit, p 5.

12 13

in 2006. This effective presence of migrant women attests to the urgent need for a gender approach to the various steps of the migration process.

The experience of individuals according to their gender is at the heart of the migration process. Migration is nowadays structured around the question of gender. The formulation of the migration project, the identification of networks that interfere in migration and the ways of movement determine who emigrates, the reasons for migration, the chosen destinations and the return options. Likewise, the attitudes and behaviour adopted by migrants regarding employment, education and health, remittances and the channels chosen are acquiring a specific orientation depending on gender. It can actually be said that the history of migration is also a history of gender on the move.

In his book, Philosophie de la modernité, Georg Simmel19 examines the relations between gender practices and identities and the migration processes. He shows that the forms of international migrations to the West (volume and composition of flows, chronology of departures, itineraries taken) are structured around gender. The participation in the migration process consequently affects the distribution of tasks and spaces, the relations of power and gender identities, starting with the privileged setting of the family. Accordingly, gender becomes a structuring element for the entire migration context.

The gender issue has therefore merged as a main variable in studies on migration, even if it cannot be isolated from its overall context in society. Against this background, female migration from MEDA countries to Europe cannot be studied and analysed outside the international migration process, as it cannot be dissociated from male migration and the entire history of population movements in the Mediterranean region.

19 Georg Simmel, Philosophie de la modernité. “Paris, Payot 2004.”

“To speak of the mobility of women is not solely a matter of admitting the presence and action of women in migration movements, but rather to consider such movements also from the female angle, i.e. to consider the point of view of women, their specific and singular characteristics regarding mobility. Such recognition is a prerequisite to imbuing new dynamism in paradigms on migration”.20

Migration is closely connected with the history of the Mediterranean. It constitutes a key dimension for understanding the Euro-Mediterranean area, its development and progress. It represents a thorny political issue that has generated a series of European policies on the matter, the establishment of legal bases, the gradual introduction of EU regulations, and reinforced North-South cooperation. A global approach to the scope of migration in the Mediterranean entails grasping and understanding a broad, interdependent spectrum that links the countries of the region, as well as understanding and recognising the place that the Mediterranean occupies in the world, and the women of the region in the migration process.

The Mediterranean has been historically known as a major crossroads of movements and trade. Different peoples have travelled through it, traders developed their business, the major powers and politicians, always on the watch to make or break alliances, have invested heavily in it. A sea where the labour migration that started at the beginning of last century has amplified to become today one of the important elements of security and development, democracy, gender, etc. The fact remains that this entire process was devised and led by men, while women were at home or moved under the watchful supervision of the family.

The strategic position of the Mediterranean is self-evident. Considered as an area of political confrontation, it is also recognised as a region that

20 Mariam Cheikh, Michel Peraldi (2009), Les femmes sur les routes. Voyage au féminin entre l’Afrique et la Méditerranée. “Editions le Fennec et Centre Jacques Berque, p 8.”

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generates and exports energy,21 a potential market for Europe, a strategic hinterland for the United States 22 and an affirmed migration area. Relations between the northern and southern Mediterranean have throughout history been characterised by domination (colonisation), changed subsequently into relations of cooperation through independence, which were then institutionalised through bilateral agreements and have been consolidated in particular through the Barcelona process in its different variations.

The EU countries have continued to endeavour to harmonise their migration policies ever since the Amsterdam Treaty. Regional dialogues have been initiated on the issue, in particular the 5+5 Dialogue. Euro-Mediterranean conferences and forums and Euro-African conferences have reserved a place of choice for the issue of migration around the Mediterranean. In essence, migration structures Euro-Mediterranean relations and association agreements for neighbourhood policy, and comes into play in the financing of the MEDA programme, etc.

For MEDA countries, emigration has been a way of reducing unemployment and providing sizeable financial resources for national development – a self-regulating phenomenon, as was the case for certain southern European countries. Today, however, MEDA countries are faced with an ever increasing desire for emigration by young people and women to find work and to improve their living standard. So these countries are counting on migration as a source of revenue, as a means of development and as a guarantee for a

21 Crude oil arrives from the oil fields of the Near East and North Africa, and the oil ports of the Black Sea to the European centres of consumption. EU imports continue to increase, and forecasts for 2030 vary between 11.6 billion barrels a day (bbd) and 16.7 bbd, compared with 14.6 bbd in 2005. Sohbet Karbuz, Lisa Guarrera. (2008). La Méditerranée, route de transport de pétrole. Revue AFKAR. N° 18, Summer 2008. Pp. 22-24. The region is of vital importance for the American economy: The Middle East supplies half of its needs in hydrocarbons, so oil transport in the Mediterranean still accounts for nearly one third of the world maritime traffic. Attac France. June 2008, la Méditerranée face aux assauts de la mondialisation libérale. www.france.attac.org , and Sohbet Karbuz, Lisa Guarrera, op. cit. p. 23.

22 The Western (European and American) leaders have engaged in close cooperation with the southern Mediterranean countries; a cooperation enshrined in the Barcelona process, the neighbourhood policy and the Union for the Mediterranean for one, extended on the other hand by the multiple bilateral free trade agreements between the USA and certain southern Mediterranean countries, and the intervention in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The new MEPI programme launched by President Bush in 2002, which was joined by the G8 countries, confirms the presence of the major powers in the region. Nevertheless, Europe still holds a capital place in the Mediterranean, thanks first to its geographic proximity, and the historical links and economic and cultural exchanges. Relations between Europe and the MEDA countries constitute the hard core of the region.

certain political, economic and social order. Institutions have been created in countries of origin (ministries, commissions, councils) to manage relations with their expatriate community, get them to contribute to the development of the country of origin and to revive their cultural identity.23

The Mediterranean migration landscape has nowadays undergone a radical transformation, as former emigration countries have now become immigration countries 24 (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt), while these same countries are confronted with a high mobility of highly skilled people, illegal migration and female migration.

Various studies have confirmed that female migration in the Mediterranean is a phenomenon that has always existed. Nevertheless, the scope it has acquired nowadays and the type of population it concerns call for an in-depth study. The history of female migration to Europe is multi-faceted, since the largest number of migrants arrived after World War II. Women from southern Europe were the first to arrive (from Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal) looking for employment and a better life. In the mid 1970s, it was mostly women from MEDA (especially Maghreb) countries that emigrated for family reunification purposes. Then, in the end of the 1980s, came women from the former East Bloc countries when the Communist regimes collapsed, women from the Balkans when the region disintegrated, and women from North Africa owing to the negative economic and social consequences of the structural adjustment plans.

Later, the consequences of the Gulf War in 1990 and the economic crisis after 11 September 2001 on the economies of regions dependent on the tourism industry accentuated the male and female migration flows, but also flows of refugees and asylum seekers.

Migrants to Europe from MEDA countries nowadays come essentially from states that are poor or have a low standard of living, countries at war or

23 These initiatives had both economic (to capitalise on the benefits of migrations through remittances and the experience of highly skilled migrants) and cultural objectives (to keep migrants under the tutelage of the country of origin and to revive an Arab and Muslim identity among second and third generation young people). Holidays in the country of origin, and language and religion courses have increased considerably to that end.

24 The poverty, tensions and conflicts that are rife in many Sub-Saharan countries prod many young men and women to leave their country to get to Europe which is closing its borders; the transit route through North Africa is unavoidable, in spite of the dangers of crossing the desert, and restrictions of entry to those countries by air.

16 17

under authoritarian regimes, and stifling patriarchal societies. The political, economic and social changes that MEDA countries have gone through to varying degrees have contributed to the change of rules, standards and traditions that enable women to travel, live alone, embark on occupational mobility, get married, including through mixed marriages in the absence or without the consent of the family.

Major advancements can thus be noted in female migration from southern Mediterranean counties to Europe, in spite of socio-cultural standards that tend to limit the movement of women or to restrict it in a controllable space. The share of women migrants from MEDA countries ranges between 25% and 45% depending on the country of origin and the host country.25

The importance of female migration is self-evident: it contributes to the emancipation of women who become self-sufficient once their husband has gone abroad, when they emigrate alone or when they become economically independent. Thus, women who were previously subordinate to the authority of their husband in their country of origin, take their life into their own hands, thereby gaining new self-awareness and raising their self-esteem. Nevertheless, certain paradoxes are emerging by maintaining non-egalitarian traditions from the country of origin or an attachment to a backward-looking Islam in the host country.

The most vulnerable category consists of illegal migrant women. They are exploited economically and even sexually. Treated as objects, their identities are denied, their passports taken away, and they are exploited and abused by traffickers and unscrupulous employers. The UN conventions on crime, the additional protocol, the various communications of the European Commission and the declarations of the European Parliament are intended to draw attention to this phenomenon so as to fight against this curse.

The analysis of female migration between MEDA countries and Europe shows a new dimension in the region’s political and social history. The multiple facets of the migration phenomenon around the Mediterranean reflect the

25 CARIM. Report 2006/2007.

various stakes (demographic, economic, cultural, social and symbolic) in the region. This study on “female migration between MEDA countries and the EU,” financed by the European Commission under the EuroMed Migration project, is intended to help migrant women come out of the shadow and to give them their rightful place in the history of migration.

More precisely, this study pursues several objectives, namely to:

Present the state of research on the subject and to contribute to a greater understanding of this complex issue;

Apply a gender perspective to all the migration situations in the region, while remaining attentive to the aspirations and concerns of women in their country of origin, transit or reception;

Give visibility to the contribution of migrant women to development, in scientific research and political discussions;

Help initiate discussions on the issue at national and regional level.

Reconsidering migration in the Mediterranean region from the women’s perspective is a real challenge, given the lack of data available and the limitations of the theoretical framework. The way in which women shape and transform migration and the societies concerned can be outlined by exploring the personal and collective history of women, analysing documents and research studies on female migration patterns, and examining the policies adopted concerning them in the country of origin or the host country.

This study concerns 18 Euro-Mediterranean countries (nine in the South and nine in the North) and relies essentially on an analysis of the available documentation, including official sources: statistics, legislation, official reports, and field surveys conducted by European and southern Mediterranean research centres and institutes, etc. The analysis is supplemented by a non-participating observation of the daily life of migrants and our personal and professional experience.

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This study comprises six parts.

Part I “Theoretical framework and methodological approach” examines certain theories relating to migration in general and in particular the place given to the mobility of women. It also presents the methodological framework, clarifies the concepts, and identifies the indicators of female migration.

Part II “Main determinants of female migration” puts the mobility of women from MEDA countries to Europe in perspective against the background of international migration and globalisation. It examines the incentives and push factors of migration, while identifying the economic and socio-cultural differences on the opposing sides of the Mediterranean which are considered as the essential causes of migration to Europe, particularly female migration.

Part III “Migration: regulatory framework” deals with the legal dimension of migration and the international, Euro-Mediterranean and bilateral level. It is particularly important because the law is the framework that organises the departure, establishment and integration of migrants in the host countries. There is a legal arsenal in most northern and southern Mediterranean countries concerning the protection of male and female migrants, scattered in several legal and regulatory texts, and applied by various institutions.

Part IV: “Legal female migration or labour migration,” identifies the main characteristics of legal female migrants and analyses some sequences of their daily lives. This part also broaches the place of female migrants on the labour market, the impact of gainful employment on domestic roles, and the power of women in the family. This part explores the lifestyles of migrant women in the host country, their capacity to integrate through access to education, health services, culture and politics.

Part V “Migration and development: migrant women as agents of economic development” showcases the economic and social contribution of women migrants in the host countries and especially in the countries of origin. The contribution of remittances from migrant women and the channels used, their capacity as investors in their country of origin, the call

on their expertise and their mobilisation in development associations will also be studied.

Part VI “Women from MEDA countries and irregular migration” broaches the dearth of data on this type of migration which makes it difficult to estimate the number of women migrants in European countries. Taking the risk to emigrate legally or illegally and then go underground is a new route of female migration from MEDA countries. Irregular female migration from the South is a major concern for governments, international organisations and the civil society. Women are the most exposed to human trafficking, economic exploitation, prostitution rings and the mafia, which are booming because they are most often in vulnerable situations.

Given the scope of this study, its topicality and above all the novelty of the issue, a personalised bibliographic document has been prepared: “Bibliographic study on female migration in the Mediterranean.” It contains works on female migration with a detailed introduction that outlines the major trends in female migration in the region. It is a reference work placed at the disposal of researchers and students who will make other contributions and new analyses to expand knowledge on the subject.

This large-scale study on female migration from MEDA countries to Europe is in no way intended to be exhaustive. In spite of the high number of countries studied, the dearth of data, the diversity of the migration processes and policies, and the variation of female populations on the move, this study has tried to summarise the major trends in the migration of women in the Mediterranean and to analyse the multiple dimensions of that phenomenon. Finally, this report makes a certain number of recommendations for the development of medium- and long-term studies which, thanks to an in-depth knowledge of female migration, could enlighten future migration policies on both sides of the Mediterranean.

22 23

I. Towards a paradigm of the migration process ............................. 25

1. Appraisal of migration theories ............................................................... 26

1.1. Predominance of economic not to say economistic theories ...... 26

1.2. New migration economy ................................................................... 28

1.3. Network theory or the perpetuation of the migration phenomenon ......................................................... 29

1.4. Migration and development .............................................................. 31

2. Women and migration: towards a new theoretical approach .............. 33

3. Towards a new paradigm on migration .................................................. 35

II. Conceptual framework: concepts on the move ............................ 39

1. Human dimension of migration: migrants and transmigrants ............. 39

2. Spatial dimension: Migration fields, areas, networks and flows ......... 40

3. Temporal dimension: temporary or definitive migration ..................... 41

4. Management dimension: legal migration, illegal migration, transnational migration and development migration. ......................... 42

5. Cultural dimension: Multiculturalism and interculturality .................. 44

III. Statistical imbroglio: a shared problem ....................................... 44

IV. Methodological approach............................................................... 49

24 25

Academic interest in migration has been growing in recent years in the MEDA countries, tending to fill the gap between several disciplines and to tackle the theoretical deficit on female migration. Research on migration is included in analyses of globalisation.

Current theories on migration tend to be rather partial or overly general. Often falling under disciplines, they are driven by an inner logic and are often characterised by an antithetical view of push and pull between the societies that send and those that receive migrants. Few integrated theories have been developed on the issue.

It is still difficult to speak of a theory of migration given the complexity and singular nature of the mechanisms deployed. Existing approaches are distinguished depending on the historical, political and economic situations. The economic approach remains the oldest, most common, and predominant. The first theories concentrated exclusively on migrants as labour force in search of better paid employment.

Recent theories tend to explain migration more in terms of other factors to do with the household unit and the existence of networks. They attach particular importance to the connection between migration and development and the cultural diversity aspect.

The deficiencies of migration theories on gender are palpable. It was not before the 1990s that ‘gender’ found its way in studies on migration. Sociologists and historians were the most open to introduce gender in their approach, while feminists, their efforts to rehabilitate gender in research notwithstanding, have made only a modest contribution to works on migration.

This part has a double objective. For one, it intends to go over some theories on the migration process in general as well as the contribution of feminist studies to understand the migration of women. Secondly, it initiates a paradigm on female migration by drawing inspiration from studies on the issue in the Mediterranean, from a global approach to migration.

All research requires a theoretical framework, i.e. a set of proposals that can be shown, verified and that aim to establish the validity of a scholarly reflection. The basic constituents are the clarification of concepts, and the recourse to a set of reliable data. The entire process is helping to elucidate the work setting and the approaches taken by the researcher. This framework is all the more necessary for a subject as complex as female migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

1 (Balandier Georges ; 2003), Le grand système, “Fayard.”

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The aim is not to conduct an exhaustive analysis of theories on migration, nor to comment on their validity. We shall focus on four main theories that will be examined briefly to assess their explanatory value, more particularly when applied to female migration in the Mediterranean region.

Economic theories on international migration abound and tend to explain immigration through factors related to employment and remuneration. These models are at times inserted in a broader framework relating to unequal production or development between nations.

Considered as the first migration theorist, Ernest Ravenstein2 (1885), an English geographer, presented certain ‘laws’ based on the analysis of population census data. He concluded that migration is governed by push and pull factors. Unfavourable economic conditions and poverty push people to leave their country of origin for more attractive regions. He added that migration increases as technology develops.

This scholar places migration in a more general environment by considering the progress of the migration act as a movement from the periphery to the centre and the distance covered by the migrants. He underscored that women were more inclined to embark on short-term flows.

Several theorists have followed the footsteps of Ravenstein with only a few variations. Everett Lee (1966) recast the latter’s theory to concentrate essentially on the push factors.3 The neoclassical theory (Torado 1969)4

2 Ravenstein E.G. (1885), The Laws of Migration, Journal of the Statistical Society, “London, 48(2), 167-227.”

3 ES Lee - Demography, 1966 - popline.org. Title: A Theory of Migration. “Popline Document Number: 018411. Author(s): Lee ES. Source citation: Demography, 1966; 3(1):47-57.” Lee underscored that there were four main factors that determine international migration. The first two factors are related to the situation in the countries of origin and countries of destination. He attached great importance to cyclical factors such as distance, political barriers, the existence of a network, and to personal factors related to the migrant’s education, knowledge of the destination environment, and family ties in the country of origin and in the host country, which may facilitate or hinder migration.

4 Todaro, Michael P. A, Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries. “American Economic Review, 59(1), 1969, p. 138-148”

places international migration within the framework of market supply and demand and establishes a correlation between the development of labour migration and economic development. Difference in pay prompts migrants to move from low-pay areas to high-pay areas so as to maximise their revenues. Countries that do not have enough workers and thus have a high demand are supposed to offer high wages that attract immigrants from countries that have a surplus of workers (Massey 1993).5

Other theories draw a distinction between a traditional and a modern sector, adopting the same division between industrialised and underdeveloped nations. The traditional sector, which has a surplus of labour, therefore has a substantial supply of labour, while the modern sector absorbs this surplus by attracting that labour by offering wages higher than those in the traditional sector. This theory consequently foresees that immigration has a positive impact on the traditional sector, because it helps reduce the prevailing unemployment, and fills the pay gap between the rural traditional sector and the urbanised modern sector. It postulates that the migration flows are going to last for as long as this difference between sectors has not been reduced.

The dualist theory (Piore 1979)6 confirmed that the migration of the labour force is a factor of economic cooperation between countries. It underscores that the structures of the economies in developed countries necessarily turn to foreign manual labour, since they have two markets; the primary market, which is developed and well paying, and the secondary market, which is precarious, with low wages. Migrants are generally recruited to do jobs that are necessary for the development of the economy, but which natives are unwilling to do.

The world system theory developed by Saskia Sassen (1988)7 asserts that international migration is a product of the capitalist system and that migration models tend to confirm the division of the world into a centre (rich nations) and a periphery (poor nations). Industrial development in the former causes structural problems in the economies of the latter.

5 Massey D, Arango J, Kouaouci A, Pellegrino A, and Taylor Y (1993), Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal. Population and Development Review. “19/3, p. 431-465.”

6 Piore. M. J. (1979), Birds of passage: migrant labor in industrial society. “New York, Cambridge University Press.”

7 Sassen. S. (1988), The Mobility of Labour and Capital. A Study on International Investment and Labour Flow. “Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.”

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This in turn prods migration. Against this background, migration results not only from high production and demand for labour in industrialised countries, but more generally from the structures of the world market.

This theory analyses migration from a global perspective, underlining the importance of the market economy. It underscores that exchanges between weak economies, and strong and efficient economies inevitably lead to stagnation in the former, upsetting the economic channels and social and cultural settings. “These unequal relations encourage migration more than the differences of pay and employment”.8

For supporters of this theory, the effects of globalisation have left the economies of the third world dependent on agriculture and exports of raw materials, accumulating industrial lag, and sinking into underdevelopment. This explains the one-way migration flows from the periphery to the centre.

The major migration flows can obviously not be dissociated from the economic disparities, and are studied jointly with development and underdevelopment issues. Classical economic analyses of labour migrations have consequently shown their limitations, as they tend to focus more on the individual aspect of migration and the mandatory higher or supplementary earnings that justify migration. These two aspects have been challenged by works that henceforth constitute the new economy of labour migration. This strand of analysis sees migration as a process based on a collective choice and takes the domestic unit as the analysis framework.

Stark (1991),9 the founder and main representative of the new migration economy, proposes a new framework for the economic analysis of labour migration by referring to the family of farmers with regard to risk (climate vagaries, variations in the price of agricultural products) which can lead its members to migrate. In this sense, migration of one member of the household increases the sources of the family’s revenues and guarantees a secure income through remittances.

8 Massey et al. (1993). Op cit. p 448.9 Stark O. (1991), The Migration of Labour, “Basil Blackwell, Oxford. 406 p”

There is a perceptible switch from individualistic approaches to migration to a collective strategy initiated and organised by the domestic unit. It is a form of contract between the migrant and his family who support him to emigrate, subject to obligations and commitments to all those who contribute towards his departure and establishment abroad.

The migrant provides insurance against poverty, against a bad harvest or illness. Accordingly, “the new migration economy does not take into consideration only the labour market, but widens the process to the entire domestic group. Households try not only to maximise their interests, but also to minimise risks by diversifying their resources.” In this regard “for developing countries, migration would be the equivalent of social security in developed countries”.10

The domestic group is consequently emerging as the central decision-making unit. The migrant’s income tends to alleviate the hazards of internal unemployment, and transfers play an important role, not only for the economy of the household but for the economy of the entire country. In this case, for some countries labour migration has become particularly an export economy, which drives the States to facilitate migration so as to capitalise on the benefits.

The migration network approach is very important because it explains the persistence of the migration phenomenon through social links between migrants and non-migrants, which link countries of origin and of destination further. Each migrant actually creates opportunities for people in his entourage (a member of the family, neighbourhood or tribe) to promote them and help them to emigrate. In this context, the decision to leave is not based essentially on a purely rational economic calculation as suggested by the neo-classical theoretical approach, but on information concerning people prepared to provide financial and psychological support to migrants at every step of their migration. Accordingly, “by reducing the risks and costs of future

10 Monsutti Alessandro. (2004), Guerres et migrations: réseaux et stratégies économiques des Hazaras d’Afghanistan. “Editions de l’institut d’Ethnologie de Neuchâtel et éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, p.39.”

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migrants (men and women), migration networks secure the self-perpetuation of the migration process”.11

The migration networks connect people belonging to the same family, ethnic, linguistic or religious community. They operate in the form of loans or services that alleviate the cost of migration. The awareness of migrants dispersed through several cities and countries is one of the important elements in the decision to emigrate. The more developed the network, the lower the costs, and the more that migration will develop. The migrant’s social capital thus plays a more important role than the monetary capital.

In the network theory, the family institution remains crucial for the motivation to migrate and to develop one’s skills. Sarah Harbison has shown the complexity of family structures that characterise the migration process, given that the family is the mediator between the individual and society.

Harbison (1981)12 and Boyd (1989)13 stress three essential factors that give the family unit significant importance in the migration process.

1. The family provides the essential support for the migrant; it has resources for the transport, establishment, etc. in the host country, particularly in the case of a young migrant population with sufficient financial resources. Similarly, the gender-based division of labour in the family may encourage or hinder the mobility of women. When women do not work, they continue to perform domestic chores, and their mobility is structurally limited or at least determined by men.

2. The family, as a place for socialising, conditions and guides individuals. The roles and statuses of men and women are inculcated and integrated in its midst. The privilege accorded to male children in the family, as those who perpetuate the family name and are to look after their parents in their old age, is predominant in southern Mediterranean societies. The woman is perceived as a minor who is delicate and in need of protection. Her departure for another country must consequently be approved by the

11 Monsutti. A, op cit p 45.12 Harbison. S .F. (1981), Family Structure and Family Decision In Migration Decision

Making: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Micro Level Studies in Developed and Developing Countries, “C.F. Delong and R.W. Gardener, eds., New York. Pergamum Press.”

13 Boyd Monica. (1989), Family and Personal Networks in International Migration. International Migration Review, “23/2. pp. 638.670.”

men of the family. A few exceptions aside, women who decide to emigrate, whether educated, rich, or resourceful, must negotiate their departure and seek the approval and blessing of the men.

3. The family has its economic and social network, as the kinship vice tightens in a very vast geographic space. People move where they have family that can help them, support them financially in case of difficulties, find a job for them and for relatives and provide psychological support in case of dire need or culture shock. Ties between members of the extended family are consolidated to make room for transnational solidarity that turns the migrant into an effective player for the development of his or her country of origin.

An old theory has been re-emerging for twenty years with a focus on the close links between international migration and development. It shows that international migration from countries in the South to countries in the North is due to underdevelopment and the development of migration. It also contends that international migration contributes to the development of the host country and it continues to have a greater impact on growth, development and the reduction of poverty in the country of origin.

Migrants make an important triple economic contribution - and by extension – also political, social and cultural contribution to their countries of origin. To that end, remittances play a tangible role in reducing poverty, alleviating problems of unemployment and underemployment, and in particular, skills. Similarly, the financial investments by associations of the diaspora in projects of different scope provide substantial aid for the development of the countries of origin.14 Furthermore, it considers that highly skilled migrants and the temporary or definitive return constitute a pool of skills, expertise and an efficient network in the service of the countries of origin.

UN bodies have shown interest in this approach since the beginning of the new millennium, when they introduced the principle of “better management

14 Publications of the World Bank such as the Report of the GCIM point out that “Remittances from migrants in 2004 amounted to nearly three times the public aid for development, and constitute the second source of external funding for developing countries after direct foreign investment.”

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of migration for sustainable development,” which the Global Commission for International Migration turned into one of its six fundamental principles.

For its part, in 2005 the European Union decided to address the “policy coherence for development”.15 Summarising this approach, the GCIM stated that “Today’s challenge is to formulate policies that maximise the positive impact of migration on countries of origin while limiting its negative consequences. To achieve this objective, migration must form part of national, regional and global development strategies”.16

It is worth noting that these approaches show also the dichotomies of tradition and modernity, agriculture and industry, developed and underdeveloped countries, and are constantly in search of a balance. The modernisation theory that dominated the discussions in the 1970s sees migrants essentially as economic agents that help to develop and modernise their country. “Considered as real catalysts of social change, migration flows were supposed to pave the way to modernity for traditional societies”.17

The fact remains, however, that modernisation did not achieve the expected results in the countries of the South. Kearney (1986)18 underscores the limits of this theory, given its general nature, its oversight of cultural factors, the exaggeration of economic issues to the detriment of political relations, and above all, its omission of strategies of resistance and re-appropriation of the periphery and its conception of a single centre as opposed to the multi-centric nature of the world.

15 Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee of 12 April 2005 – Policy Coherence for Development – Accelerating progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals: “Migration policy is one of eleven policies examined. The document recommended a set of measures concerning remittances to the country of origin, the role of the diaspora in the Member States, the reinforcement of circular migration, the facilitation of return and the mitigation of the adverse effects of brain drain. Convinced of the topical nature and importance of this approach, the High-Level Dialogue in September 2006, as well as the Euro-African conferences in 2006 and 2008 focused their attention on means and resources for the deployment of this new model which meets the needs of both the host country and the country of origin and eases, as it were, certain categories of migrants.”

16 Report of the Global Commission on International Migration, 2005. “Printed in Switzerland by SPO-Kunding 98 p. p27.”

17 Bocco R and Djalili. M.R (eds). (1994), Moyen Orient, migrations démocratisation médiations. “Paris PUF de France and Geneva IUHEL. 405 p. p15/16.”

18 Kearney M. (1986), From the Invisible Hand to Visible Feet. Anthropological Studies on Migration and Development. Annual Review of Anthropology. “October 1986, Vol. 15, pp. 331/361 (p. 338).”

The ‘migration and development’ approach tends to reconcile the interests of the North and the South in a win-win situation.

The different theories presented therein broach migration only partially because they do so essentially from an economic angle and as a male process. They are not sufficient to explain the migration of women.

There has been very little effort to include the gender dimension in migration theories, as “migration theory has traditionally tended to concentrate on the causes of migration rather than on the migrants themselves” (Monica Boyd 2003).19 This has stood in the way of understanding the circumstances that encourage women to become transnational labour migrants, to apply for asylum or to become caught up in trafficking networks.

Economic considerations promote many women to migrate, but they cannot be considered as the only reasons. Other reasons come into play for their geographic mobility: the desire for a better life, the need to escape family constraints and social control, or the hope of a personal experience that enables women to assume full responsibility for their own lives.

The neo-classical theory cannot explain the migration of women either, as most of the women who migrated in the 1970s and 1980s were not looking for work nor to earn an income. They arrived in the host country for family reasons. In the case of Southern Mediterranean countries, most of the women who accompanied their husbands were housewives, mothers of large families or relatives dependent on the migrant who had almost never been gainfully employed.

In the economic models of the period, migration was seen as a matter of personal decision for men; the private-public, interior-exterior distinction tallied well with this theory. The statuses and roles of men and women in countries of the South explained why women were only rarely involved in the decision to migrate and participate in the labour market in the host country.

19 Monica Boyd and Elizabeth Grieco. (2003), Women and Migration: Incorporating Gender into International Migration Theory. “In Migration Information Source. 2003.”

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It is also worth underscoring that the mobility of women was not necessarily conditioned by poverty. Many poor women were not able to leave their country in order to meet their needs and to work elsewhere. In the case of our study, countries like Egypt and Morocco which have almost the same GDP ($3,950 and $4,004 respectively in 2003) have very different female migration rates: The migration rate of Egyptian women to Europe20 varies between 8% and 35% 21 while that of Moroccan women is between 33% and 48%.

Stemming from rural areas in most cases, women migrants in the 1970s were not able to make the transition through an urban environment before reaching the city of destination. Once there, these women remained very isolated, living in informal accommodation, had little contact with the host population, and lived almost on the margins of society.22

The dualist theory can be used in part to analyse female migration, given the attraction that industrialised economies hold for men and women migrants – especially when certain branches recruit young women, single or married, preferably from rural areas. The seasonal migration of Moroccan women to Spain is a case in point.

The new economic theory of migration considers the decisive impact of the decision to migrate on the family. The criticism levelled at it is that it replaces the individual with the domestic unit, whereas the family is characterised by domination-subordination relations, i.e. the inequality between men and women. The family is at the centre of the conflict of interests, whether manifest or latent, so that the motivation of women often does not coincide with that of men. This affects the decision whether to migrate, where and for how long.

The migration network theory has a high explanatory value for the transnational migration of women to Europe. The literature shows the role of members of the family and friends in providing support for migrants to move, get established and find work. The extension of the network and the tasks performed by its members in the host family can explain why the migration of women has assumed such proportions in one region rather than in another.

20 Europe refers to the 9 countries of our sample. CARIM Statistics, Report 2006-2007. 21 Only the UK receives a high percentage of women migrants: 46%. 22 The exhibition in the Paris Museum of Immigration shows this situation quite clearly.

The migration of women has not completely escaped the notice of feminist theorists, of course, as some studies have touched on the problem without analysing it in depth. Feminist theories tend to apply the same paradigm of ‘modernisation through migration’ which perpetuates the ethnocentric theory in regard to the third world. Nevertheless, in the last two decades, feminist research on migration has concentrated on patriarchy and on relations of domination transposed in the host countries. Patriarchy is considered as a factor that affects the mobility of women, hinders their opportunities to move, and establishes strong inequalities in their regard.

Whereas the economic factor seems fundamental, it is nonetheless still considered as the decisive element of migration. A reappraisal should be attempted. Starting with our personal experience and the literature on the subject, we can say that only a global and integrated approach can be used to analyse migration in general, and the migration of women in particular.

Considering the limits of the theories presented, a tentative summary has been made to ‘develop a paradigm’ from an integrated approach. This paradigm is based on three main elements: the actor, the institutions and the societal structures.

1. The social actor, in this case the (male or female) migrant (characteristics, behaviour, practices, discourse, skills);

2. The institutions (family, school, company, ethnic group, religion);

3. The structural context (the economic, social, legal and political structures).

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These elements, which cover the entire migration, come in three stages: pre-migration, migration and post-migration. The three elements organise and shape the three separate stages 23 of migration, the whole being based on gender.

1. The pre-migration stage, during which several factors come into play to guide, facilitate or hinder the decision of women to migrate. They are personal (age, marital status, level of education), institutional (socialisation, professional or political institutions), or societal (political regime, level of economic development, socio-cultural structures). The gender relations and hierarchical structures inside the family naturally affect the migration of women who are generally placed under the authority of the men. The control of women, the assignment of predominantly domestic roles, their education and the level of employment in their country of origin determine the motives for migrating. Similarly, the control of resources and of information by men can discourage or hinder the migration of women.

2. The transition stage of women, i.e. moving from the country of origin to the host country, reflects the capacities of women to travel and their degree of freedom to travel alone, choose the itinerary and the means of transport to reach the country of destination of their choice. The family intervenes to a considerable degree, placing its networks at the disposal of women migrants who at times even have their own networks, getting the other siblings, members of the family or ethnic group abroad to facilitate the migration of women. The national policies of the countries of origin or of destination may hinder the migration of women. These policies are generally conditioned by the status quo imposed on women in the family and society. Some countries have enacted laws and set particular conditions in their legislation to protect women, in view of the abuse and exploitation which they may suffer when travelling to or staying in a foreign country. The case of Egyptian women is very explicit.

23 Monica Boyd (2003), op cit She distinguishes 3 separate stages during which gender relations as well as roles and hierarchical structures influence the migration process: 1) the pre-migration period; 2) the transition across state boundaries; 3) the experiences of migrants in the receiving country.

The Egyptian government has imposed restrictions on female labour migration, whereas the legislation of the Gulf countries, which are host to many Egyptians, do not allow married women to join their husbands in the host country.

3. In the post-migration stage, women in the host country face several challenges relating to their social position, their employability and their integration. These in turn have an impact on the family, on the jobs they do and on their place in society. Images of migrant women tend to be stereotypical, whereby they are considered as dependents, which tends to influence the policies of the host countries who consider them more as housewives rather than lawful members of the workforce. And yet when they do manage to join the labour market, they usually perform service tasks, frequently in the informal sector. This paradigm is our contribution to research on female migration in the Mediterranean region. It can help us explain the migration practices and modes of men and women at different stages of the process, and above all show the decisive importance of gender in the analysis of the migration process. This paradigm is based on a series of concepts that we shall proceed to analyse.

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Analysis paradigm

StructuresPolitical, legal and economic: socio-cultural structures

ActorsMen and

women migrants

Institutions

Family / occupational / cultural structures

Stage: Pre-migration

Preparation for migration

Stage: Transition

Travel

Stage: Post-migration

Establishment in the host country

The complexity of the migration phenomenon requires new conceptual tools nowadays to gauge the scope and diversity of international mobility. The terms migration, migration flows or migrant populations do not give a sufficient account of the space, culture and above all the relations established between the migrant, the spaces, and subcultures adopted in what are often complex migration processes. Our aim is to clarify the recurrent concepts that we shall use in this study, without any claim to an exhaustive treatment.

Migration defined as the relocation of an individual from one territory to another with the intent to reside there temporarily or permanently, is multidimensional in scope, taking account concurrently of the human dimension (the state of people on the move and the diaspora), the spatial dimension (the scope, direction and networks of migration), the temporal dimension (the more or less definitive nature of establishment), the organisational dimension (the management of migration spelling out the types of migration: legal, illegal and migration relating to development, integration, and transnationality), and the cultural dimension (multiculturalism and interculturality).

This dimension covers the broadened definitions concerning the main actor of migration, i.e. the migrant, and the diaspora.

Whereas a migrant is a person on the move between a territory of origin and a territory of destination, the term acquires its full meaning when it refers to persons of both sexes in search of opportunities of employment and a better life, to students studying abroad or to women and children accompanying their migrant husbands or fathers.

Migration is not simply a matter of the movement of individuals and their establishment in a country other than their own; it also refers to the upheavals in the personal, family, occupational and cultural life of the migrant, and the

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efforts to organise a new life adapted to the economic and social structures of the host countries: “a migrant is a person who has left his activities in one territory behind to reorganise his life in another territory.” (Weeks 1999).24

A migrant is therefore different from a refugee or an asylum seeker who crosses international boundaries to escape political or religious persecution, or who is forced to move or constrained from moving because of war, conflicts or a natural disaster. A distinction must consequently be drawn between forced and voluntary migration. The former refers to the people driven to migrate because of coercion, threats and lack of means of subsistence, while the latter refers to people who decide freely that they want to migrate.

A transmigrant is a person who leaves his country, whether voluntarily or forced to do so, to go to live in another country of his choice without having been invited to do so, and transits through different other countries. “Transmigration takes place under conditions far removed from regular migration, even if such conditions are inter-merged and inter-mixed”.25

The concepts of migration field and migration area, used by demographers and geographers, appeared in the 1970s. They were then taken up by other disciplines (sociology, law, anthropology, political science) and have gradually entered the vocabulary of institutional actors. A migration field or migration area consists of several migration spaces. It refers to the areas covered (country of origin, country of destination and of transit) and structured by all the flows of migration, irrespective of their origin. This concept makes it possible to discern more accurately the specific nature of the space of each individual or group, from the local village, the extended family, the regional, national and suchlike ethnic group, etc. to transit areas and finally the place of establishment where the main migrant reception and support networks are established. The concept of migration field has given rise to a new concept, that of transmigrant.

24 Cited in the Migration and Family Encyclopaedia.25 Escoffer. Claire. (2004), Communauté d’itinérance et savoir circuler des transmigrants(es)

au Maghreb. “Université de Toulouse II. Doctoral thesis in sociology. 281p”

The notion of migration chain, like the notion of ‘echelon’ migration refers to migration by stages, consisting of successive movements from a peripheral area to a central area, whereby the migrant goes through different echelons conducive to acquiring new types of behaviour.

As to the migration networks, Douglas Massey defines the migration network as “sets of interpersonal ties that connect migrants, former migrants, and non-migrants in origin and destination areas through ties of kinship, friendship and shared community origin.” The purpose of migration networks is to offer opportunities and means for migrants to adapt. The most popular approach for some years now consists of linking migration networks with the development of ethnic entrepreneurship (Ma Mung, 1994 26; Hassan Boubakri, 1985).27

According to the recommendations of the United Nations on international migration statistics 1998, long-term international immigration is recorded one year or more after the migrant has entered the country where he is to take up residence. For short-term immigration, on the other hand, the period of residence is limited between three months and one year.

Migration flows consequently cover widely different situations depending on whether migration is considered to be temporary or definitive. The former is short-term, seasonal labour migration, chiefly in agriculture, services or ad hoc tasks. It also concerns students who are considered as such during their university studies. It is worth noting that temporary migration that is extended can turn into economic migration or into illegal migration. Definitive migration is permanent migration under family formation or reunification. It concerns also the descendants of migrants who have become citizens of the host countries.

26 MA Mung. E. (1994), L’entreprenariat ethnique en France. Revue Sociologie du travail. “Vol. 36, N° 2, pp. 183-209.”

27 Boubakri Hassan. (1985), Le petit commerce des immigrés du sud tunisien à Paris. “in : Elise Bernard(2002) . Djerba, tourisme international et nouvelles logiques migratoires. REMI. Vol. 18 n°1. 2002. pp. 103-112.”

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The management of migration concerns questions relating to the regulation of labour migration (legal migration), the creation of barriers putting an end to all vague desires for illegal entry in another territory, as well as the repatriation of illegal residents (illegal migration). It concerns also the establishment and integration of migrants in the host country and their contribution to the development of their country of origin (transnational migration, and migration and development).

Legal migration is carried out according to a procedure of applying for a permit authorising nationals of third countries to reside and work legally on the territory of another State. It is regulated by bilateral arrangements or agreements between two States and is based on a common framework of laws to protect and guarantee the rights of workers from third countries. Some forms of labour migration, such as students and highly skilled people, and migration for family reunification28 fall under this type of migration.

Illegal or irregular migration refers to “a variety of different phenomena involving people who enter or remain in a country of which they are not a citizen in breach of national laws. These include migrants who enter or remain in a country without authorisation, those who are smuggled or trafficked across an international border, unsuccessful asylum seekers who fail to observe a deportation order and people who circumvent immigration controls through the arrangement of bogus marriages”.29

Migration and development are interdependent in a globalised world. They have impacted the development of states, societies, economies and institutions. Migration flows have for centuries had an influence on the

28 Family reunification entails the migration of a family member of a migrant where ties existed before that migrant left. The European Social Charter of 8 October 1961 requires States to facilitate as much as possible the family reunification of the migrant worker who is authorised to reside in the territory of the respective State (Article 19) – not to be confused with family formation, i.e. migration for marriage or co-habitation with a former migrant or one of his children.

29 Report of the Global Commission on International Migration, “op. cit., p. 35.”

nature of the production system and the development process (IOM, point of view 2006).

Migration and development constitute a generally confirmed principle according to which international migration makes an essential contribution to the development of the countries of origin and of destination. Two inseparable and interdependent processes are carried out in a globalised context. According to this definition, economic development cannot be reconsidered without reassessing the relation of migration to the development of both the country of origin and of destination.

Transnational migration refers to a new trend entailing belonging to two or more societies or cultures concurrently. It occurs through exchanges of information, resources, unifications and visits that take place between the members of the diaspora or with the population of origin. “It entails continued participation by the migrant in the economy, politics and social organisation of his country of origin, concurrently with integration in the structures of the host country”.30 The transnational term refers to the cross-border relational dimension within a migration field. Migrants establish lasting ties between the country of residence and the country of origin. As a result, far from entailing a break or dislocation of ties with the society of origin, the establishment of migrants in the host country in many cases reinforces and where, necessary, improves such relations. This concept goes contrary to the linear model which sees migration as a one-way movement in a bi-polar space, involving dichotomies of departure and arrival, establishment and return, temporary and permanent migration, etc.

30 Dorais, Louis Jacques.(2004), Routes et réseaux migratoires: A-propos des migrations transnationales, l’exemple des canadiens d’origine vietnamienne. Revue Européennes des Migrations Internationales. “Vol. 20 N° 3, pp. 49-73.”

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Culture holds a central place in the migration process. The problem of the domination of Western culture in the world entails a real risk for the disintegration and marginalisation of the cultures of minorities. The relations of cultural domination have led to two concepts that are very much in vogue and often confused: multiculturalism and interculturality.

Multiculturalism is the non-dependent co-existence of several cultures, where several groups of individuals with different cultures (in terms of language, religion, history or collective memory) live in the same place, in the same country, without the cultures in question interacting.

Interculturality is an approach geared to distancing oneself from one’s own culture to understand others and to succeed in establishing a dialogue and communication. At stake in interculturality is to ‘live together’, and to engage in recognition and respect of each other’s life styles and values.31

As exchange and communication between different cultures, interculturality is geared to the recognition of pluralism, cultural diversity and alterity. It requires another way of being whereby the subject is situated – without being wrenched – between the coherence of his own culture and the coherence of the culture of others, which forces him to renew his vision of the world and to redefine his values which he had hitherto considered immutable.

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” Benjamin Disraeli

Our analytical approach cannot but broach the issue of statistics.

The statistical system for international migration remains highly complex. Data on the matter are produced by different international institutions, such

31 http://www.espace-citoyen.be/site/index.php?EsId=1&Module=mod-produit&Indice=1-55-26.

as the UN, the HCR, and the IOM. At the European level, Eurostat plays an important role, as does the Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (known by the French acronym CARIM).

On the national scale, several administrative authorities provide statistics on immigration. The ministries of the interior play a key role in the overall dissemination of statistics on the number of migrants and residence permits; the ministries of labour focus more on work permits and employment contracts; while the ministries of justice monitor naturalisation and the acquisition of citizenship; the ministries of planning see to the censuses, while demographic institutes and centres of studies on migration provide very pertinent and diversified case studies.

The intensification of international consultation on migration issues and the need to have up-to-date and comparable statistics on migration are prompting many international organisations to collect data and to prod governments to harmonise their data gathering methods. The UN recommendations on statistics in 199832 were intended to improve statistics on international migration, giving a boost to governments to improve the quality of the data, and to develop data interchanges between the statistical services and the competent administrative authorities.

Since 1998, the European Union has, through Eurostat (the statistical office of the European Communities),33 endeavoured to produce a series of data on international migration and asylum. These data are generally provided by national institutes of statistics, and ministries of labour, justice and the interior. Coordination between Eurostat, the statistical division of the UN, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the ILO is being reinforced through a joint collection of data on international migration.34

The available data thus clearly pose problems for users, given the incompatibility of the sources, the discrepancies on the conceptual level, the variety of data collection methods, and the more or less implicit political orientation that governs the course of such data.

32 United Nations.1998, Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration. “ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/58/Rev.1.”

33 The role of Eurostat is to collect, transmit and publish data. 34 Eurostat 2009, p 164.

46 47

The extension of the migration field makes it difficult to collect data on an entire migrating population. Even if the same definitions are used, some populations are not included in the migration processes, such as students or seasonal migrants, and a large fringe of illegal migrants, including women.

The official data on migration in the Mediterranean are therefore improving, but not yet sufficient to gauge major trends or to devise theories. Statistics currently available remain widely scattered and do not provide a clear image on population movements in the region, and even less on the characteristics of these persons. The confusion of data between the countries of origin and the host countries, and the inconsistency of reference dates make research quite complicated for all scholars. The table which follows shows the paradoxes of these data. The use of different reference years makes comparison a more tricky operation, for how can the data for Algeria (1995) be compared with the data for Morocco which are more recent by nearly a decade (2004)?

Comparison between numbers of migrants counted by origin and destination countries

Migrants counted at destination

Migrants counted at origin

Absolute difference

Relative difference

Algeria 1995 807,051 1,058,202 251,151 31%Egypt 2000 429,428 1,050,850 621,422 145%Morocco 2004 1,721,892 2,887,319 1,165,427 68%Tunisia 2003 362,988 691,771 328,783 91%TOTAL 6,157,024 9,066,142 2,909,118 47%

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report. CARIM 2006-2007. p.376

In contrast to the statistics of the Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM), which focus on Mediterranean countries, Eurostat statistics are more general and concern migrants who arrive in the European Union, drawing a distinction between three types of migrants: intra-European, non-European and returning national, which account for 34%, 52% and 14% respectively.35

Statistics in countries of the South vary in terms of both quantity and quality. It is difficult to specify who emigrates, how and where to, or to conduct any

35 Anne Herm, Eurostat, 2008. Statistics in focus 98/2008. “p.3.”

assessment of migration flows. National data are not readily available on the direction of the flows or their chronology. Such data are generally produced by the ministries of the interior and of labour, and thus politically oriented. The fact remains that they are often incomplete, refer to only a section of female migration and provide no indication on types of migration other than legal migration. In the report on Mediterranean migration “Only five MEDA countries (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey) publish statistics on their migrants by country of residence, and few countries of destination publish statistics per country on migrants from MEDA countries”.36 Major efforts have been made to develop reliable statistics on remittances by migrants in order to assess their impact on savings, investment and local development in the countries of origin. Nevertheless, other problems such as human smuggling, the unlawful trafficking of migrants, and the migration of skills are not covered sufficiently. It is therefore urgent to develop these sectors and to provide reliable and sufficient statistics, both at the national and international level, concerning women more specifically.

Women migrants are still the poor relations of the statistical system. Up to the 1970s, the main statistics on migration were concentrated essentially on migrant workers. At that time, interest in the participation of women in the international labour market was limited, and migrants for family reunification were not entitled to work, thereby often winding up in the informal sector and becoming invisible.

Up until recently, as Hania Zlotnik pointed out, “there were no global estimates available on the development of female migration. The first statistics for the period 1965-1990 were provided by the population division of the United Nations in 1998. Estimates by country were based on the number of foreign nationals born in the country according to census figures and completed with information about the number of refugees.”37 To be sure, migrant women of all ages were entered in the national statistics and already in 1960, women migrants represented 47% of the migrating population. Since then, the share of women among international migrants has gradually grown to 48% in 1990, 49% in 2000 and 50% in 2005. Although

36 CARIM, op cit, p 37637 The Global Dimensions of Female Migration By Hania Zlotnik. “March 2003,” Migration

Information Sources, “United Nations. 2002.” International Migration Report: 2002.

48 49

this trend points to the feminisation of migration, the increase is nonetheless small compared with the existing high level of feminisation in the 1960s.38

Data on female migration are still in a very elementary stage, particularly when analysing the development of data relating to entrants and their demographic and occupational characteristics. There is also a dearth of data available on remittances by women or on beneficiaries, as well as on the regularisation of women migrants. “During the Italian regularisation programme in 2003, there were 705,000 applicants, of whom 20% were Romanian, 15% Ukrainian, 8% Albanian and 8% Moroccan. Statistics relating to the regularisation of women were completely lacking.”39

Whereas women have always been involved in the migration process, they are still not to be found in many statistical sources. Existing data contain fragments of information in certain surveys, archives, or NGO reports on migrants. These are often brief and rarely convergent, which requires an effort on different levels to develop global and reliable statistics and thus make migrant women more visible.

Nevertheless, all the statistics on migration in the Mediterranean and the migration of women in particular have been prepared by men, while the documents produced on the matter are male-dominated. Furthermore, the sources available tend to focus more on the status of women in the family, the code of personal status, reproductive health or violence against women, which has continued to worsen this past decade. Women who migrate alone remain invisible. Migration by a woman or a group of women alone actually continues to appear suspect, since a woman’s place is purportedly in the family. Women who migrate alone seem dangerous or of easy virtue, and thus easy prey for criminals, human traffickers and prostitution rings.

Low-scale or medium-range surveys provide more data on the characteristics of migrants than records of the administrative authorities or censuses. Although more developed, statistics available in town halls or consulates are still difficult and time consuming to go through. Only large-scale surveys on migration can meet such an enormous deficit and explain this complex

38 Hania Zlotnik, Op cit. 39 Martin Baldwin-Edwards, 2004, The Changing Mosaic of Mediterranean Migration.

process in progress, in spite of the problems of representative sampling and the very high costs of this operation.

It is imperative to have women better represented in statistical data so as to be able to make an assessment that reflects reality and to make projections to chart enlightened migration and development strategies. International cooperation on migration issues is being intensified, as is the need to develop and update migration statistics taking due account of gender.

Natural sciences have to deal with material objects and processes. Social sciences, however, have to deal with psychological and intellectual objects and consequently, the method of natural sciences consists of explanation, that of social sciences of understanding.”

Alfred Schultz 198240

The approach adopted in the paradigm of the previous chapter is intended to be global, i.e. sociological, economic and legal, and at the same time geared to the triad of legal migration, illegal migration, and migration and development.

It follows the footsteps of the comprehensive sociology initiated by the German school (Max Weber and Georg Simmel), the particular feature of which was to study social activity within social interaction. The comprehensive approach turns out to be the most appropriate. “To understand means to abandon trying to explain a social fact or event by a single decisive factor. Comprehensive sociology opts for a synoptical approach, in particular synergies of all the characteristics of a phenomenon, even if antithetical”.41 This method entails studying each element in its global context and within the framework of political events, so as to establish interactions between the different components of reality. In brief, it considers each social element as a human element endowed with meaning; for that matter, Max Weber

40 Alfred Schultz. Le chercheur et le quotidien. “Paris. Méridiens-Klincksieck. 1982. p 92”41 Jeffrey Denis and Maffesoli Michel (eds), 2005, La sociologie compréhensive. “Presses de

L’Université de Laval. P 158.”

50 51

underscored that every human action has meaning, and that sociology must reconstruct that meaning.

Various research tools have been deployed and have been adapted according to the opportunities and constraints. In the absence of field work we turned our attention to an analysis of an extensive variety of documentation: books, articles, international and European legislation, European Commission communications, regulations and directives, European Parliament reports, Eurostat and CARIM statistics, World Bank and Council of Europe data, etc. We have also relied on our network and personal experience as an academic, minister for cooperation, ambassador to the European Communities and member of the Global Commission on International Migration. Our contribution to the international and regional discussion on the issue (United Nations, HCR, UNFPA, European Commission, IEMed, our participation in NGOs and national organisms) has opened up wider perspectives for the preparation of this study.

The geographic area which our study covers is vast and varied. It can be divided into two sub-sets: the North of the Mediterranean, with nine European countries concerned by the study: Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom; and nine MEDA countries, i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, and Tunisia.

Gérard François Dumont’s42 classification seems very plausible. In his view, the geography of the Mediterranean comprises three distinct migration areas: African Mediterranean, Asian Mediterranean and European Mediterranean. For elucidation purposes, we have opted to revise it in accordance with the guidelines for our study.

African Mediterranean comprises four Maghreb states, which are emigration countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. Migrants from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia generally head for the European Mediterranean, and France, Spain and Italy particularly since the beginning of the 1990s. Belgium and the Netherlands continue to be an important destination, especially for Moroccans. Italy is the destination of choice for Tunisians after

42 Dumont Gérard-François, 2007, La diversité des flux migratoires en Méditerranée dans les années 2000. “Communication présentée au Forum réalités. Tunis, Mai 2007. 14 p.”

France, whereas migration flows from Algeria to Spain and Italy remain limited. In Germany, most migrants come from Turkey. This type of migration includes also all those who transit through the Maghreb to reach Europe, i.e. sub-Saharan migrants who cross the desert to reach Sabha in Libya or Tamanrasset in Algeria, and then disperse in the four North-African countries. This type of migration from the South to the North is essentially economic in nature for the migrants, whether from the Maghreb or sub-Saharan countries.

Migration from Egypt, the most populous country of Mediterranean Africa, is more restricted, with the exception of very modest migration to Italy and Greece, for proximity reasons. Otherwise, the major migration flows are to oil-producing Arab countries or Anglo-Saxon countries (CARIM 2006-2007).

Asian Mediterranean comprises two sets of migration flows: the first being linked with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the second concerning neighbouring countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Migration from this region tends to be for political reasons. By way of reminder, owing to the war in Lebanon (1974 – 1999), Lebanon is the only country in Asian Mediterranean whose migrants head for France and Greece. The first Gulf War and the Iraq War drove many refugees to Europe.

In European Mediterranean, the migrant receiving countries form two sets. The first concerns Southern European countries of the Mediterranean: Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. The second consists of Northern European countries that receive a large number of migrants from the Mediterranean: Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

This distinction will lead to a more elucidating classification that we shall use during the study, namely the division of the MEDA countries into three blocks: the Maghreb, the Mashreq and Israel, and the European countries, into two subgroups: Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries.

54 55

Introduction ..........................................................................................57

I. Demographic, economic, political and socio-cultural differences between MEDA and European countries and their impact on the situation of women ..............................59

1. Exacerbated demographic imbalance between MEDA and European countries ....................................................................... 60

2. The north and south sides of the Mediterranean have antithetical demographic growth rates............................................... 63

3. Different age pyramids and a working population in crisis ............. 66

II. Differences in health ...................................................................69

III. Flagrant economic inequalities between the countries of northern and southern Mediterranean ..................................76

1. GDP inequalities between North and South ...................................... 79

2. Employment and unemployment: two other parameters to show growth and development in the economies of northern and southern Mediterranean countries ..................................................... 81

IV. Socio-cultural inequalities and their impact on gender discrimination ..............................................................................91

1. Illiteracy remains pronounced among women in MEDA countries .. 92

2. Differential education per level ........................................................... 92

3. Near similar expenditures on education for opposite results ......... 94

V. Political inequalities/democratic tradition and democracy in its infancy .......................................................96

VI. The great challenge of MEDA countries: protection of human rights .........................................................97

1. Political rights of women and participation in the decision-making process ...................................................................... 99

2. Backward personal status codes in societies in turmoil ................ 102

3. Violence against women, another discrimination mechanism ...... 104

Conclusions ......................................................................................... 106

56 57

1 Abdelmalek Sayad.(1999), La double absence: des illusions de l’émigré aux souffrances de l’immigré. “Ed Seuil, 15.”

The migration situation between the MEDA countries and Europe is in large measure conditioned by the geographic proximity, their historical ties, trade and cultural contacts for centuries. Population movements have always taken place on both sides of the Mediterranean. Whereas the 19th century was marked in part by a mass migration movement to the southern Mediterranean, the second half of the 20th century witnessed an unprecedented migration activity to Europe. The EU has now become the destination of preference for international migration in general, and for MEDA countries in particular.

Against this background, the migration of women from MEDA countries to the EU has received particular attention in recent years. The development in these last four decades can be summarised into three major waves that followed each other or were superimposed, with a variable participation by women.

1. The first wave after World War II consisted of a personal, essentially labour, mostly male migration under bilateral workforce agreements. Another migration was developing in parallel by male students and asylum seekers endeavouring to escape from persecution and repression by authoritarian regimes or to flee internal or other conflicts.

2. The second wave, which started in 1973, i.e. during the suspension of bilateral workforce agreements, was characterised by female migration for family reunification or the formation of new families.

3. The third wave of migration in the 1990s saw women leave on their own in search of employment. In parallel, there was a migration of highly qualified individuals and of undocumented workers following numerous restrictions imposed on access to Europe by national legislations. Migration for educational purposes continued with an increasingly higher percentage of women compared with the years 1960-1970.

Whereas the volume of female migration from Third Mediterranean Countries (TMCs) to EU countries is still difficult to assess with a certain degree of reliability, TMCs can be said to constitute a large reservoir of emigration to Europe. The overall figure is estimated at 10 to 15 million, depending on

58 59

whether migrants are counted by their country of origin or their country of destination. They thus represented 3.8% to 5.8% of the aggregate population of the TMCs, which in 2005 amounted to 260 million, with women migrants representing a non-negligible average, between 9% and 45%.2

Migration in general is determined by multiple demographic, economic, political and socio-cultural factors. This study aims to highlight the specific determinants that induce women to migrate.

The immediate environment of migrant women, their level of education, social position, economic contribution, as well as low degree of integration in the production channels in their country of origin may play a fundamental role in the decision to migrate. The changing economic structures in MEDA countries, their level of development and the advancements made on women’s rights can also contribute thereto.

In spite of differences between MEDA countries, the varied destinations of the migration flows show certain similarities. The former ties with colonising countries, the use of a common language, as well as a knowledge and appreciation, albeit relative, of the culture of the host countries, influence the migration flows from the South. The presence of well established networks in the countries of destination and the legislation of the host countries can also play a facilitating or inhibiting role for the migration of women.

Although the reasons for migration pressures are studied extensively, discerning how and to what extent they can affect female migration flows has proved to be rather complex. Assuming that the migration movements are initiated or accentuated by economic factors such as poverty and economic and social security, sociological factors and cultural traditions that create a large emigration potential can be identified in the case of female migration.

The aim of this section is to study the determinants and to identify the mechanisms that condition female migration from MEDA countries to Europe in a historical and comparative perspective, while examining the concourse of circumstances that promotes female migrations.

This part comprises two chapters.

2 Our calculation.

The first and main chapter is devoted to the analysis of demographic, economic, social and cultural differences between MEDA and EU countries, while focusing on the inequalities that exist between European women and those in MEDA countries.

The second chapter is an initial attempt to identify the main determinants of female migration from MEDA countries to Europe.

The European Union and the MENA region show differences, even fractures, at all demographic, economic and socio-cultural levels, which may generate and enhance the desire to emigrate.

The northern bloc that comprises the EU countries has the potential of a global economic power. It has the three constituent elements of power, namely, “the economic weight, the institutions and a governance doctrine geared to multilateralism, the rule of law and sustainable development”.3 In July 2007, the IMF underscored that the euro zone had resumed more balanced growth and was no longer on the margins of world dynamism.4 However, the financial crisis of 2008 was a real factor for the slowdown which European countries are currently tackling with a great deal of firmness and vigilance.

The southern bloc comprises all the MEDA countries which fall under the greater region known as MENA, i.e. the Middle East and North Africa, plus Israel. All the Arab countries of the region are members of the Arab League with a population of 280 million inhabitants -- countries marked by wide disparities in terms of population, natural resource and level of development. They nonetheless remain united through strong ties of language, religion and the Muslim cultural heritage.

3 Thierry de Montbrial and Philippe Moreau Defargues. Ramses, L’Europe et le monde 2007. “Ed Dunod 2009, p 67.”

4 L’économie mondiale 2009. “CEPII. La découverte, Paris 2009, p 23.”

60 61

The MENA countries as a whole, as the Arab Human Development Report 2002 has shown, have made significant progress on human development in recent decades. “Nevertheless, the predominant characteristic of the current Arab reality seems to be the existence of deeply rooted shortcomings in the Arab institutional structure. These shortcomings are an obstacle to building human development. The report summarises them as three deficits relating to freedom, empowerment of women and knowledge”.5

The MENA region has registered sustained economic growth since 2003, but is still faced with the challenges of the rapid growth of its working population and the aforementioned deficits. Wars and ethnic or state conflicts, which have not ceased for more than half a century, and the tension between competing ideologies (nationalism, Islamism or secularism) have moreover constituted an obstacle to the economic and social development of the region. Soaring oil prices have had a negative impact on the economy of non-producing countries also, as the rise in energy and food prices has caused a deterioration of public finances and the profitability of companies, creating widespread discontent among the population”.6

The demographic trends in EU and MEDA countries show major changes in the Mediterranean area. The 27 EU Member States are widely disparate in terms of population in a Union that has 498.2 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, the development of demographic profiles points to similar behaviour and a convergence towards a common demographic model, with very clear affinities regarding the birth rate, fertility, infant mortality and life expectancy at birth.

As in EU countries, the countries of the southern Mediterranean are characterised by major differences in terms of population. The fact remains that fast developing demographic profiles are highly variable. The demographic behaviour changes are very distinct, be it in terms of birth rate, or the prevalence of contraception, particularly between the countries of the

5 Arab Human Development Report. “UNDP 2002.”6 L’économie mondiale en 2009. “Op cit. p 55.”

Maghreb and the Mashreq. Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories constitute exceptions in the region.7

The size of the population is disproportionate from one bloc to the other. Whereas the nine European countries of our study had 354.7 million inhabitants in 2007, the Maghreb countries had only 75.2 million, and those of the Mashreq 110.7 million. Palestine has a very small population of some 4 million people. The state of war and persecutions since 1948 have caused many Palestinians to flee as refugees or migrants to different countries and continents; all the more so as a large part of Palestine was annexed by Israel, whose population has grown continuously to nearly 7 million in 2007. `

Populations of different sizes

400

Total population by country in millions of inhabitants (2007)

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Maghreb Mashreq Palestine Israël Countries in

the North

Source: Human development report. UNDP. 2009. pp. 191-194

7 A grouping according to regions is needed to reduce redundancies. Three groups plus two countries have been identified: the Maghreb, which comprises Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and the Mashreq, which comprises Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt; the third group comprises the 9 European countries of the study. The specific cases of Israel and Palestine require particular treatment.

62 63

Total population by country in millions of inhabitants (2007)

Alg

eria

Egypt

Pale

stine

Jord

an

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Syria

Tunis

ia

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

Isra

ël

Germ

any

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Source: Human development report. UNDP. 2009. P 191-194

Among the European countries concerned, the four most populous countries in the North are Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy, with a population between 60 and 80 million inhabitants. Four other countries have relatively smaller populations between 8 and 11 million, i.e. Greece, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium. Spain, with its intermediate population of 44 million is between the two.

In 2007, Germany was the most populous EU Member State, with nearly 17% of the total population of the EU 27. When France, the United Kingdom and Italy – countries with a population of a similar size – are added, the four together account for nearly 54% of the total population of the EU 27. It is not surprising therefore that these countries receive the major migration flows, which rank them at the top of the EU.

For the countries in the South, only Egypt has a population as dense as that of the large European countries (80 million inhabitants). The two most populous countries of the Maghreb, Morocco and Algeria, have a population of 31 and 34 million respectively, and Tunisia has 10 million inhabitants. Four countries in the Middle East have smaller populations of 4 to 7 million inhabitants. Only Syria reaches 20 million inhabitants.

Fertility and natural population growth rates point to different trends.

Fertility rates are down throughout the world, while family planning, the improvement of living standards and education for women have contributed extensively to a drop in the number of children per woman and a change from the extended family to the nuclear family. A comparison of the groups of countries reveals that the fertility rate in European countries is below two children per woman, whereas in MEDA countries it ranges between 2.4 (Morocco) and 5.1 (Palestine), with the exception of Tunisia and Lebanon which have birth rates similar to that of France (1.9).

Fertility rates 2005-2010

Mashreq Maghreb Israël European

countries

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Fertility rates 2005-2010

Occupied

Palestinian

Territories

Average according to our calculations based on UNDP data. Source: Human Development Report, 2009, pp. 191-194.

64 65

Mashreq countries have a relatively high fertility rate of 2.9 to 3.3; Israel has a rate of 2.8, whereas Palestine has nearly double that figure at 5.1. The state of war with Israel and the absence of natural resources fan the development of a high birth rate culture and an orientation to human capital – the only reliable resource for the country.

Maghreb countries have the lowest birth rate in the region (1.9 to 2.4), given the efforts made for education in general, family planning and the entry of women into the labour force (Morocco and Tunisia). There is a close correlation between the level of education of women and the fertility rate: the higher the level of education, the lower the fertility rate (UNFPA), and the larger the number of children in the family, the more a woman is constrained to stay at home. This correlation is not essentially unique to the Maghreb, but tends to be related to national social policies and the customs and traditions of certain countries which tend to remove mothers of young children from a working life.

The migration of women may also have an impact on the demographic behaviour of women in the countries of origin. Migrants tend to disseminate a new image of family and show a serious concern about children, their needs, education and social advancement. An innovative study by Philippe Fargues mentioned in the World Bank Report reaffirms the close connection between migration and fertility rate which is conveyed through the transmission of ideas and behaviour patterns from the host country to the countries of origin through migrants, particularly women. According to this author, “the migration of Moroccan and Turkish women to Europe has led to a drop in the fertility rate, whereas the migration of Egyptians to the more traditional societies of the rich countries of the Gulf has checked the fertility trend”.

The high fertility rates in the graph below reveal a demarcation line between the countries in the north and those in the south of the Mediterranean.

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Jord

an

Lebanon

Maro

c

Occupie

d P

ale

stinia

n

Territories

Syria

Tunisia

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

-0,5

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,5

0

Natural growth rate 2005-2010

Source: Human Development Report, UNDP, 2009, pp. 191-194

Natural growth varies between 0.2 (Germany) and 0.4 (France), whereas it ranges from 0.9 (Lebanon) to 2.5 (Syria) in MEDA countries, where it remains below the international average (1.4%) (UNDP). The specific features of Palestine and Israel, where the natural growth rate amounts to 3.2 and 1.5 respectively are also worth noting.

Correlation between population growth and fertility rate

Mag

hreb

Mac

hreq

Eur

opea

nco

untri

es

Isra

ël

Pal

estin

e

Number of children per womanNatural growth rate 1975-2005

10

23

654

Source: Our calculations based on data published by the UNDP, 2007-2008

66 67

The trend that emerges in this graph shows strong demographic growth in MEDA countries, with a young population as opposed to an ageing population in Europe. Since the 1970s, the proportion of working age people in the EU 27 has been going down, whereas the number of people who retire has been increasing.8 This decline in fertility may be an inducement for women to migrate and to encourage naturalisation as an integration policy.

The age pyramids of MEDA and European countries show contrasting forms. In the former countries, the pyramid has a rather large base and a narrow top, indicating that the population is clearly younger with a strong proportion of people under 15 years of age. In the latter, the pyramid is almost rectilinear, attesting to a certain homogeneity between the segments of the population under 15 and those over 65.

Population under 15 and over 65 in MEDA and European Countries

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Jord

an

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Pale

stine

Syria

Tunisia

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

Under 15 Over 65

UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007/2008, pp 243-245.

Europe had the lowest proportion of young people (15.9%) and the highest proportion of older people (17.1%). These rates exceed by far the international

8 Eurostat: l’Europe en chiffres 2009, “p. 133.”

average in 2005 of 28.3% of those under 15 and 7.3% of those over 65,9 whereas in the MEDA countries the average of those under 15 is 33.5% and that of older people only 4.7%.

A comparison of the population structures of MEDA and European countries in 2005 and projections for 2015 show the demographic dynamism of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean which contrasts with the stability of the European population which is hovering around a zero growth rate. We are therefore entitled to ask whether this difference is not going to exert an increasingly greater pressure on migration.

Projections of the population under 15 and over 65 in MEDA and European countries in 2015

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Jord

an

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Pale

stine

Syria

Tunisia

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

Under 15 Over 65

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007/2008, pp 243-245.

This demographic difference is going to persist in the years to come according to projections, even if the arrival of working young people on the labour market of southern Mediterranean countries is going to stabilise as of 2010, owing to the drop in the birth rate since the 1980s. Similarly, the longer life expectancy is going to mean more people over 65 in proportion to those of working age.

9 Eurostat 2009, “p. 138.”

68 69

Nevertheless, as Philippe Fargues has noted, “Until at least 2030, the generation that has not reached working age will in MENA countries be larger than that which arrives on the labour market, even if the number of the new arrivals has stagnated and will tend to diminish slowly between 2015 and 2025. The size of the working age population will continue to increase in the next two decades compared with the population of the European Union”.10

Is a demographic complementarity emerging between the north and the south of the Mediterranean? Southern Mediterranean countries are offering a young, working age population to their neighbours, which have a shortage of labour force and skills, to be able to sustain international competitiveness and meet the Lisbon Directives. “This apparent deficit that affects Europe can be attenuated by migration from the countries in the south, whose population is young, mobile, educated and far less attached to family responsibilities than previous generations”.11

Serious imbalances are naturally exerting continuous migration pressures. However, we should not jump to generalisations. In a comparative study,12 Hania Zlotnik had shown that there is no connection between demographic growth and emigration rate. The correlation is even slightly negative, which goes counter to the idea of demographic pressure.

This idea is also supported by Philippe Fargues, who confirms that the demographic and economic situation in the MENA countries notwithstanding, its strategic position is what makes that region a privileged source of migration flows to Europe, the presence of an old population in the North and a young population in the South is no guarantee for migration. “The demographic realities must be correlated with the economic, political and social situations”,13 all the more so as Europe is not the only destination of all MEDA countries.

10 Philippe Fargues (2008), Emerging Demographic Patterns across the Mediterranean and their Implications for Migration through 2030. “Washington DC. Migration Policy Institute. www.migration-policy.org. P 5.”

11 Philippe Fargues (2008), Emerging Demographic Patterns across the Mediterranean and their Implications for Migration through 2030. “Op cit.”

12 H. Zlotnik, International Migration 1965-96: an Overview, Population and Development Review, “1998, 24, pp. 429-468.”

13 Phillipe Fargues, 2008, op cit

A population can be an effective player in human development only if it is in good health. Will health indicators enhance the already important differences between MEDA and European countries? This is what we shall examine presently.

The health index will be gauged from three variables: life expectancy at birth,

infant and maternal mortality, and health expenditures.

1. Life expectancy at birth is an indicator of the health and well-being of the population

Life expectancy at birth in 2007

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

80

82

Source: Our calculations based on data relating to World Development, UNDP, Human Development Report, 2009, pp. 191-194

A country-by-country analysis shows major differences between the MEDA countries and the European countries of destination. Similarly, averages per region reveal major differences. Life expectancy at birth varies between 70 and 74 in MEDA countries with a slight difference between Mashreq and Maghreb countries, compared with 80 and 81 in European countries. Israel has a similar rate as European countries with 80.7 years. For its part, Palestine shows a life expectancy of 73.3, higher than that of the MEDA countries, with the exception of Tunisia (73.8). In spite of the state of war, investments in health continue to be sizeable in the occupied Palestinian territories, thanks to international aid and the presence of regional NGOs working on the matter.

70 71

The life expectancy of women is generally higher than that of men, and the calculations of the UNDP confirm as much.14 Even if there is quite a marked difference between MEDA countries and European countries concerning the probability of survival of men and women until the age of 65, women have a probability of survival of 6 to 10 years higher than that of men in countries in the North, and 3 to 8 years in countries in the South. This difference, although minimal, can be explained by the maternal mortality rate, which is still high in MEDA countries.

Maternal mortality poses a real challenge in most MEDA countries, apart from Israel, where the figures are close to those of European countries. In the graph below, six out of seven MEDA countries for which figures are available have a maternal mortality rate that exceeds 100 women per 100,000 living births, and three countries have more than 150. The lowest maternal death rate was actually registered in Jordan (62) and the highest in Morocco (240).

2. Persisting high infant and maternal mortality rates still constitute a major deficit in the South

Algeria

Egyp

tJo

rdan

Leban

onMoro

cco

Pales

tine

Syria

Tunisia

Israë

lGerm

any

Austria

BelgiumSp

ainFra

nceNeth

erlan

dsGree

ce

Italy

United

Kingdom

Infant mortality per 1000 children Maternal mortality per 100,000 live births

300250200150100500

Source: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008 p 261-263

Furthermore, the infant mortality rate varies considerably between MEDA and European countries: the latter have the lowest infant mortality rate of 3 to 5 per thousand, compared with 12 to 34 per thousand for the former. The differences are flagrant, reflecting the unequal level of development between

14 UNDP, La probabilité à la naissance de survie jusqu’à l’âge de 65. Rapport mondial sur le développement humain 2007-2008. “p 263”

the two sides of the Mediterranean. There are large disparities between rural and urban areas, the periphery and the centre, and between social classes, revealing considerable inequality in the distribution of wealth and health services.

Infant and maternal mortality per region15

Infant mortality per 1000 children

Maternal mortality per 100,000 live

births

MachreqMaghreb Israël European

countries

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Source: Our calculations based on data published by UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

The Maghreb region is evidently more affected than the Mashreq, in terms of both maternal and infant mortality. The countries of the Maghreb remain the poor relation in terms of material and infant mortality, with the exception of Tunisia which ranks third in the region after Syria and Jordan. These two aforementioned countries have registered considerable progress in Mashreq, 12 per thousand for infant mortality in Syria and 62 for 100,000 living births in Jordan. The centralisation of the State in Syria, and the presence of an efficient civil society in Jordan have shown their mettle.

Progress on the health front depends of course on the level of economic development of a country and is directly affected by the allocated budgets and investments in healthcare. The isolation of regions, elementary hospital facilities, along with social factors do to with the persistence of certain medical traditions and the reliance on the expertise of midwives trained on the spot, may have a negative impact on the reproductive health of women.

15 Palestine is not included in Mashreq countries because of lack of data.

72 73

Illiteracy or the low level of education of women entails poor health management for mother and child.

Precarious health conditions are relatively pronounced in countries in the south. This situation can be explained by inadequate facilities, the lack of health equipment in terms of hospitals, doctors and rudimentary living conditions mainly in rural areas.

Whereas European countries enjoy appropriate health coverage with a high number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants (230 and 450), in countries in the South medical assistance is very minimal compared to the countries in the North. More specifically, the number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants never exceeds 99 in the Maghreb and 180 in the Mashreq, as opposed to an average of more than 350 doctors in the countries in the North and more than 380 doctors in Israel.

3. The number of doctors and health expenditures are still insufficient in countries in the South

500450400350300250200150100

500

Number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants 2000-2004

Algeria

Egypt

Israë

l

Jord

anLe

bano

nMor

occo

Syria

Tunis

ia

Austria

Belgium

Spain

Fran

ceHoll

and

Greec

e

Italy

United

King

dom

Source: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

Lebanon seems to be very well provided with healthcare staff: 325 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants, a rate similar to that of certain European countries, followed by Jordan with 203 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants. Egypt remains the poor relation on this front, with only 54 doctors, whereas Syria ranks somewhere in the middle with 140 doctors.

For the Maghreb countries, whereas Tunisia and Algeria have made considerable progress on the medical front, with 134 and 113 doctors respectively, Morocco lags behind with 51 doctors.

This situation is clarified further when government health expenditures are analysed. Although sizeable and growing, such expenditures remain relatively low in countries in the South.

Dépenses publiques dans la santé en % du PIB en 2004

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Jord

an

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Pale

stine

Syria

Tunisia

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Source: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

Health spending reflects the level of development of a country and the level of physical well-being of the population. The graph below shows the wide difference between MEDA and European countries. Health spending exceeds 7% of GNP in five European countries such as Germany and France (8.2%), Austria (7.8%), Belgium and the United Kingdom (7%). Greece has the lowest rate (4.2%). As to the MEDA countries, in spite of the efforts made by the States to boost their healthcare efficiency, public spending on healthcare in relation to GNP is still limited. The highest rate in the region is 3.2% (Lebanon) and the lowest 1.7% (Morocco). Palestine has a sizeable budget for healthcare – and with due reason – at 7.8%, whereas Israel’s budget is 6.1%.

The health system in MEDA countries is generally more developed in urban than in rural areas. Studies have shown that the health and well-being of the population improve as urbanisation progresses.

74 75

020

40

60

100120

80

Urban population in 2005

Algeria

Egypt

Jord

anLe

bano

nMor

occo

German

yAus

triaBelg

iumSpa

inFr

ance

Hollan

dGre

ece

Italy

United

King

dom

Palesti

neSyri

aTu

nisia

Israë

lSource: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

Nearly 60% of the population of Mashreq and Maghreb is urbanised, compared with more than 80% in countries in the North. The urbanisation levels are ranked in three degrees in European countries:

1. Massive urbanisation, between 80% and 95% (Netherlands, UK and Belgium);

2. Very advanced urbanisation of more than 75% (Austria, Spain and France);

3. Progressive urbanisation, where the rates vary between 67% and 70% (Austria, Italy and Greece).

Urbanisation rate of the population per region in 2005

Maghre

b

Mashre

q

Isra

ël

Pale

stine

Countrie

s in

the N

orth

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Source: Our calculations based on UNDP data16

The same observation can be made for MEDA countries, even if the urbanisation rates are lower than those of European countries. Consequently, we can distinguish between:

1. Highly urbanised countries with rates between 70% and 88% (Jordan, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories);

2. Countries with sound urbanisation between 60% and 70% (Tunisia and Algeria);

3. Countries in urban transition between 43% and 57% (Egypt, Syria and Morocco);

4. Israel is the most urbanised country in the region with 91.7%.

For countries in the South, these urbanisation levels are the concurrent result of natural population growth and rural exodus. The large cities of countries in the South have undergone a real urban explosion, often not followed by growth in urban jobs. Furthermore, this massive urbanisation which occurred in a very short time frame has entailed a high concentration of the

16 The countries are grouped by region to facilitate comparison. Similarly, the urbanisation rate of the countries in the North does not include Greece and Austria so that the calculations will not be biased.

76 77

population in the outskirts of the cities and an increase in impoverishment, particularly of new migrants. It is worth pointing out that a rurality rate of 40% in countries in the South and persisting rudimentary living conditions for a large fringe of the rural populations foster migration. Young people and women are increasingly drawn to urban centres where living conditions are clearly better.

This exodus to cities has destroyed the value system of the newly established population, has introduced other standards and behaviour, and has at the same time contributed to a reconstitution of the family. Accordingly, there is a growing trend of women as heads of households in cities in the South, where one third of all households are headed by women: these women are among the poorest 10% segment of the population. As Eric Calpas pointed out, women who are heads of households are the tip of the iceberg, the telltale that indicates the problems of the most destitute and those of women.17

The cities in the MEDA countries afford an opportunity for women to work and meet the needs of their children. They enable them to make up for the incapacity of their husbands (ill, unemployed or deserters of the matrimonial home) and to assume their role as head of household – a situation that motivates women to engage in gradual mobility, from internal to external migration.

During colonisation, a structural dependence characterised the economies of southern countries and made them vulnerable. When they gained their independence, they sought first to ensure the autonomy -- and assume the management -- of their economies. The political and economic debate in southern Mediterranean countries was naturally dominated by the dualist notion of socialism versus capitalism.

Economic priority was given to the State that adopted industrial policies to replace imports and introduced important trade protection mechanisms

17 Calpas Eric. (1996), Les femmes chefs de familles: spécificités du milieu urbain. “In femmes du sud chef de familles.” (1996). “Jeannne Bissiliat, ed., Editions Khartala 1996. Pp. 109-118.”

so that local markets did not have to face international competition, while proceeding to nationalise key sectors of the economy.

Massive state intervention in the economy sustained by a rather favourable international context enabled countries in the MENA region to register average annual growth of 3.7% between 1965 and 1985, ranking them among the most dynamic economies of the planet.18 This moreover entailed a sizeable reduction of poverty, extensive access to education, significant improvements in health indicators (in maternal and child healthcare), a decline in certain diseases, a decline in the birth rate and an increase of life expectancy from 47 to 62 years.

This development model nonetheless bore the seeds of numerous problems which persist to this day, albeit to variable degrees, in the southern Mediterranean countries. The domination of the State, as a repressive force and engine of economic and social development, has cast a shadow on the growth of the private sector, made the civil society more remote, and gave free rein to the development of corruption.

The interior economic situation deteriorated rapidly. Thus, in the beginning of the 1980s, the World Bank and the IMF sounded the alarm and called on countries in difficulties to open up more to the private sector, reduce their monopoly on the economy and promote greater citizen participation in the management of economic affairs – whence the introduction of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs).

The macroeconomic reforms of the 1980s under the SAPs brought about a certain macroeconomic stability in many southern Mediterranean countries with improvements in taxation and the balance of payment, as well as a certain opening to the private sector. “Real per capita income increased very little on the whole, ca. 0.5% per year” between 1990 and 1998, but managed to curb poverty.19 The fact remains that the job creation deficit together with the rapid population growth have contributed to an increase in unemployment and underemployment, particularly among young people, many of whom have a very high level of education. The structural adjustment programme

18 World Bank and the IBRD. Op.cit 19 It is estimated that less than 2.5% of the population in MENA countries lived below the

poverty threshold, i.e. less than a dollar a day. Richard Adams Jr. and John Page (2001), Holding the Line: Poverty Reduction in the Middle East and North Africa, 1970-2000.

78 79

had exacerbated the economic difficulties, turning migration into a dimension of economic policies, to the point of being included in bilateral agreements.

A new impetus for growth was registered between 2000 and 2007 thanks to the major economic reforms initiated in many southern Mediterranean countries. Nevertheless, the economic situation in Europe and the World has a major impact on these countries. FEMISE underscored “The slowdown in Europe has had a profound impact on Mediterranean countries inasmuch as their economies rely largely on the European markets for outlets”.20

MEDA countries have highly diversified economies that can be very complementary, if the political will is there. According to the World Bank, the economies and growth in southern Mediterranean countries are conditioned by four basic elements:

1. Oil and raw materials and their price variations;

2. Agricultural production and its hazards due to rainfall fluctuations;

3. The tourism sector which represents a growing percentage of GNP of over 10% in all MNCs; very susceptible to political stability and security 21;

4. Remittances from the national community abroad and their contribution to the country’s economy. The importance of remittances is clearly visible in the balance of payments. They constitute a large source of revenue for many emerging economies. It is worth noting that remittances from migrants to their country of origin doubled between 1995 and 2006, from $8.2 billion to $20 billion. The contribution to GNP increased substantially from 11.3% to 23% in Lebanon, and from 5% to 8% in Morocco and from 4% to 5% in Tunisia. In Egypt, where revenues from the Suez canal and oil reserves remain important, remittances from migrants account for 5% of GNP.22

20 Handoussa, Heba/Reiffers, Jean Louis (ed.), Rapport du Femise 2003 saur le partenariat euro-méditerranéen. “p.13.”

21 Events such as the 9/11 attacks, followed by attacks in Luxor, Jerba and Casablanca have reduced the inflow of tourists. The stability of the entire economy as well as the balance of external accounts are compromised in fact. Chaponniere, Jean-Raphaël, Le tourisme, enjeu économique en Méditerranée. “MINEFI – DREE, Paris 2.e

22 by Sergio Alessandrini, Full Professor of Political Economics at Modena and Reggio University and Associate Professor of Corporate Finance in the University Boccioni Accounting Department. Migration and Employment Strategies in the Southern Mediterranean, World Economy 15/9/2008.

Human capacity building and the use and effective contribution of such capacities constitute an engine for sustainable growth and reduction of poverty. Economic growth in turn enhances the possibilities for human development, so sustained and fair growth is an essential factor for human development.

The economic inequalities between MEDA and European countries are reflected in differences in terms of GDP, and employment and unemployment rates.

The human development index developed by the UNDP for 2008 remains an important factor for measuring the development of a country and for ranking it on a world scale. The disparity in the rankings according to the human development index between MEDA and European countries confirms the major divergences already mentioned. The countries in the North are ranked between 6th (Netherlands) and 25th (Greece), whereas the countries in the South are ranked between 83rd and 130th and are very heterogeneous. Israel constitutes an exception, as it is ranked 27th.

Although not sufficient to measure a country’s level of development, per capital GDP 23 is nonetheless an indispensable indicator for comparing economic situations in terms of revenue. The differences between the per capita GDP of the southern Mediterranean countries and those of the North tend to persist if not increase. In 2006, the average per capita income in countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (ca. $6,000) was 4.5 times lower than the average income in the seven Mediterranean countries of the EU27. The Mediterranean countries of the EU27 account for more than 74% of the Mediterranean GDP.24

Comparison of per capita GDP per region in 2005 25

23 The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of all goods and services in a country in the course of one year. The GDP can be calculated by adding all the revenue elements – wages, interest, profits, rents – or, conversely, all the expenditure elements – consumption, investments, public procurement, net exports (exports less imports) – of an Economy. World Bank.

24 World Bank, World Development Indicators (WDI). GDP 2006, and average annual growth rate from 1985 to 2006.

25 The graph shows the data per region, based on arithmetic averages.

80 81

Maghr

eb

Mashr

eq

Israë

l

Palesti

ne

Countr

ies in

the

Nor

th

05000

100001500020000250003000035000

GDP per inhabitant

Source: Our calculations based on data published by the UNDP, World Development, 2007/2008

The graph below requires no further comment given a per capita GDP of $46,750 in the Netherlands and $1,729 in Egypt. Israel is again the exception in the MEDA region with a per capita GDP of $22,835.

Algeria

Egypt

Israë

lJo

rdan

Leba

non

Moroc

co

Syria

Tunis

iaGer

many

Austria

Belgium

Spain

Fran

ceNeth

erlan

dsGre

ece

Italy

United

King

dom

Occup

ied

Pales

tinian

Territ

ories

05000

100001500020000250003000035000400004500050000

GDP per inhabitant in US Dollars in 2007

Source: Human Development Report, UNDP, 2009, pp. 195-198.

The GDP disparities between North and South are very wide (from 7.5 to 20.2), with former immigration countries registering the largest differences compared with new countries, such as Spain and Italy.

Per capita GDP differences between some of the main EU countries that receive migrants from Maghreb, and Central Maghreb 26

Countries Germany Belgium Spain France Italy Netherlands

Morocco 19.0 19.7 12.2 18.5 15.9 20.2

Algeria 13.9 13.6 8.4 12.8 11.0 13.9

Tunisia 11.3 11.7 7.25 11.0 9.5 12.0

Source: Our table is based on 2002 data published by the “Bilan du Monde,” 2004. Le Monde.

In its last report on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in 2009, FEMISE provides a clear analysis of the impact the crisis has had on the Mediterranean, and in particular the ways that the world economic crisis has been propagated to Mediterranean countries, which are not very exposed to financial risks. It identifies four such risks, namely foreign trade, tourism, remittances from migrant workers and direct foreign investment.

The employment rate of the population varies widely between countries in the North and in the South, from 59% (Italy) to 76% (Netherlands) in the North, and 42.5% (Algeria) and 53.65 (Morocco) in the South. The employment rate in Israel is 63.7%.

26 Mehdi Lahlou. (2005). Migrations, causes et interactions avec le développement. “Séminaire méditerranéen de l’OSCE. Rabat 8 / 9 September 2005.”

82 83

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Employment rate

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

Pale

stine

Euro-Mediterranean statistics. Eurostat, 2009, p 88

On the labour market front, an enormous gap divides MEDA countries from countries in the North, as employment growth in countries in the South has not been able to withstand demographic pressures. More specifically, the reforms introduced in the formal sector, the employment crisis, plus the privatisations and redundancies they brought about and the slowness of the private sector to absorb this growing workforce 27 have inevitably led to a sizeable growth of the informal sector.28 Composed of very many tiny companies, this informal sector remains the major provider of employment and income, especially in urban areas. It is said to employ a considerable proportion of the working population in non-agricultural sectors, between 43% and 50% respectively in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The lowest percentage is in Syria (22%).29

The level of female employment in the South is lower than in the North. Only 28% of women aged 15 and over are gainfully employed on average, compared with 48% of women in the North.30 Yet in spite of the low female employment

27 U. Barbak, H. Huitfeidt, J. Wahba. (2006).28 (All economic activities carried out on the margin of the criminal, social and fiscal legislation,

or which escape the National Accounts).29 UNDP, Arab Human Development Report 2009. “P 246.”30 Our calculated averages, based on data published by the UNDP.

rate in MENA31 as a whole, this region registered a higher increase in economic participation than other regions of the world during the years 1990 –2003, i.e. 19%, compared with 3% in the world.32

Employment rate by gender 200733

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

Pale

stine

WomenMen

Source: Euro-Mediterranean statistics. Eurostat, 2009, p. 88.

The fertility rate has dropped considerably in MENA countries in recent years, from 7 to 2.9 children per woman between 1960 and 200834, whilst marrying age has gone up, as has access of women to secondary and higher education. Aspirations for greater empowerment are developing so that demand for employment exceeds supply among women. There is a close correlation between the female employment rate and the fertility rate: in countries with a high fertility rate, few women are gainfully employed.

31 The MENA region has the lowest economic participation rate by women in the world, i.e. 33.3%, whereas the world average is 55.6%. UNDP Arab Human Development Report 2005.

32 UNDP, Arab Human Development Report 2005. Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World. “Volume in Arabic, p. 84.”

33 The graph shows countries for which data are available. 34 UNDP, world population prospects: the 2006 revision population database (online, September

2007), http://esa.un.org/undp.

84 85

The nature of the job is also an inducing variable. More specifically, female employment is relatively pronounced in the agricultural sector in countries in the South. This is particularly the case in Morocco, Syria, Egypt and Palestine, where employment in agriculture remains a priority and exceeds 50%. The situation is completely different in other MEDA countries, where nearly 35% to 58% of women work in the agricultural sector, at times exceeding the male employment rate in Morocco, Syria, Egypt and Palestine. In countries where agriculture predominates, women are highly integrated as seasonal agricultural workers, family helpers, with a tiny proportion having the status of farmer.

Very few women in the North work in the agricultural sector. The highest percentage is in Greece, where agriculture accounts for 14% of overall female employment (1% to 6% for the other EU countries). These data are illustrated in the graph below.

Female employment per sector

0102030405060708090

100

Algeria

Egypt

Israë

l

Syria

Jord

anMor

occo

German

yAus

triaBelg

iumSpa

inFr

ance

Hollan

d

Greec

e

Italy

United

King

dom

Palesti

ne

Agriculture

Industry

Service

Source: Human Development Report, 2007/2008

The proportion of women in services is very high in European countries, exceeding that of men by 15% to 20%. This is a rapidly developing sector in the MEDA countries, in Morocco and Egypt where the number of women in this sector exceeds that of men, due to the growing importance of tourism.

The proportion of women senior civil servants is generally still lower than that of women clerical workers, whether in the North or the South of the Mediterranean. The struggle of women to occupy positions of responsibility is shared by all women, and breaking the ceiling is taking time, given the resistance from and persistence of the patriarchical society at various degrees in countries of the Mediterranean region.

Women in the South in senior positions of responsibility are rare, as shown by the graph below. Fewer than 10% of women in the South occupy positions of responsibility. Those who have a job usually execute tasks, whereas men are better represented in conceptual and decision-making positions – particularly among the public authorities and political positions. The female workforce that arrives on the labour market encounters numerous structural, cultural and family-related obstacles. In a rather inefficient economy, with sexist preconceptions of the roles in the family and in society (with the husband as sole and unique provider for the needs of the family, and the wife relegated to a reproductive role and the household chores; when a woman does work, her salary is deemed as extra income and not as an effective contribution to the household budget), economic integration is hindered in the very least, and the unemployment rate among women and young people remains quite high.

86 87

Female employment per socio-professional category and per region35

High-ranking female civil servants and managers

Female employees in the professional and technical sectors

Moroc

coPale

stine

0

2010

4050

30

60

Countr

ies in

the N

orth

Egypt

Israë

l

Source: Human Development Report, 2007/2008

The relatively high percentage of non-remunerated female employment in the South reveals the vulnerability of certain sectors and the precarious nature of female employment. The percentage of women working under precarious conditions with low salaries and without social security is very high in countries in the South, exceeding 34% on average, as opposed to only 3% in countries in the North and 0.5% in Israel.

Vulnerable, non-remunerated female employment per region in 2006

Men

Women

Moroc

coPale

stine

Syria

0

2010

4050

30

60

Algeria

Egypt

Israë

l

German

yAus

triaBelg

iumFr

ance

Greec

eIta

ly

United

King

dom

Source: World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2008

35 The data are calculated from arithmetic averages according to information available. For countries in the South, data are available only for Morocco, Egypt and Palestine.

The development of female entrepreneurship that provides women with new opportunities to generate higher income is worth underscoring. A study conducted by the World Bank in five MENA countries,36 Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, and the UAE, i.e. concerning three MEDA countries, showed that female entrepreneurship in its modern form is a completely recent phenomenon, as only 13% of companies are managed by women. Lebanese women are the oldest in the business worlds, followed by Tunisian and Jordanian women. Business women are involved as much as men in the management of their businesses, they are aged between 35 and 54, have a high level of education and training, and are generally married: 72% in Tunisia, 61% in Jordan and 56% in Lebanon.

The management of their businesses is identical to that of men, but businesswomen seem to be closer to their employees than their male colleagues. Three characteristics define female entrepreneurship in all MENA countries, namely that most business women work in a family setting where the influence of the entrepreneur father is more important than that of the husband, recourse to bank loans tends to be more limited among women, and finally most of the businesses created belong to the service sector.37

Studies on an international scale show that the increase in female income leads to high expenditure for the well-being of the family, the nutrition and education of the children, in particular the girls. Similarly, unemployment among women affects first the lifestyle of those most dependent in the family, namely children and the elderly.

The unemployment rate of women as shown in the graph below is higher than that of men for countries on both sides of the Mediterranean, but nonetheless higher for women in the South: more than 10% of these women are unemployed, compared with less than 6% of women in countries in the North.38 The variations between men and women vary widely, from 0.2% (Germany) and 7.6% (Greece), to 0% (Morocco) to 15.3% (Jordan) and 14.1% (Syria).

36 IFC, International Finance Corporation. And CAWTAR, Center for Arab Women for Training and Research. Women entrepreneurs in the middle East and North Africa.2007.www.ifc.org/GEM

37 Aicha Belarbi. (2008). Quels rôles jouent les femmes d’affaires arabes dans le développement économique. Congrès sur le rôle du secteur privé dans le développement et la promotion de l’emploi. “Organisation Arabe du Travail, Rabat, 21-23 October 2008. 45 p.”

38 Our calculations based on the arithmetic average.

88 89

Unemployment rate by gender 2007

AlgeriaEg

ypt

Palesti

ne

Tunisi

a

Syria

Morocc

o

Austria

BelgiumSp

ainFra

nceNeth

erlands

GreeceIta

ly

United Kingdom

Israë

lJo

rdan

Leban

on

German

y

0 51015202530

Men Women

Euro-Mediterranean statistics. Eurostat, 2009, p 90.

The case of Morocco remains specific, where female employment seems high, given the development of the informal sector, family aid little if at all remunerated in rural areas, and above all the constancy of seasonal female workers which keep female unemployment down.

These virtually non-existent differences in countries like Morocco, or slight differences in Algeria and Lebanon, tend to increase in Mashreq countries. Israel is a special case, with an unemployment rate similar to that of European countries (6.9%) and a minimal difference between men and women (1.1%).

Women in MEDA countries suffer enormously from the deficit in access to the labour market with an unemployment rate that reaches 25.6% in Jordan, 19.9% in Syria, 19.4% in the Palestinian territories, 18.6% in Egypt, 17.8% in Tunisia and 14.4% in Algeria. The reasons for this high unemployment rate are not completely identical in Mashreq and Maghreb.

In Maghreb, the weight of tradition remains dominant, along with inappropriate legislative provisions (family code, labour code). Furthermore, the outlets and the existence of inefficient economic structures continue to prevent married women with small children from accessing the labour market. In Mashreq, women comply more with the demands of tradition than women in Maghreb, who are far more affected by the vagaries and discriminations of the market.

Youth unemployment remains a major international concern. Upon graduating from universities or training institutes, young people encounter serious difficulties to find work, to join the ranks of the gainfully employed and to get a job that corresponds to their training. This explains the deep crisis of unemployed graduates which is assuming alarming proportions in MEDA countries. Some alternative measures have been taken in European and MEDA countries to remedy this situation, but the questions remains particularly critical, especially in countries in the South.

Unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Alge

ria

Egyp

t

Palestine

Jordan

Leba

non

Morocco

Syria

Austria

Belgium

Spain

Fran

ce

Nethe

rland

s

Greece

Italy

United

King

dom

Israël

German

y

Unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24

Euro-Mediterranean statistics. Eurostat, 2009, p. 88.

In northern countries, these rates are between 8.5% (Austria) and 22.9% (Greece). They vary in MEDA countries depending on the country: 17.2% in Syria, 34.7% in Jordan, 17% in Morocco, 31.4% in Tunisia and 24.3% in Algeria.

Young people aged 15 to 24 are the most vulnerable in Mashreq, where youth unemployment can reach 35%, as in the Palestinian Territories and Jordan. The state of war in Palestine and the proximity of Jordan in the conflict zone remain a serious obstacle to the promotion of economic activity in these countries. The many efforts taken by Jordan, such as cooperation with the EU through the association agreement, the signing of a free trade agreement

90 91

with the USA, have not managed to curb these high unemployment rates, all the more so as the high fertility rate risks perpetuating the situation.

The growth of the working age population (i.e. people between 15-64) in MEDA countries has put the governments before a new challenge. Either because they had no development policy or because they lacked sufficient resources, these governments could not manage the volume of new entrants in the labour market. That is why the unemployment rate, especially among young women, remains high.

Unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

AlgeriaEg

ypt

Leban

onMoro

cco

Austria

BelgiumSp

ainFra

nceNeth

erlands

GreeceIta

ly

United Kingdom

Israë

lJo

rdan

German

y

Palesti

ne

Men Women

Euro-Mediterranean statistics. Eurostat, 2009, p. 90

The unemployment rate differences between men and women among the former is eminently important, ranging from 0.7% in Tunisia, to 1% in Lebanon and 2.4% in Morocco, compared with 30.7% in Egypt and 10.4% in Jordan. For Algeria and Palestine, it is around 9%. These differences should nonetheless be put into perspective with European countries by pointing out that the gender gap is still sizeable in certain EU countries, such as Greece, where it stands at 16.4%. In Israel, a breakdown by age class shows no serious disparities between men and women in terms of unemployment – only 2%.

Unemployment, which hits women aged 15 to 24 in MEDA countries harder, and their lesser economic participation compared with men, are explained

more particularly by the massive arrival of women of this age group on the labour market once they graduate. Their knowledge and skills are put to little use on the employment market in view of their studies (often literature), the enhanced demand for work before marriage, the discrimination of young women because of maternity, the pay inequalities which are more pronounced in the private than in the public sector39 and a lack of childminding facilities.

Deprived of the means to earn a living and to join the world of work, these young adults make up a class of disgruntled, anti-establishment people more inclined to migrate.

The economic differences between North and South are such that they are evidenced increasingly in the field of education and access to technology.

Four variables seem pertinent in order to broach cultural factors and their impact on the migration phenomenon: the degree of adult literacy, the level of education by gender and level, government spending on education and access to modern technology.

39 A World Bank study (2004) on the MENA region estimates that when a man earns $1, a woman earns $0.73, i.e. 27 cents less. This situation is explained by a difference in qualifications or by gender discrimination. In Les femmes et le développement économique en méditerranée. “FEMISE, April 2006. P 13.”

92 93

Literacy rate among adults aged 15 and over by gender

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

AlgeriaEg

ypt

Israë

l

Jord

anLe

banon

Morocc

oPale

stine

Syria

Tunisi

aGerm

any

Austria

Belgium

Spain

France

Netherla

ndsGreece

Italy

United

Kingdom

Men

Women

Source: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

Female literacy, a process nearly completed in European countries, is in full development in the MEDA region. Yet in spite of the efforts made in recent years on this front, progress remains limited and variable from one country to another. Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Tunisia have gradually managed to eradicate illiteracy among the young generation of women, whereas Algeria, Egypt and especially Morocco are lagging far behind.

In European countries, female illiteracy belongs to the history of the 19th century, although there are some small lingering pockets, particularly in Greece. The young generation has been spared. It is more in competition for knowledge in the information and communication society and is engaged in a struggle for another type of literacy, i.e. digital literacy.

In spite of the success of Arab countries in girls’ education, by reducing the differences between the sexes in the three levels of education, primary education for girls is weak in the different MEDA countries, whereas their access to secondary education shows considerable lag which worsens in higher education. This disparity between the three levels of education is small in countries in the North, especially in higher education, where 60%

of women attend colleges and universities, and 100% attend primary and secondary school.

As shown in the graph below, access to higher education and, to a lesser extent, secondary education, is relatively limited for women in the South: 42% of women in Mashreq, and 22% of women in Maghreb have access to higher education, compared with 75% of women in countries in the North.

Women’s education by level and by country

Gross enrolment rate of women in primary education

Gross enrolment rate of women in higher education

Gross enrolment rate of women in secondary education

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Alg

eria

Egypt

Isra

ël

Jord

an

Lebanon

Moro

cco

Pale

stine

Syrie

Tunisia

Germ

any

Austria

Belg

ium

Spain

Fra

nce

Neth

erlands

Gre

ece

Italy

United K

ingdom

Source: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

Nevertheless, in spite of the constant increase in the number of women attending higher education, their studies are generally geared to literature and the social sciences, and to a lesser extent to natural sciences and medicine. These disciplines do not often open ways to employment. This characteristic is not specific to MEDA or MENA countries, but assumes more sizeable proportions since the most attractive professions for women are the civil service, teaching and medicine.

Girls often perform better than boys in nearly all the MEDA countries, at all levels.40 Parents in urban areas, especially the well to do, invest in the education of and support their daughters throughout their degree course, providing extra courses that become indispensable for obtaining conclusive

40 Human Development Report, “2005, op cit. pp. 75-78.”

94 95

results. They therefore encourage them to choose the best courses which were generally reserved for boys. Education is therefore turned into an instrument for reinforcing the social stratification, but one geared to

eliminating gender discrimination.

Gross enrolment rate for women per level and per region41

Gross enrolment

rate of women in

primary education

Gross enrolment

rate of women

in secondary

education

Gross enrolment

rate of women in

higher education

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Israël European

countries

PalestinianMaghreb Mashreq

Source: Our graph based on data published by the UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

Relatively few girl students study science, engineering or production and construction in countries in the North and the South alike, ranging from 15% (Netherlands) to 31% (Greece), and 18% (Occupied Palestinian Territories) to 24% (Lebanon). The rate in Israel is 38%.42

The efforts made by the MEDA countries in education are explained by the expenditures which have continued to rise since these countries gained independence. The structural adjustment programmes have tended to stabilise or reduce them, depending on the country. Nevertheless, expenditures in education represent a near similar average in MEDA and European countries, i.e. 5.3%43 and 5.1% of GDP respectively.

41 The calculations were based on the arithmetic average per region. 42 UNDP. World Human Development Report. “2007-2008. pp. 269-271.”43 MEDA countries for which figures are available are Jordan , Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.

The World Bank Report44 shows that countries in the MENA region invest a higher proportion of their gross domestic products in education than the world’s other regions, but they must still acquire high quality education systems at all levels, and promote a system of continuing education and training adapted to the needs of the market.

Government expenditures in education per country between 2002 and 2005

public expenditure on education in % of GDP 2002-2005876543210

Israë

l

Jord

anLe

bano

nMor

occo

Tunis

ia

German

y

Spain

Austria

Belgium

Fran

ceHoll

and

Greec

e

Italy

United

King

dom

Source: UNDP, World Development, 2007 /2008

It must nonetheless be borne in mind that education and the acquisition of knowledge in the information age are closely connected to technology. The limits relating to technology may explain the difficulty of certain countries to raise the level of attainments of the population. More specifically, the educational disparities between the countries of the North and of the South constitute one of the explanatory bases for the differences in access to information and knowledge technologies, reflecting an elitist education that affects both men and women.

The MEDA countries are making considerable efforts to catch up, but the high cost of the infrastructure relating to knowledge highways, the persistence of information control, the unequal sharing of knowledge, and the difficulties relating to the freedom of communication simply widen the gap between these countries and European countries. A favourable environment, a political opening and democratisation of institutions as well as a fair justice system are prerequisites to the establishment of the information society.

44 Dina El Naggar. World Bank. MENA 2008, “p 5”.

96 97

“Good governance45 is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development” Kofi Annan, US Secretary General.

The countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean are still lagging far behind in terms of democratisation and system of governance.

Furthermore, the persisting conflicts that rage in the region, particularly the conflict between Israel and Palestine, have a decisive impact on the economic development of MEDA countries, on the establishment of South-South cooperation, and the efficiency of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. The civil war in Lebanon (1975-1991) led to the collapse of modern integration institutions.46 It aggravated ethnic and identity problems and caused economic decline leading to a deterioration of the quality of life, in particular among the middle classes and the poor, and emigration on a massive scale during this period: the intellectual elite, men and women, businessmen, professional and denominational groups.

In Maghreb, the conflict around the Sahara (Moroccan South) has flamed tensions and rivalries between Algeria and Morocco for decades, preventing the construction of the greater Maghreb and the development of horizontal

45 The concept of “governance:” definition and measure. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, the concept of “governance”, unlike the conventional term of “government”, does not describe organic institutions, but rather “the rules of the game”, processes, modes of organising decision-making and public action. Its use refers to a new way of exercising power, in a new social and institutional context, based on the appearance of new players in the public interest alongside the State, the multiplication of the levels of negotiation, the questioning of the Nation-State, i.e. the traditional framework for exercising popular sovereignty and political power. Finally, this concept has a strong standard-setting dimension, because when the term “governance” is used, what is often meant is “good governance”, drawing inspiration from «corporate governance»: this is essentially a matter of applying, to the public sector, the organisational principles that ensure economic efficiency in the private sector (evaluation, obligation of result and not of means, etc.), in Calamé 2004, op cit, p 13.

46 Fatima Charafeddine (1996). The change in Lebanon after the recent war and prospects for a solution (in Arabic). In Conférence sur la gestion des transformations sociales dans la région des Etats arabes. ”Tunis 26-28 February 1996. UNESCO.”

cooperation.47 The violence in Algeria between 1989 and 1998 against men (murders, assassinations, kidnappings, attacks) and women -- against those women who allegedly transgress social standards or gender boundaries, have been factors of instability and emigration.

The fight against terrorism and the sporadic attacks due to the rise of Islamism in many MEDA countries – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt, -- very hard conflicts for the region to support, have fractioned the budgets of these countries, as a large part has been earmarked for defence,48 and have hindered the economic and social development of the region.

The conflicts, development deficits, slow reforms, and the protectionist spirit have led to the following main results:

1. Difficulties to create a large southern Mediterranean market, and the flight of investors; and, for the case of Maghreb;

2. The development of a major migration flow in three directions: the Gulf countries, the European countries, and North America;

3. Constant violations of human rights.

Radical political changes have taken place in recent years in the way governments in the MEDA countries operate. The political systems have started to open up to greater democratisation, considerable progress has been made in terms of participation in political life and the enhanced intervention

47 These conflicts preclude any prospects of establishing an integrated economic and political area. The Mashreq countries have not managed to establish economic cooperation between them, and efforts made by the Arab League since 1998 to create an Arab free trade area have run into many obstacles due essentially to the protectionist spirit that prevails in Arab countries. Great hopes were placed in the Agadir Declaration and the creation of a free trade area between southern Mediterranean countries, but from the time that it was signed in 2004 until today, only the four signatory countries -- Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan – have continued to negotiate without any opening to the other signatory countries of the association agreement with the EU.

48 Defence spending continues to exceed spending on education or health in Lebanon (9% of total spending), Israel (18% of total spending) and in Jordan (24% of total spending). In Egypt and Morocco, it represented between 10% and 15% of overall spending. Calamé, op cit, p 23.

98 99

of the civil society through many initiatives, with a broadening of the public space and the defence of fundamental freedoms.

The militancy of Arab intellectuals and the civil society, international pressures, and the implementation of the Beijing platform have borne fruit to goad governments to review and even change the family codes, advocate new measures to get women to take part in the political life, and introduce new mechanisms to deal with violence against women.

The debate on human rights is no longer taboo. It is part of governmental programmes. Ministries, councils or other institutions of human rights have been created.

Nevertheless, in spite of all these reforms and international commitments, the reports of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or Arab institutes of human rights attest to a constant violation of the rights of men and women, workers, the civil society and above all of transit migrants who take up temporary residence in southern Mediterranean territories whilst waiting to cross to Europe.

As regards the laws, equal rights are of course accorded to all citizens on both sides of the Mediterranean, as all the countries of the region recognise such rights without distinction as to race, gender or religion.

Many constitutions of MEDA countries include articles on equality between men and women, equality at work, in education, political rights, and equality in general in rights and obligations, focusing on equal opportunities. However, there is a gap between these laws and the reality that women face.

The issue of the political participation of women has arrived far later in MEDA countries than in Europe – certainly after these countries gained independence and in the effervescence of nationalist movements, inspired and guided by the dynamics of the Arab renaissance, that considered that the suppression of male domination in the name of religion or tradition was a condition sine qua non for the awakening of a people and its women.

The women’s movements in Mashreq, with Egypt in the vanguard,49 for the emancipation and visibility of women, propagated in Syria and Lebanon through the women’s press, and women in the Maghreb engaged in the national liberation struggles, created the premises for Arab feminism – guided initially by men and then taken over by women during their struggles for liberation, democracy and human rights. The legislators in the Arab world were consequently constrained to take account of the legitimate claims of half the population and to grant women the first political rights, such as the right to vote and stand for elected office. The three MEDA countries that granted these rights to women were Lebanon in 1952, followed by Egypt in 1956 and Tunisia in 1959. In the beginning of the 1960s, Algeria and Morocco followed suit, in 1962 and 1963 respectively; whereas Syria, which was the first Arab country in favour of granting women the vote (1945), completed its policy mix in 2003.

49 Duriyah Chafiq. An Egyptian feminist who conducted a major campaign for the political rights of women. She organised a sit-in in front of the Parliament in 1951. Egyptian women obtained the right to vote in 1956.

100 101

For the MEDA countries, whereas Egypt and Tunisia complied with the principles of law, it took some time from the moment that the right to vote was granted to a women being sent to Parliament: Syria and Morocco, where women gained the right to vote in 1945 and 1963 respectively, elected a woman in 1973 and 1993. Women were of course more mobilised to elect men, because very few of them stood for election. It is worth underscoring that in many MEDA countries, the women’s vote has been manipulated by the political parties and the public authorities to elect the male candidates of their choice. They took advantage of their illiteracy and their level of poverty to create a human mass in the service of politics in general.

For Algeria, the first woman in Parliament was appointed after the war in 1962, when it was only fair for the public authorities to appoint a woman in Parliament in recognition of the contribution of women in the struggle for the liberation of their countries, whereas in Lebanon and Jordan, owing to internal strife, the domination of a tribal spirit, and the management of multiple religious denominations, the choice has weighed more in favour of appointing then electing women.

The case of Israel is exceptional, as from the moment the country was established in the region, it opted for greater equality between men and women, as it received a multiethnic population that had lived mostly in democratic countries.

It was nonetheless in the 1990s, and especially after the world conferences on human rights in Vienna (1993) and in Beijing (1995) on women, that claims for access to politics were stepped up in the North as well as in the South. The European Charter of Human Rights insists on the fact that equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas (Article 23), and in the meantime, many European countries have opted for parity in political authorities. Other initiatives have been taken in MEDA countries, such as the use of quotas and other positive action measures.

In spite of all these measures and commitments, the number of women in the parliaments and governments of the South, and even in the North, remains relatively small.

The graphs below require little comment:

Proportion of women in Parliament in 2007

Women in parliament

05

10152025303540

Algeria

Egypt

Israë

l

Jord

anLe

bano

nMor

occo

Syria

Tunis

ia

German

yAus

triaBelg

iumFr

ance

Greec

e

Italy

United

King

dom

Source: World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2008

Proportion of women in government in 2005

Women sitting in government in 200560

61020304050

Algeria

Egypt

Israë

l

Jord

anLe

bano

nMor

occo

Syria

Tunis

ia

Austria

Belgium

Spain

Fran

ceHoll

and

Greec

eIta

ly

United

King

dom

Source: UNDP, Human Development Report, 2007/2008

The presence of women in decision-making posts, whether in the executive or the legislative branch, does not often reflect a national policy in favour of equality between men and women. Many MEDA countries are adapting to the Beijing platform and are endeavouring to project a positive image as a modern, democratic society. The New policy of the Middle East partnership

102 103

Initiative (MEPI) is geared fully to the empowerment of women, as it tends to impose a system of quotas and better representation of women in political authorities.

Many women in decision-making positions are chosen from a certain elite and in accordance with political obedience to the party or parties in government. It is not easy to pave the way of women to come to power in tribal and patriarchal societies.

A democratic society is judged by the way it treats women. And the wager of the place of women in Mediterranean societies is dissociable from the challenge of democratic enhancement and the requirement of political, social and cultural reforms.

Whereas the MEDA countries have opted for economic liberalism and have become integrated in free trade areas, and are endeavouring to catch up in world markets and to establish democracies, the choices relating to the legal mechanism that governs the family and the status of women in society are highly ambiguous.

The personal status codes in the MEDA countries draw inspiration from the sacred text (the Koran), laws which were often deliberately interpreted and codified by the omnipresent patriarchal system resolved to maintain the domination over women. These texts have however been discussed extensively in the recent decades by feminists and have come under many national, regional and international pressures. Furthermore, the dawning of the new century witnessed the introduction of reforms in legislations to put an end to the inequality and discrimination suffered by women in the family. Nevertheless, if the text is religiously inspired, the legislator must rely on the most progressive and modernist interpretations, and resort to ijtihad to be able to respond to the new status of women in contemporary society.

Tunisia was the first country in the Arab world to adopt, already in 1957, a fairer personal status law, due to the secularisation processes initiated by

President Habib Bourguiba50 as soon as the country gained independence. Morocco also introduced very bold changes with the reform of 2003 which broached the question of the legal inequality between men and women and the restoration of balance in relations in the family. In 2005, Algeria made certain amendments to the family code of 1984. Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, which are faced with religious plurality in the codes, have endeavoured to introduce amendments in recent years.

There is still a wide gap between the contents of the reform, their implementation and their media coverage. “Far from the speeches of the state capitalising on the role and functions of women and exhibiting their emancipation as a window of modernity, the Tunisian women asked during a survey on the contrary underscored the violence against them, which increases with their visibility in the public space, highlighting the persisting conservatism in the private sphere, discrimination of all sorts, and machismo.”51 If socio-cultural resistance persists in Tunisia 50 years after the most progressive code was introduced in the region, what is to be said about Morocco, with a relatively more traditional social structure and a code that has existed for six years only?

It therefore appears that the changes to the rights of women in the MEDA countries, and more particularly to the personal status code, address the general concern to adapt legislative provisions to the social changes that have occurred in recent decades; but they also reveal how complex it is to extract family law from the Muslim legal framework, and continue to run up against resistance: the expression of a society that fears to have its foundations undermined by an aggressive modernity that touches its very core, i.e. woman and the family.

In spite of this legal arsenal, the rights of women continue to be violated and their personal freedom threatened. Women in the South live this drama more intensely than in the North, because of the deficit of the rule of law and the persistence of a tradition of silence the among women.

50 Sana’ Benachour (2007), Le code du statu personnel Tunisian 50 ans après. Les dimensions de l’ambivalence in Année du Maghreb. Dossier femmes familles et droit. “Ed CNRS. Paris, Dir karima Dirèche Slimani. pp. 55-70.”

51 Ilhem Marzouki (2007), La conquête de la banalisation par le code Tunisian du statut personnel. “Année du Maghreb 2007, op cit. p. 71-96.”

104 105

Violence against women is a general phenomenon that has become a concern for governments, the civil society and the international community. Many different measures have been taken to make people aware that violence against women is a form of discrimination that has to be countered.

Several types of violence against women have been recorded, including poverty, especially in single-parent families, legislation (personal status code and labour code), which legitimise the discrimination against women, the trafficking of women and domestic abuse which are found on both sides of the Mediterranean and affect rich and poor classes alike.

Up until recently, violence against women in the MEDA countries was still a taboo issue. It was considered as something private. Studies on the subject are still limited in many countries. Women intellectuals and women’s NGOs, with international cooperation, have given the subject greater visibility and have goaded governments to get involved.

Domestic abuse and violence are widespread in countries in the North and the South. In Europe, one woman in five is a victim of domestic violence; statistics are not available for the countries in the South.

Honour crimes as tribal traditions are still in force in certain MEDA countries such as Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt, such as the premeditated murder of a woman by a father, brother or husband in case of behaviour deemed immoral owing to rape, and especially a pregnancy outside marriage. The law is often on the side of the murderer, who is frequently punished lightly, because he is seen as a hero who restores the family honour. Statistics available on the matter are rare, dispersed and often compiled by NGOs or women’s tribunals. The Arab Human Development Report 200552 states that between May 2004 and March 2005, twenty women were killed in Palestine, in addition to 15 aborted attempts, while it indicates that there are 20 honour crimes per year in Jordan. It is worth underscoring that these crimes often mask incestuous acts or the interests of males to get a larger share of an

52 UNDP, op cit. p. 110.

inheritance (UNIFEM 2005). Fifty-two such crimes were recorded for Egypt in 1995, and 12 in Lebanon in 1998.53

Excision, another form of violence against young girls and women, is a dangerous act, in both physical and psychological terms. It is still common practice in Egypt. In an opinion survey conducted in 2000, 80% of the women interview, who have young girls, stated that they had them undergo an excision operation54 or are preparing to do so. The main reasons for the perpetuation of this phenomenon are illiteracy, residing in a rural area, and certain beliefs in force. The aforementioned study specifies that eight rural women out of ten believe and assert that men prefer women who have undergone excision, compared with four urban women out of ten. The State certainly recognises that this practice has nothing to do with Islam, as the Koran speaks of circumcision, practised by Jews and Muslims, and not excision, which is more of a Pharaonic tradition. In Egypt, the Council of State itself recognised the danger of this practice in 1997, and recommended that the operation be performed under medical supervision. It can be noted with satisfaction that a prohibition of sexual mutilation act was adopted by the Egyptian Parliament in 2008. But the most important work remains to be done, namely awareness- raising campaigns, training and above all a far greater firmness against those who continue to subject their little girls to the practice.

It is important to detect the violence against women in conflict areas. Often subjected to a perpetual lack of healthcare, education and reproductive health, and faced with the death of their loved ones from up close, Palestinian women are hit hard. The war in Lebanon was a case in point that showed all the aggressiveness against others, the most exposed being women.

Violence in Algeria between 1989 and 1998 has left indelible traces in the country and in collective memory. Physical attacks on women began against women students assaulted in university residence halls by armed young people – a situation monitored by Algerian women activists, often French-speaking, journalists, college students and even women workers and charwomen. The victims tended to be women living alone, divorced, widows or unmarried. Many young girls were abducted and held in Islamist maquis, victims of alleged temporary marriages or marriages of enjoyment (al

53 UNDP, Arab Human Development Report 2009. “p 86.”54 UNDP* AHDR, op. cit. p. 111.

106 107

mut’a).55 This terror continued between 1995 and 1996, even more savagely. The women of Hassi Messaoud who were attacked collectively and killed are the most significant example. Radical Islamists made the subject of women their hobbyhorse by establishing strict boundaries between the sexes: no mixing, the veil was imposed, confinement, and keeping women at home.

Another type of violence has to do with human trafficking – a very lucrative business whose victims are essentially women and children who are dragged through the most degrading forms of trafficking and servitude. The trafficking of women is often used for domestic services, sexual exploitation and forced labour. At the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, the MEDA is a region that receives, sends and handles the transit of such trafficking.

Migrant women in an irregular situation are often the victims of trafficking. They remain very vulnerable and continue to suffer more than others from male violence, and especially the violence of laws and practices, when they wish to go to court or when they ask for financial or psychological assistance or to initiate proceedings.

The development of the status of women is one of the fundamental elements that reflects the degree of democratisation of political regimes and the level of economic and social development of a country. The problem of modernisation of society in MEDA countries, and more particularly the status of women, is in fact directly related to that of the construction of a modern state and the political, economic and socio-cultural reforms implemented.

Tangible changes have occurred in recent years in MEDA countries and have transformed the family structure, getting women to break their silence and to assert claims for a better life. The drop in the fertility rate, access by women to education and the labour market, their demands for the protection of their rights, the establishment of gender equality, and the demand for political participation have led to far-reaching reforms making women citizens even more visible. Nevertheless, constraints persist and hinder the way

55 Camille Lacoste Dujardin, Violence en Algérie contre les femmes. In Masculin féminin au Maghreb et en immigration. “Pp. 19- 31.”

charted by women, women’s NGOs and human rights for a modern, fair and egalitarian society.

The drop in the fertility rate has not been accompanied by the other economic and sociological indicators. The development of the nuclear family, the postponing of marriage, and contraception have not introduced major upheavals in the life of women and families. They have been integrated slowly in the traditional way of life and have adapted well to the cultural and religious conservatism. Having fewer children reflects a new pragmatism; it is far more a way to lighten the burden of family expenditures, and to ensure the well being of the family than a means to change marital relations.

The female population of the MEDA countries and Arab countries in general has received far more education than previous generations. Nevertheless, women do not embark on new fields of activity, but continue to focus on literatures and professions connected more to maternity and childcare, which enable them to be more available to attend to the domestic needs of the family. Similarly, whereas they are called upon to work, negotiate and mix with man at work, they do so always under the watchful eye of the men, or with self-censorship that they have assumed fully.

For their part, the personal status codes are subjected to a permanent political game which oscillates between positive law and Islamic orthodoxy. The Arab governments which have proceeded with such changes in personal status codes have always faced a dilemma: the most courageous among them adopted the method of the ijtihad (Tunisia and Morocco), the others have remained more prudent in their attempts at reform so as not to anger religious movements and men in general. As a result, such issues as the suppression of polygamy,56 equality for inheritance and the transmission of nationality from the mother57 are not subject to discussion.

In politics, quotas have been granted to women, a positive action for which they have fought long and hard, but it is the men of the parties that give the green light for a woman to be elected, who control the careers of activists and who at times exclude them because of nepotism and clientelism. Even if

56 The Tunisian Code does not recognise polygamy. The Moroccan code has simply introduced restrictions. 57 The right of transmission of nationality from a woman to her husband and children in case of

marriage with a foreigner is not granted to women in MEDA countries, with the exception of Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.

108

legislations have been questioned, the mentality has changed little, accepting women more for their economic contribution than for control of their bodies, encouraging them to take part in public life so as to be marshalled in their own policies.

In brief, the many changes that have taken place in the life of women in MEDA countries do not question the patriarchal structure of society. The new behaviour has been re-interpreted for a better adaptation in societies in which differential socialisation and the sexual division of labour are embedded.

To be sure, the strong demographic growth of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the increasing needs of the population and the democratic deficit weakened the modernity project that developed after independence. It upset the reconstruction of a coherent society project with a strong social content, where woman was the node. Thus, religion becomes a unique and indispensable means of protection against modernity and the invasive globalisation, and is used to preserve the power of men.

Whereas the economic, political and socio-cultural differences between the two sides of the Mediterranean are tangible and tend to grow wider, an elite of both sexes with a Western education is growing in the different MEDA countries. This elite does not need to emigrate because the gates of Europe, whose standards and values it conveys in large measure, are open to it. But what about the masses who are left on the side, who aspire to a strong economic integration, to quality education and healthcare for themselves and their children? They have looked for work for years after graduation, then were resigned to seek another way of life and do something different elsewhere. The phantom of migration hangs over them, shrouds them and dangles the prospect of life being viable only elsewhere.

And yet, many women are not prompted to migrate by their own choice. In societies where they are overprotected, they cannot take off this armour that weighs on them and their fate and decide to go all on their own. They are motivated to leave, and desire to discover other places, and in so doing escape family constraints. But actually doing so is the hardest and most delicate part of the undertaking. Why do they leave? This is a pertinent question that we shall try to answer in the next chapter.

112 113

Introduction ........................................................................................114

1. Principal international conventions on migration ......................115

1.1. UN legal arsenal ................................................................................. 115

1.1.1. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families of 1990 .......................................................... 116

1.2. ILO Conventions: old protection for migrant workers .................. 119

2. Regional legal arsenal: European and MEDA countries .............122

2.1. Common European migration policy ................................................. 122

2.2. MEDA countries: a migration policy focused on employment ....... 125

3. Migration in the agreements by and between EU and MEDA countries .131

4. Bilateral agreements on migration ..............................................134

4.1. Labour force agreements ..................................................................... 135

4.2. Migration flow management agreements .......................................... 138

Conclusion ............................................................................................140

114 115

Economic and socio-cultural factors determine migration in general, and female migration in particular. In parallel with such factors, however, a large number of institutions play a vital role in spurring and shaping the migration flows.

These institutions, which produce laws, intervene in the negotiations and sign cooperation agreements that tend to organise the migration flows, ensure the integration of migrations in the production chains and in the host countries, and guarantee their rights. Nevertheless, the imposing and rapidly changing regulatory framework rarely draws a distinction between male and female migrants, but treats human rights in general.

In this part on the legal and regulatory aspect, an attempt will be made to present the international treaties and conventions on the protection of the rights of migrants submitted for ratification by the States, and the regulatory framework (declarations, resolutions, communications and directives) which regulate the management of migration flows, the reception of migrants and their possible return.

The aim is not to conduct an exhaustive analysis of the international legislation that governs migration. Particular attention will be paid to the question of family reunification, given the importance of this process in the migration of women from MEDA countries, and the number of them that reach Europe.

The legislative and regulatory framework will be broached on three levels:

the workforce.

Important provisions on the rights of migrants are contained in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous UN treaties and ILO conventions.

The UN has established seven instruments recognised as fundamental treaties on human rights, consisting of two covenants and five conventions for the protection of human rights at all levels and in all areas. These are the:

Discrimination - 1965

against Women - 1979

The importance of these covenants and conventions1 lies first and foremost in the general coverage of human rights that apply to migrants in the same away as to all citizens and thus constitute the foundation of the rights of migrants. Their implementation is surrounded by some confusion however, because of their dispersion through different instruments, which makes it even more difficult to articulate them.

1 It has actually been shown that the second part of these covenants and conventions was signed and ratified by most European and MEDA countries.

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The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families of 1990 is the only instrument relating to the rights of migrants. This Convention does not define new rights for migrant workers, but rather reiterates fundamental rights enshrined by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and defined by international conventions adopted by most States. The Convention is far more intended to attract the attention of the international community on the precarious situation of migrant workers and the neglect of their rights.

The protection of the rights of migrant workers and especially of members of their families is at the core of this convention. The right to start a family is for that matter one of the fundamental human rights recognised unconditionally at the national and international levels. The major conventions on human rights expressly establish a right to family reunion: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

Whereas several international conventions confer rights on migrants and protect them against all forms of abuse and discrimination, the International convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants and Members of their Families is the most recent and most complete. It entered into force on 1 July 2003, 13 years after it was adopted by the United Nations on 18 December 1990. It is the most complete international convention on the rights of migrants and their families. It defines international standards for the treatment, living conditions and rights of such workers, irrespective of their status, regular or irregular, and it also establishes the obligations and responsibilities of the host countries.

The convention guarantees the fundamental (civil and political) rights of all migrant workers, protects them against torture and forced labour and aims to ensure their rights for a fair treatment, security of person and freedom of opinion and of religion. It grants migrants their economic, social and cultural rights, in particular emergency medical care, education of the children of migrants, and it confers on migrants the right of direct recourse against employers and against the State. It considers the abusive confiscation

of passports and identity documents of migrants a criminal offence. The convention calls for greater cooperation between States on the return of irregular migrants and the regulation of return migrations.

The convention advocates the application of the fundamental rights of migrant workers and members of their family, respect of fundamental freedoms,2 and condemns slavery, servitude and forced and compulsory labour (Article 13). It guarantees a fair procedure for migrant workers and members of their family.3 The honour and reputation of a migrant worker must be respected as must his privacy which extends to his home, family and all his communications (Article 14). The principle of equality between migrants and nationals at work4 must be ensured as must the remittance of revenues and the right to information.5

As regards the family, Article 44 calls on the States Parties to recognise that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and by the States. The States Parties must therefore “take appropriate measures to ensure the protection of the unity of the families of migrant workers.” Family reunification is accorded to regular migrant workers, and the afore-cited article mentions two obligations of the States Parties, namely to “take measures that they deem appropriate and that fall within their competence to facilitate the reunification of migrant workers” and “on humanitarian grounds, consider granting equal treatment to other family members of migrant workers.”

Nevertheless, as complete as it is, this convention calls for two remarks: first,

2 Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 12) and the right to hold opinions without interference (Article 13).

tribunals must be respected. The arbitrary expulsion of migrant workers is prohibited (Art. 22).

4 Migrant workers shall enjoy treatment not less favourable than that which applies to nationals of the State of employment in respect of remuneration and other conditions of work (overtime, hours of work, weekly rest, holidays with pay, safety, health, termination of the employment relationship, minimum age, restrictions of domestic work, etc. (Art. 25)). Equal treatment between migrants and nationals extends also to social security benefits (Article 27) and to emergency medical care (Article 28).

5 Migrants have the right to be informed by the country concerned about their rights arising out of the present convention, the conditions of their admission, their rights and obligations under the law of this State. Such adequate information must be provided to migrant workers free of charge and in a language they are able to understand (Art. 33).

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accorded to the family as an institution, and not to the components of the family, including the women.

1. The convention of 1990 has been ratified by only some forty States to date, which do not include any EU Member State,6 any State of the Persian Gulf, North America and Australia. Different reasons have been put forth by the States, such as the similarity of provisions in other international instruments, the complexity and scope of this convention, the obligations it imposes on the States that have ratified it, and the lack of distinction between regular and irregular migration. Some countries consider that the provisions relative to non-discrimination made it more difficulty to introduce a temporary migration programme which did not confer on participants the same rights as other workers.7 This convention has been ratified by four MEDA countries: Egypt in 1993, Syria in 2005, Morocco in 1993 and Algeria in 2005.

Two interesting studies analyse the refusal of States to ratify this convention. The first was conducted by UNESCO in 2007. It identified the main causes of resistance to ratification in seven European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. On the legal front, reticence tends to focus on the limitation of state sovereignty, in particular control of access to the territory, and the fear that this Convention confers a right to family reunification to all legal resident workers. The second study was conducted by the Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight against Racism in Belgium in 2008. It specifies that ratification would show that the Belgian authorities were concerned about the conformity of regulations concerning stay and regulations concerning employment of foreign nationals. The launch of the economic migration project would be an excellent opportunity for Belgium to assume a pioneering role towards ratification among EU countries.

2. “The term ‘members of the family’ refers to persons married to migrant workers or having with them a relationship that, according to applicable law, produces effects equivalent to marriage, as well as their dependent children and other dependent persons who are recognised as members of

6 The Flemish Government came out in favour of having this instrument ratified by Belgium in May 2005. The UN ECOSOC committee was also in favour of such ratification in Opinion 2004/C302/12 of 1 July 2004.

7 GCIM. p 62.

the family by applicable legislation or applicable bilateral or multilateral agreements between the States concerned” (Article 4).

The convention calls on the States to recognise that the family is the natural and fundamental element of society and that it must be protected by society and the State. The latter must take the measures needed to facilitate the reunion of migrant workers with their spouse or with persons that have relations of marriage or filiation with them, so as to enable the members of the family of migrants workers to benefit from the same treatment accorded to nationals in the State of employment in such areas as education, training, access to social services and cultural participation (Article 45). The words woman, wife, and female migrant are not used in the convention, which deals with the rights of children and makes general reference to members of the family.

The convention of 1990 is still the most efficient instrument for the protection of migrant workers and members of their families. But even States that have ratified it do not always manage to implement it, especially after they go from a country of emigration to a transit and immigration country.

Other, older UN organisations have endeavoured to defend the rights of workers in general and those of migrants in particular like the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

ILO convention 143 on migrant workers of 1975 (Article 11) defines migrant worker as “a person who migrates or who has migrated from one country to another with a view to being employed otherwise than on his own account and includes any person regularly admitted as a migrant worker.” This idea is echoed in the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

The protection of workers employed in a country other than their country of origin has always been a prime concern for the ILO. These are the people most exposed to exploitation and the neglect of their rights, in particular when they are irregular migrants. This organisation has consequently from the outset endeavoured to protect the rights of migrant workers through the

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establishment of a system of international labour standards in the form of conventions, recommendations and compilations of practical directives.

The two main instruments of the ILO that deal specifically with migrants

Convention no. 143 on Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and the Treatment of Migrant Workers of 1975. Other ILO conventions deal with equal treatment (1925, 1962), labour clauses (1949), wages (1949, 1970), tripartite consultations (1976), health and safety of workers (1981), maternity protection (2000) and health and safety in mines and agriculture respectively (1995 and 2001).

The ILO conventions are clear about the protection of the families of migrants, but they are not precise about female migration and the protection of the rights of women. Nevertheless, the use of a gendered vocabulary was perceptible in the instruments of 1949 and 1975. For instance, Article 6 of Convention no. 97 refers to non discrimination in respect of sex.

Recommendation no. 86, paragraph 15 (3) stipulates that “the members of the family of a migrant for employment should include his wife and minor children.”

Convention C183 on Maternity Protection of 2000,8 which clearly broaches the problem and rights concerning the reproductive health of women workers in general, must in principle be applied for all working women, migrants and non-migrants alike. It aims to ensure protection during pregnancy, after childbirth and during the breast-feeding period, prohibiting any action that would harm their health or that of their child, as well as any redundancy owing to pregnancy or related complications.

The table below shows how many EU Member States have not yet ratified ILO Conventions 97 and 143 fifty years after they were adopted.

8 Convention concerning the Revision of the Maternity Protection Convention (revised),

Ratification of Conventions no. 97 and no. 143 by European States.9

CountryDate of ratification of Convention no. 97

Date of ratification of Convention no. 143

Germany 1959 Not ratified

Austria Not ratified Not ratified

Belgium 1953 Not ratified

Spain 1967 Not ratified

France 1954 Not ratified

Greece Not ratified Not ratified

Italy 1952 1981

Netherlands 1952 Not ratified

United Kingdom 1951 Not ratified

Ratification of Conventions no. 97 and no. 143 by MEDA countries 10

CountryDate of ratification of Convention no. 97

Date of ratification of Convention no. 143

Algeria 1962 Not ratified

Egypt Not ratified Not ratified

Israel 1953 Not ratified

Jordan Not ratified Not ratified

Lebanon Not ratified Not ratified

Morocco Not ratified Not ratified

Syria Not ratified Not ratified

Palestinian Territories - -

Tunisia Not ratified Not ratified

9 International Migration Report 2006. “Profiles by Country or Area. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs / Population Division”.

10 Ibid.

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Legislation on migration has been drafted gradually and had long been the prerogative of conventions between States before assuming a regional character. MEDA countries have tended to opt for bilateral labour force agreements either with other Arab countries or with European countries. The Arab Labour Organisation has played an important role in the consolidation of migrant workers between countries in the region.

In a Union where borders no longer exist, coordination by and between the Member States to manage the migration flows has become a necessity. It has therefore become imperative to set common conditions for entry in the Schengen area.

Taking account of the migration situation has always been on the agenda of Community policies, from the Treaty of Rome to the adoption of the Single European Act which defines a European Community area without borders. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty made the right to move, reside and work freely one of the essential attributes of European citizenship (Article 8), thereby drawing a distinction between Community and non-Community Europeans. In 1997, the Amsterdam Treaty integrated the “Schengen acquis” in the Treaty on European Union and provides for moving asylum and immigration from the third inter-governmental pillar to the first EU pillar.

At the European Council meeting in Tampere (Finland) in October 1999, the European leaders defined the basic principles of a common EU migration policy. Since that summit, three recurrent principles attest to the European determination to ensure better management of the migration flows, initiating thus a global policy which takes due account of countries of destination, of origin and of transit concurrently, focusing more and more on close cooperation between the partners for:

This approach was built up gradually by the Member States and was a

global and balanced approach aimed at reinforcing and deepening international cooperation and dialogue with the countries of origin and transit of migrations in a comprehensive and balanced manner. The programme adopted by the European Council in The Hague in November 2004 sets ten priorities, the first three of which are geared to reinforcing fundamental and citizenship rights, the fight against terrorism, and to defining a balanced approach regarding migration.

The European Council of Brussels on 15 and 16 December 2005 stressed the need to introduce a balanced, global and coherent approach including policies to fight against illegal immigration and to engage in cooperation with third countries so as to reap the benefits of legal immigration. The Council considered it important to broach the deep causes of migration, for instance by ensuring livelihoods and eradicating poverty in the countries and regions of origin, opening up markets, and taking action to foster economic growth, good governance and the defence of human rights.

The European Council of Luxembourg on 16 June 2008 underscored that the priority actions on migration should be geared to reinforcing the connections between migration and development by facilitating the participation of migrants to the development of their country of origin. The advocated solutions pertain to remittances and the cost of transferring them, the promotion and use of remittances for development purposes (development of micro-credit and support for SMEs, cooperation with the members of communities of the diaspora to bolster their contribution and improve the investments made for development purposes in the countries of origin). The question of skilled migration was also on the agenda, i.e. the brain drain, gain and waste.

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Programmes had to be implemented to support these decisions and resolutions, so the European Commission prepared and launched several cooperation projects with various international organisations, financed in particular by the AENEAS programme as part of the European initiative for democracy and human rights. In addition to the framework programme “Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows” for the period 2007-2013 and the Thematic Programme for Cooperation with Third Countries in the Areas of Migration and Asylum, it granted sizeable funding to the Frontex Agency (!285.1 million), to implement information systems on a grand scale (!900 million) and to create a European Migration Observatory (!62.3 million).

The EU initiated two important directives on the management of migration flows. The “return” directive (Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals)11 is an instrument geared essentially to the return of irregular migrants. It thus legitimates the readmission agreements and the entire arsenal, logistics and action of Frontex to deny access to European territories to illegal migrants, and the outsourcing of procedures and controls. The detention of illegal migrants is going to become the normal method for managing migration in Europe, and the emergence of camps and detention centres in Europe is a symptom of a global policy to cast out illegal foreign nationals.

In addition to this restrictive directive for illegal migrants and the implementation of this policy of dissuasion, the EU is looking for legal means to encourage the skilled migration that it needs. Thus, a directive discussed since 2007 was adopted in May 2009 on the ‘blue card’ (Council Directive 2009/50/EC of 25 May 2009 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment). At the end of November 2009, the European Parliament gave the green light to this new scheme for ‘highly qualified’ foreign nationals.

Based on the model of the American green card, this blue card is an authorisation entitling the holder to reside and work legally on the territory of the EU and to go from one Member State to the other to take up highly

11 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOIndex.do?ihmlang=fr

qualified employment, in accordance with the provisions defined by the directive. It aims to attract up to 20 million highly qualified workers from third countries. The example of Maghreb, as pointed out by Euro MEP Ewa Klamt, is highly significant with 50% of qualified migrants who go to the United States and Canada, compared with only 5.5% for Europe. This card would enable the EU to compete with the United States, which attracts most of the qualified persons from third countries and to fight against illegal immigration.12

Nevertheless, the benefits that the blue card confers on candidates with degrees are still elementary compared to those offered by the green card.

This directive is hybrid in nature, as the Member States retain their capacity to grant or to refuse a blue card to a candidate depending on the situation on the national employment market.13

For MEDA countries, migration had for many years been a subject of debate in relations between the different countries of the southern Mediterranean. An efficient legal arsenal was thus developed by and between the MEDA countries and Arab oil-producing countries. In this context, the conventions concluded by the Arab League try to organise migration through bilateral agreements on labour migration. Created in 1965 by the Arab ministers of labour, the Arab Labour Organisation (ALO) adopted the Arab Labour Charter in 1968, which contains clauses that guarantee the fundamental rights of migrant workers. This was the start of Arab cooperation to harmonise legislation on employment and social security.

The three Maghreb countries ratified the Charter in 1974. The annual ALO conference held in Algiers (February 2005) adopted a declaration on migrants. This concern is not recent. Already in 1965, the Council of Arab Economic Unity had adopted a resolution to facilitate the movement of Arab citizens between the different countries of the region. The States even undertook a commitment to encourage the employment of citizens from other Arab

12 Marie-Martine Buckens. Une “carte bleue” pour les cerveaux du tiers-monde. “Le courrier ACP, N° IX”.

13 Hélène Zwick - 16 Avril 2009. La carte bleue, tentative européenne d’immigration choisie.

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countries on their own territories by doing away with visa requirements for Council countries and by renewing the residence permit when the work permit expires.

The Council also set up a commission in cooperation with the ALO responsible for the movement of workers between Arab countries. This commission recommended that the countries concerned ratify the conventions on labour migration by assuming their commitments to protect migrant workers and encouraging such movements through family reunification and elementary education for the children, whilst guaranteeing the fundamental freedoms of workers in relation to the needs of economic development.14

There are many ALO conventions and they tend to protect the fundamental rights of Arab migrants in Arab States and to regulate the movements of people between the countries in the region. The aim of Convention no. 2 (1967) is to facilitate the movement of workers from one State to the other by guaranteeing migrant workers the same rights and privileges as nationals in the state of employment, especially as regards employment protection (working hours, severance pay and social security).

The freedom of movement of workers between Arab countries would be an appropriate means to promote Arab unity. In this connection, the prime objective of Convention no. 4 (1975) on the movement of workers is to achieve such Arab unity by encouraging each country to adopt a migration policy in the short- or long-term in line with its socio-economic needs, including the right to family reunification and the right of the migrant’s family members to reside in the host country.

The organisation of the migration of qualified workers caught the attention of Arab decision-makers too. Convention no. 9 (1977) and Recommendation no. 2 (1977) on the training of workers mentions the need to attract workers, and to recruit young Arabs with skills and capacities so as to offset the lack of qualified workers in Arab countries. A declaration of the Economic Council of the Arab League in 1984 assures migrant workers and their families the

14 Mohamed Saïb Musette, in cooperation with Monia Benjemia, Khadija Elmadmad and Azzouz Kerdoun. Report on Legislation concerning International Migration in Central Maghreb. “International Labour Organization Report. 2006. p 26”.

same rights as nationals, and guarantees the most favourable conditions for the return of skills in their country of origin.

It is nonetheless worth underscoring that it is not conventions and agreements that are lacking in the Arab world. Instruments for the protection of migrant workers exist, but they are often not ratified15 by many Arab countries that import labour. Because they are not implemented, these conventions cannot provide protection for migrant workers and their families.

Article 2 of the Treaty establishing the Maghreb Arab Union (known by the French acronym UMA) in 1989, stipulates that the countries of the Arab Maghreb must work together and endeavour to achieve gradually the free moment of people, goods, services and capital, though this article has come to nothing. No convention or agreement dealing with the question of migration has been concluded to date. The UMA’s ambitious declarations about the integration of the Maghreb countries have actually been put on hold by political questions.

The Agadir Agreement ratified in February 2004 by four MEDA countries

(AFTA) between these MEDA countries, which would be subsequently joined by others. This free-trade area represents a market of 100 million consumers. This agreement is geared to regional integration on the economic front with no major concerns about questions as to the movements of people.

When the strategies of Arab countries, and more particularly, of the governments of MEDA countries, on immigration are considered, they turn out to be pragmatic and operational, with very beneficial consequences for the country.

15 All these conventions have not been ratified by the Maghreb countries, with the exception of Convention no. 14 (1981) concerning the right of Arab workers to social security, ratified by Morocco in 1993. Mohamed Saïb Musette, op cit.

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Migration policies: Emigration policies of the MEDA countries16

Algeria

Establish bilateral agreements to manage labour migration better;

Strengthen ties with Algerians of the diaspora;

Mobilise skills and capacities;

Protect the Algerian community abroad.

Egypt

Prepare policies and plans of action to facilitate and encourage plans for a successful migration;

Help the Egyptian community abroad and encourage it to establish associations;

Provide the community abroad with cultural and media material for contacts with the country of origin;

Capitalise on the human potential abroad for development and technology;

Encourage remittances;

Establish a database on Egyptians abroad, on the migration market and on the migration legislation in the host countries;

Conclude bilateral agreements to manage labour migration.

Israel

Facilitate successful emigration;

Establish and strengthen ties between Israel and the diaspora;

Prepare bilateral agreements relating to economic migration.

16 CARIM Mediterranean Migration Report 2008-2009. pp. 521-531.

Jordan

Facilitate successful emigration;

Develop policies geared to secure social security, healthcare, and the protection of human rights for Jordanian migrants;

Establish bilateral agreements governing labour migration;

Establish ties with the Jordanian diaspora and encourage remittances;

Prepare return policies.

Lebanon

Develop policies for successful emigration;

Consolidate ties among Moroccans and the diaspora;

Develop associations and establish institutions to strengthen cultural and political ties with the diaspora;

Consider action plans for socio-economic, cultural and political integration;

Consider regional and international partnerships in which Moroccan migrants would be involved;

Sign bilateral agreements on economic emigration.

Morocco

Develop policies for successful emigration;

Consolidate ties among Moroccans and the diaspora;

Develop associations and establish institutions to strengthen cultural and political ties with the diaspora;

Consider action plans for socio-economic, cultural and political integration;

Consider regional and international partnerships in which Moroccan migrants would be involved;

Sign bilateral agreements on economic emigration.

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Syria

Develop policies relating to Syrian emigration;

Consolidate ties with the diaspora;

Encourage remittances;

Capitalise on the potential of Syrians abroad for development and technology.

Palestinian Territories

Clarify the ties between the Palestinian diaspora and the conceptualisation of the future Palestinian State;

Develop governmental policies for family reunification;

Develop governmental policies for the return of the diaspora;

Develop policies for employment and labour emigration.

Tunisia

Consolidate the links with the Tunisian diaspora;

Capitalise on Tunisian potential abroad in higher education, research and technology;

Develop a series of actions with migrants on the cultural front;

Help achieve better integration of migrants in the host countries;

Encourage remittances;

Establish bilateral agreements on economic emigration;

Develop action plans to have emigration perceived as an integral process of cooperation with the EU.

This table shows that MEDA countries are concerned to:

and policies to facilitate and encourage emigration under favourable conditions.

create unions and associations to defend their interests in the host countries and to facilitate contacts with the country of origin. The importance

attached to the diaspora lies in its contribution to the development of the countries of origin through remittances and the mobilisation of skills and capacities.

front.

international partnerships for which migrant participation was mentioned only for Morocco.

The agreements of the 1960s between the European Community and Maghreb countries, and the cooperation agreements with the different MEDA countries17 (1975, 1976 and 1977) under a global Mediterranean approach were intended to bolster trade between the EEC and the MNC countries, to promote agricultural and industrial development and to inject financial resources in these countries in the form of aid or loans.18 These agreements addressed also “the rights of migrant workers by ensuring treatment without discrimination as regards working conditions, pay and social protection”.19

The cooperation agreements do not deal with migration proper, which is dealt with in special ‘labour force agreements’ signed by and between Maghreb countries after their independence and the main European countries, including France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Issues concerning the connection between migration and development emerged late, well after the Barcelona conference and after lengthy maturation of migration policy in the EU.

17 Cooperation agreements between the EEC and southern Mediterranean countries were signed with Israel (1975), Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco (1976), Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon in 1977.

18 Bishara Khader (2001). Le partenariat euro-méditerranéen: le processus de Barcelone, une synthèse de la problématique. In Bishara Khader (2001). “(S /D). Le partenariat euro-méditerranéen vu du Sud. Harmattan 2001. pp. 13-39, p 15”.

19 Bachir Hamdouch. La migration dans le partenariat euromaghrébin. In Bishara Khader, op cit, pp. 133-147, p. 134.

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In the association agreements signed with the different partners, migration features always in the third section. The principles of non-discrimination against and the social rights of third-country nationals are set out, and regular dialogue focuses on the movement of workers, the working conditions of migrant communities and illegal migration.

The Barcelona Declaration acknowledges the important role that migration plays in relations between the North and the South of the Mediterranean and calls for cooperation between the two sides to reduce the migration pressures through vocational training programmes and assistance for job creation. This declaration deals with the three dimensions of migration, without referring specifically to the migration of women. And yet, the question of promoting women in MEDA countries remains vital and a subject of debate during Euro-Mediterranean conferences. Nevertheless, fifteen years after the launch of the Barcelona process (1995), the situation of women in MEDA countries has undergone profound changes due to internal pressure (democratisation of institutions, development of the civil society, sustained claims by women) as well as external pressure (United Nations, World Bank, Euro-Mediterranean Process).

Such combined efforts to restore equality between men and women are far from having produced results, even in Europe, if only in employment, wages, political participation and the sharing of household chores. The EuroMed Women’s conference in November 2005 20 stated in its final declaration that “women in the Euro-Mediterranean area encounter difficulties to enjoy their rights. The rights of women are frail, negotiable and vulnerable. One of the decisive factors is patriarchy which affects also social, economic and political structures in the North. Nevertheless, common denominators must be found that go beyond the false debate between universal rights and culture. The universality of human rights is not debatable, and even if cultural differences must be taken into account, they must not stand in the way of human rights.”

On the issue of migration, the declaration reiterates that the “issue of immigration is central to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and must also include the gender approach.” As it is a policy issue, there is no mention

20 Barcelona + 10 24-25 November 2005.

that 50% of the migrants are women and that women are the ones most marginalised.

The interest in migration is cyclical, connected to the holding of the Euro-Mediterranean conference of women, the Euro-Mediterranean conference being geared to the management of migration overall. The migration issue had always been on the agenda of Euro-Mediterranean conferences and its legal and illegal dimensions as well as migration and development are still broached.

As of 2005, against the background of a growing inflow of illegal migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, the EU has taken a new step to broach the question of migration with its southern Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan African partners. The process initiated in Rabat in July 2006 21 aims to establish a close partnership between the countries of origin, transit and destination, to find a sustainable solution to the problem of controlling the migration

on regular dialogue and efficient and operational cooperation between the different partners. It will be based on a balanced approach combining research and synergies between migration and development, the organisation of legal migration and the fight against illegal migration.

Cooperation on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean area has been extended to the large emigrant countries and more particularly to Sub-Saharan Africa. The priority given to dialogue and consultation between countries of origin, transit and destination consolidates the global approach adopted by the European Union. In fact, the fight against clandestine immigration and co-development policies are connected in the new immigration policies. Control policies therefore benefit from the mobilisation of diplomacy (pressure exerted on the transit states), logistics (patrols), techniques (help to improve the technical control capacities of transit countries) and financial resources (aid to transit countries).

As regards support for the counties of origin, the European policy has stated its determination to strengthen development aid policies to try to alleviate

21 At the initiative chiefly of Spain, Morocco and France, the representatives of 58 European and African countries met on 10 and 11 July in Rabat, Morocco, to discuss immigration, in particular the fight against illegal immigration.

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the migration pressures. Nevertheless, as we pointed out in Part II of this study, aid from the EU Member States is being reduced and that from the EU is growing slowly. The amount of remittances, although on the rise, cannot replace development aid. Real funding for development projects is required to limit the adverse effects of migration.

Europe has also focused on circular migration, and more particularly on skilled migration. On 16 May 2007, the Commission published a communication relating to circular migration and to partners for mobility in order to facilitate and even encourage temporary migration. What is still very worrisome, however, is the fear in MEDA countries of an accelerated brain drain, that would compromise even more the chances of development in those countries.

The most positive aspect of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation is the creation of an ongoing dialogue and consultation between the different parties in the region on the most difficult issues. The management of migration flows remains a common challenge for and a responsibility shared by all EU and MEDA countries. Its management nonetheless depends on policies developed by the European Union and the financing allocated to each of its dimensions (legal labour migration, fight against illegal migration, and migration and development).22

A distinction must be drawn between two types of bilateral agreements: first generation agreements, aimed essentially at the recruitment, establishment and return of workers to their country of origin, and second generation agreements which tend to focus on migration management.

22 In 2009, the Fund for the control of external borders was allocated !208 million, while the European Fund for the integration of third-country nationals received !11 million. For the first time, the EU budget will provide funding for the European Police Office (Europol) to the tune of !80 million, while cooperation projects with third countries on migration management and reception of asylum seekers will be allocated !53 million in commitments and !50 million in payments. The purpose of these projects will be the proper management of migration flows, cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration and human trafficking, as well the protection of migrants who are victims of exploitation and exclusion. Eu.logos 20.12.2009.

These are agreements concluded in the 1950s by and between European states keen to rebuild their countries after World War II and countries in the South faced with growing unemployment and a largely underemployed labour force. The aim of these agreements was to organise migration, prepare for the arrival of new contingents and identify the needs of specific sectors (industry, agriculture, mining, construction, etc.) where there was a labour shortage. In the mid 1970s, labour immigration to Europe came to a sudden halt due to the economic crisis and the first oil shock of 1973.

The ACAs were renewed and restated over thirty years to control requests for employment and to organise labour force movements from the South to the North in accordance with the economic fluctuations.

Agreements signed by and between Maghreb and European countries

Country Algeria Morocco Tunisia

Germany (FRG) 1968 1963 1965

Austria 1970

Belgium 1970 1964 1969

Spain 1996

France 1963 1963

Italy 1993

Netherlands 1969 1971

Between 1963 and 1971, Maghreb countries signed many labour force agreements with European countries. Morocco signed the most such agreements by far (seven) while Tunisia concluded five and Algeria two agreements. This confirms yet again the strong migration waves from Morocco to Europe. Nevertheless, the three Maghreb countries had different approaches that reflected their policy choices, their guidelines for development and the growth rate of their economies.

In the case of Algeria, bilateral agreements were signed with France in Evian in 1962.23 They constitute the basis of new relations between Algeria and its

23 Rédha Malek, L’Algérie à Evian, histoire des négociations secrètes 1956-1962 “Editions du Seuil, October 1995”.

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former coloniser. These agreements concern the movement of people and of goods, and have been renegotiated on several occasions (1963, 1964, 1968, 1981, 1985). These agreements concerned social security, the same treatment as that accorded nationals of the host country, and instruction in the language and culture of the country of origin.

Agreements were signed with Belgium in 1969 on labour migration and one

agreements with other European countries where the Algerian community is very small, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Algerian residents in these countries are subject to the ordinary law applicable to all foreign nationals.24

Algeria has redirected its policy towards building new bridges between immigrants and their countries of origin with the creation of the Coordination and Monitoring Council in 1995, the aim of which is to defend the interests of migrants abroad (with a special division for the Algerian community abroad in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). On the other hand, the national employment agency was also created to direct Algerian workers to job offers abroad.

For its part, Tunisia encourages migration which provides a part of revenue injected into the Tunisian economy, while retaining close ties with its nationals. A strong relation binds the community with its country of origin, and different programmes and measures have been taken by the government in this sense (tax relief, banking facilities). The Tunisian investment code considers members of the community as potential investors in their country of origin. Other measures concerned the instruction of the language and culture of origin and the participation in national elections. The Tunisian Migration Office 25 plays an important role in providing support to migrants abroad, with assistance to the communication and training programmes for Tunisians and their families. It also helps to encourage the community abroad to take part in promoting investments in their country of origin.

24 Mohamed Saïb Musette with the cooperation of Monia Benjemia, Khadija Elmadmad and Azzouz Kerdoun. Report on Legislation concerning International Migration in Central Maghreb. Copyright © International Labour Organisation 2006. “P 8. Same idea as in Azzouz Kerdoum. The legal protection of Algerians in CARIM 2008”.

25 Le guide du Tunisian à l’étranger, 2003, “published by the Office of Tunisians Abroad and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity”.

Morocco’s choices are similar to those of Tunisia. Migration has provided relief from the political crisis and the development deficits the country went through between 1959 and 1975. The first labour conventions concluded between 1963 and 1968 with different European countries concerned the recruitment of labour, the situation of workers in the host countries and social security.

France and French nationals in Morocco.

of Germany in May 1963.

and a social security clause in 1970.

workers in the Netherlands in May 1969, with a social security clause in 1970.

These agreements tend essentially to organise the recruitment of Moroccan workers and to recognise some of their rights as workers once they have been admitted, such as equal treatment with nationals or the right to family reunification. For its part, through these agreements, Morocco tended to control the departure of its citizens and the good conduct in the host countries, and to ensure remittances

The management of Moroccans residing abroad has been entrusted to the Hassan II Foundation, an independent institution geared to strengthening ties with the Moroccan community. The creation of a plethora of institutions 26 attests to the great interests that Morocco shows to its nationals living abroad.

The management of the Maghreb community through the diplomatic and consular structures continues to be limited to administrative aspects

26 Ministry of the Moroccan Community Abroad, Ministry of Human Rights, the Mohamed V Foundation which conducts the annual campaign for return to the country during summer holiday, and the Commission of Moroccans Abroad in the Advisory Committee on Human Rights as well as the Council of the Moroccan Community abroad.

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(registration of births, marriages and deaths, issuance of national passports, and electoral matters).

Migration assumed another scope after the 1980s as individual, spontaneous migration not controlled by the State emerged. Family networks of those already established organise the new forms of migration. It is during this period that the migration of women alone started to develop.

The second generation agreements were concluded in the 2000s, attesting to the development of migration policies in the region. They confirmed the emergence of a new migration order -- no longer pertaining to labour migration, but to the concerted management of migration flows. With the entry into force of the association agreements between Europe and the MEDA countries, we are witnessing an institutionalisation of new regulatory frameworks to control the flows better, in accordance with the Schengen agreement and with respect for the rights of migrant workers.

Association agreements between the European Union and MEDA countries, and their dates of entry into force

Country Entry into force of the association agreements

Algeria 9/2005

Egypt 6/2004

Israel 2002

Jordan 5/2002

Lebanon 4/2006

Morocco 3/2000

Syria Concluded in 2003, not signed and not ratified

Palestinian Territories 7/1997 Interim agreement

Tunisia 1998

The association agreement deals with the three dimensions of the migration phenomenon: legal migration, illegal migration, and migration and development. Alongside the security concerns of admission agreements, there is also a direction towards development of circular legal migration, in the form of new agreements on seasonal and temporary migration. Agreements of this type have been signed by and between Morocco and Spain, Egypt and Italy, and Tunisia and France.

In Morocco, an Integral Seasonal Immigration Management Programme (the AENEAS-CARTAYA Project 2006-2008) through ANAPEC has created a specific mechanism for the recruitment of seasonal women workers for Spain, with the assistance of the MEDA 2 project “Institutional Support for the Movement of People”. In 2005, nearly 1,370 women were recruited, 2,299 in 2006, 5,115 in 2007, 12,030 in 2008 and 10,500 in 2009. The return rate has been estimated at nearly 97%.

In November 2005, Italy signed an agreement with Egypt. Italy introduced a system of quotas to strengthen cooperation with the countries of origin and of transit against illegal immigration, while meeting the labour force needs of Italian companies. These quotas were set for young Egyptians who could work legally in Italy for three or four years in targeted sectors, such as tourism or construction. In the same vein, Egypt has signed two other agreements, one with Greece and the other with Cyprus.

The framework agreement between Tunisia and France comprises two parts: the management of migration flows and mutually supportive development. Vocational training is a priority in this agreement, which is aimed at preparing a skilled workforce. The question of return is stated explicitly: France has undertaken to contribute to the effective return and to the reintegration into society and work of migrants with a skills card and talents.

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Whereas international agreements protect the rights of migrants, regional agreements operate in the field of the global management of migration, and bilateral agreements regulate labour migration. The States avail themselves of this legal arsenal to preserve their sovereignty and to benefit from the labour force of migrants or their remittances. In short, the economic motive of migration is one of the characteristics of such legislation. The question then arises how this legislation includes migrant women, provides support when they move, and helps and protects them when they take up residence.

It appears that the same determinants applied to men are transposed to women, as if there were no specific feature that distinguished them. In these agreements, the worker is asexual, the gender dimension is glossed over, except for family reunification. Moreover, when referring to temporary migration agreements, distinctions appear in the very wording of the text. The agreement between Morocco and Spain on seasonal migration is geared

quotas of young people, and yet, the areas of activities to which they are assigned (construction and tourism) clearly shows that they refer to men. The agreement between Tunisia and France is geared more to the vocational training of young people before they emigrate, though such emigration is often directed at male dominated sectors. In brief, the gender aspect has not yet been integrated in these conventions and agreements.

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IV. Integration of migrant women in European countries ............. 206

1. Integration: lexical plurality ................................................................ 209

2. Integration: an inevitable or an optional process? ........................... 210

3. From national to EU integration policy ............................................. 211

4. Some parameters that promote integration ...................................... 213

5. Some difficulties relating to integration ............................................ 216

6. Integration as a demand ...................................................................... 220

Conclusions ........................................................................................ 221

Annexes .............................................................................................. 223

Introduction ........................................................................................146

I. Main historical and legal references ............................................... 148

1. Why did Europe open up to labour migration? ................................. 149

2. Development of European legislation ................................................ 151

II. Data on the legal migration of women from MEDA to European countries ...................................................................................... 153

1. Numbers of female migrants from MEDA countries in Europe ...... 153

2. What about immigration of women in European countries? ........... 160

3. Immigrant women from MEDA countries: socio-demographic data ....................................................................... 170

III. Immigrant women on the labour market ................................... 180

1. Access of immigrant women to the labour market .......................... 181

2. Sectors of the economy ....................................................................... 185

2.1. The service sector employs more than two-thirds of working immigrant women ........................................................... 186

2.2. Seasonal workers in agriculture ....................................................192

2.3 Immigrant women in international street vending or pendular migration .................................................................... 193

2.4 Immigrant women in high-skilled occupations, a breakthrough with irreversible consequences ........................ 196

3. Unemployment and underemployment ............................................. 203

4. Conclusion ............................................................................................ 205

146 147

Taken relatively little into consideration in the discussion on the migration dynamics, women have nonetheless played a role on many fronts. The relative invisibility of their participation is due to the predominance of the patriarchal family model, which considers the man, and thus the male migrant, as the main provider of income for the family. In this model, the migrant woman, confined to the private space, appears to be deprived of economic activity outside the family home.

The absence of homogeneous and coherent data on the demographic and socio-economic situation of migrant women in the different European countries, which has been noted in this study, prevents an exhaustive examination of the position of migrant women and a comparison between host countries. The major trends in the activities of immigrant women were thus identified by relying on the information available about the entire female immigrant population, or the female population from Maghreb, for which data are relatively more available, or on studies of specific cases concerning one country or another.

The EU Member States have a high demand for labour in various sectors of the economy. A study, conducted at the request of the European Commission in 2006, shows that many Member States are faced with a shortage of skilled workers, in particular in information technologies, healthcare professionals, engineers, and personnel in education and social services. These shortages not only hinder productivity and growth in the EU, but also risk undermining the national and regional objectives in terms of health, education and social services. There is also a high demand for unskilled labour, as Commission figures show that there are some three million positions vacant throughout Europe.

The economic nature of female migration becomes more apparent in the 1990s. A growing number of women in the foreign employed population was thus registered in OECD countries.1 The emergence of migrant women on the labour market is due essentially to an enhanced demand for unskilled labour

1 OECD (1990), Tendances des migrations internationales. “Rapport SOMEPI. Paris. OECD.”

in services, domestic and maintenance activities, all “social reproduction activities”2 which are increasingly abandoned by the local population.

In the 1980s, a sizeable female migration for economic reasons took place in southern Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain, as many women from MEDA countries found work in the agriculture and hotel sectors. As Laura Oso noted, “one of the distinctive characteristics of Spain as an immigration country has been the sizeable presence of women who in the beginning of the 1990s accounted for half of all migrants with a work permit, of whom 32.2% from Africa.”3 The male character of labour migration was thus questioned. The image of the non-working spouse accompanying the husband or joining him under family reunification was replaced by female labour emigration. Stereotypes about women, who came to host countries for family reunification and stay at home all the time, have also been questioned. It would appear, in fact, that many of them have had to undertake gainful employment to meet the needs and aspirations of parents and children. Whereas the integration of migrant women in the world of work is not a recent phenomenon, it is picking up pace and new forms nowadays, thanks to the education of women, their desire for independence and the nascent restructuring of the traditional society. Whereas essentially male at the outset, labour migration4 henceforth concerns women as well. Furthermore, whereas conventional economic analyses of migration tended to focus on the individual dimension of seeking a job and earning a living, the new migration economy sees migration as a collective choice of the household or the family.

Our study deals with female labour migration through four chapters.

After reviewing the main historical and legal elements, the first chapter outlines the global framework of the work of migrant women, by drawing a clear distinction between old and new immigration countries on the basis of statistical data and analyses available.

2 Term used by Laura Oso to refer to all activities relating to household work, childminding and caring for the elderly.

3 Laura Oso. (2000), L’immigration en Spain des femmes chefs de famille. “Les cahiers du CEDREF. N° 8/9, p. 4 and table 2, p. 20.”

4 Labour migration is a sort of human migration generally juxtaposed to populating migration. It consists of a population displacement to find work for a number of days, weeks, months or years in the region of arrival, without however being considered definitive. Wikipedia.

148 149

The second chapter broaches the numbers of migrants from MEDA countries residing in European countries and draws certain profiles of female migrants to shed light on the impact that migration has on the development of their demographic, economic, and socio-cultural attitudes and behaviours.

The third chapter deals with the activity of migrant women. It describes and analyses the sectors and types of activity in which they work as well as the rate of unemployment and underemployment.

The fourth chapter provides a tentative analysis of the integration of migrant women in the host countries by considering female labour as an important parameter for the integration of mothers and daughters.

The different analyses conducted by the World Bank and the OECD explain migration flows and numbers by the different opportunities of access to employment offered in the host countries. Put another way, the pull process turns out to be more decisive than its push counterpart. The prime objective of migration from South to North has consequently always been access to employment. Whether explicit or latent, this motive is vital in the decision to emigrate, the choice of country and the channels and networks used. The first migrants from MEDA countries to Europe were manual workers, mostly men, working in such sectors as mining, construction and heavy industry. Hired under contract, they stayed for as long as the contract could be renewed.

A radical change occurred in 1973 when European countries, opting for greater stabilisation of the work force, opened their borders to the families of workers, i.e. their women and children. The needs relating to family reunification brought about a series of claims, especially from women, concerning their own integration and that of their children, as the latter face an uncomfortable dilemma between the education and socialisation standards handed down by their parents, and those imparted in school and the host society. European societies also experienced a ‘problem’ with their immigrants, as the workers of yesteryear were turned into heads of families aspiring for a better life for their families, i.e. higher wages, family allowances and access to employment for their

spouses. A single salary was no longer enough; it had to be doubled through the employment of women. These demands forced European countries to consider new migration formulas this last decade, more in line with the development of their economies and less problematic for their societies.

In addition to the ageing of the European population and the ensuing need to recruit migrant workers to meet the requirements in terms of well-being, the need to renew the migration policy is explained by the globalisation of the economy. The opening up of trade, the free movement of goods and capital boosted the demand for labour and greater mobility of the workforce, especially highly skilled workers. The enlargement of the EU to the East is the second factor that put labour migration in Europe back in the limelight. The accession of new countries imposed a freedom of movement of workers that certain Member States, fearful of social dumping, tried to limit by adapting restrictive transitional measures. Nevertheless, irrespective of the timeframe of these measures, the freedom of movement is a fundamental principle of the European Union. The third explanatory factor has to do with a well-established diaspora in the host countries that exerts a pull effect, especially for young people and women from the countries of origin, given the continuing wide gaps of development between North and South. A fourth, no less important factor, has to do with the need of human capital to build a competitive European economy, which reinforces competition between the States to attract the people with the best skills. The introduction of a ‘European blue card’, or the French ‘skills and talents card’ are the most tangible examples. Whether at EU or national level, these workers are granted “authorisation to work on the territory of the Union, whereas an immigrant is authorised to work only in the host country.”5

Taken together, these factors show that labour migration has become one of the most important parameters of the management of migration, which is bound to intensify in the years to come, in the form of circular migration, with the double aim of maintaining and amplifying growth in the host countries, while contributing to the growth and development of the countries of origin. Migration thus has a positive character, as both sides find themselves in a win-win situation, without forgetting the third party in the equation, i.e. the

5 Cécile Jolly. (2007), Migrations de travail en Europe .”Idem”

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migrant. The objective of the immigration policy chosen and implemented by the European countries through the Pact on Immigration and Asylum (2008) is to establish labour immigration that reduces, and even puts an end to, the flow of immigrants for family reunification. This may prove illusory, since family reunification is an internationally recognised right ratified by a European directive. What is more, this right is in itself a pull factor. For the rest, the history of migration from the South to the North holds lessons for us about the distinct development of population movements to old and new immigration countries, particularly as regards female immigration.

1. What are known as new European immigration countries, like Spain and to a lesser extent, Italy, have in the last three decades benefited economically from a major contribution of labour, particularly female labour, from MEDA countries. Migrant workers contribute to the growth of these countries, to the financing of social protection, and create themselves a flow of activity, not only by their production and consumption, but also by the specific needs that they induce (network, supervision, training and support measures). In Spain and Italy, the numbers of migrants from Maghreb countries are booming.

Table 1 / Numbers of immigrants from southern and eastern Mediterranean countries residing in Spain and Italy6

CountrySpain/Number of residents

from MEDA countries on 1 January

Italy/Number of residents from MEDA countries

on 1 January 2006

Algeria 46,278 20,202

Egypt 2501 58,879

Israel 1818 2195

Jordan 1297 2652

Lebanon 1442 3317

Morocco 511,294 319,537

Syria 2579 3120

Tunisia 1566 83,564

Source: Municipal statistics 1998-2005

6 Philippe Fargues and Hervé le Bras, In Migrants et migrations dans le bassin de la Méditerranée. “Les notes de l’IPEMED. N° 1 pp. 28-29.”

Owing to the geographic proximity and historical ties, Spain and Italy are one of the first destinations for immigrants from Maghreb and Egypt. In the case of Spain, Algeria comes in second, far behind Morocco, while the numbers from other MEDA countries are low (between 1500 and 2500 immigrants). In Italy, strong migration from Morocco has recently joined the traditional migration of Tunisians and Egyptians. The flow of women has acquired increasing importance in these movements in recent years. It entails labour migration of women alone, but also of women who are accompanied, attracted by seasonal work opportunities. This ‘new’ form of female immigration is facilitated by the presence of a diaspora and relatively undemanding social protection systems.

2. In the old immigration countries, where women arrived for family reunification at a certain age, the net economic benefit of migration is more limited, as many of these women are not gainfully employed or are on unemployment benefit, and those who work are employed in domestic services and other subordinate activities. The establishment of families of migrants in the host countries, and the education of the children, especially the girls, have nonetheless led to the emergence of a new generation of more active and more enterprising women in many sectors.

Labour migration has always been a major concern for the European legislator. The Maastricht Treaty enshrined the freedom to move, reside and work in the territory of the EU, while the Tempere Summit defined a common immigration policy based on an analysis of the EU’s economic and demographic needs and the situation of the countries of origin. The Thessalonica Council confirmed the development of a European policy for the integration of third-party nationals residing legally in the EU. In November 2006, the Commission proposed to specify this global approach and to include legal immigration and integration in the European internal and external policies. Then, the European Council of December 2006 considered in its conclusions that migration, and in particular the reinforcement of legal migration, was one of the top priorities of the Union, and recommended that a comprehensive European policy be charted to that end.

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Relying on the concept of “chosen immigration,” the Pact on Immigration and Asylum thus advocates the organisation of legal and professional immigration on the basis of the priorities, needs and reception capacities of each Member State, and the reinforcement of the integration of third-country nationals by granting rights comparable to those enjoyed by European natives. It also adheres to the Commission’s proposal to create a ‘blue card’ so as to facilitate the arrival and establishment of highly skilled workers. The pact moreover underscores the need to improve the organisation of family immigration in compliance with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms and in accordance with the capacities of the Member States for reception and of families for integration.

The global migration policy attests to the diversity of the immigrant population, the multifaceted nature of labour migration and the plurality of the players concerned. Immigrant women are included in all these categories, but with their own specific characteristics. Four categories of migrant women can be thus distinguished:

Resident migrants, who arrived for family reunification and who are established permanently in the host countries (three generations: grandmothers, mothers and their daughters), and those who arrived alone, initially for a limited period, and who finally opted to live in the host country. The types of activity of each group vary depending on the generations and the host country.

Seasonal migrants (seasonal work being considered as a particular form of labour migration7), who constitute a workforce employed in certain sectors like agriculture and tourism for a renewable specified period (3 months to 2 years).

Temporary migrants who arrived through skills migration, were recruited under contract, and are supposed to return to their country after a specified period.

Pendular migrants who come and go between the country of origin and the country of destination for purely economic reasons.

7 Seasonal migration entails movements of workers caused by particular conditions of employment that interest essentially the working population.

The management of migration, and in particular labour migration, which constitutes an irreversible political and economic choice for an ageing Europe facing keen economic competition, runs the risk of focusing attention on the management of numbers of immigrants in the host countries to the detriment of the management of flows. The particular attention paid to attracting highly qualified workers may thus hide the general situations of migrant workers on the labour market. Now, an analysis of the socio-demographic and economic situation of the numbers of migrants established in Europe shows that the questions of integration are just as – if not more – important, than those of the management of flows.

Emigration from MEDA countries to Europe has become one of the essential components of the Mediterranean landscape and an indispensable dimension of the economic and social life of the countries in the region. This phenomenon is explained by the importance of the South to North flows, in particular the flows of women, and by the impact of emigration on the improvement of the living standards of families of migrants as well as on the economy of the countries of origin. In this chapter, we shall broach the distribution of female migrants from MEDA countries as well as their socio-demographic characteristics.

The 2007-2008 report on migration in the Mediterranean8 concludes that the migration flows from southern Mediterranean countries continued in 2008, as confirmed by records from host countries and data from the SEM countries.

In Spain, for instance, municipal records show that the Moroccan immigrant population went up by 73,397 people in 2007 (+13.2%). In Italy, that same

8 CARIM Publication-2007-2008.

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year, the number of residence permits granted to Moroccan migrants was up by 22,268 (+6.6%), compared with 4,700 (+5.3%) for Tunisian migrants and 3,905 (+5.9%) for Egyptians.

Emigration from the occupied territories has continued to rise these last five years: 12,000 people left in 2004 compared with 25,000 in 2006, more than double in just two years. In Lebanon, especially after the reconstruction (after the war in 1990), emigration did not register any shift. The rates of male migration, especially young people aged 20-29, remained nearly the same between 1987-1999 and between 1997-2008, varying between 25.4 and 25.7 per 1,000.9

The case of Israel is very particular: it is essentially an immigration country. The number of new Jewish immigrants to Israel since the country was created in 1947 amounted to 3,041,338 in 2008 (in a total population of 7,350,000). This is not immigration like others, but rather a “return to the promised land.”10 This populating immigration cannot however hide the recent reality that the number of candidates for immigration is declining while that for emigration is increasing sharply. 19,700 people immigrated to Israel in 2007, compared with 21,000 in 2006, and more than 125,000 in 1991. This drop is all the more precipitous, as it is accompanied by an increasingly rising number of people leaving, as some 21,500 people emigrated in 2007. Between 1990 and 2005, some 230,000 Israelis left the country, i.e. 3.5% of the population. 58% of these emigrants were not born in Israel.”11

The rise in emigration from Mashreq countries is explained by the persisting conflicts in the region which cause many young people to leave. It is also due to the economic and social divide, which continues to widen between countries of the North and of the South. In the eyes of young people, Europe is still an economic eldorado and an area of peace, security and freedom, in spite of the effects of the crisis or dissuasion through the border controls. Statistics nonetheless show that migration from southern Mediterranean countries is not geared exclusively to Europe. The MEDA countries are

9 Robert and Choghing Kasparian. (2006), Émigration, emploi et conditions économiques. Le cas du Lebanon. Rapporté par Migrations et Migrants. “Les notes de l’IPEMED.N° 1 .P 28.”

10 Myriam Ambroselli, L’immigration en Israël en chiffres vendredi 18 décembre 2009 in Un écho d’Israel. www.un-echo-israel.net

11 David Rosenfeld News: ISRAEL - L’IMMIGRATION vers Israel est au plus bas depuis près de 20 ans. 20 Mar 2008. www.israelvelley.com/news

actually characterised by two trends: migration from Maghreb is geared to Europe, and that from Mashreq countries to the Gulf and Libya.

Table 2 / Percentage of migrants from MEDA countries, per region of residence

Country of origin European Union Statistics

of host countriesArab

countries Rest of the

world

Algeria 89.4 8.0 2.6

Egypt 7.1 77.5 15.3

Lebanon 24.5 20.8 54.7

Morocco 82.2 11.0 6.8

Tunisia 68.1 26.6 5.4

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, Stocks 2008, p 2.

Percentage of migrants from MEDA countries per region of residence12

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Algeria Egypt Lebanon Morocco Tunisia

EU/ Statistics of host countries Arab countries Rest of world

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, Stocks 2008, p 2.

In the 1970s, the world economy was characterised by growth in the movement of labour, not only to industrialised countries, but also to the new, oil-producing countries of the Middle East. Neighbouring Arab countries

12 Statistics for the other MEDA countries were still not available.

156 157

were the first ones inclined to such migration; fraternal countries, sharing the same language and religion -- Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan -- invested rapidly this Arab immigration area.

Egyptians who went to the Gulf countries in search of work represent a very high percentage (77.5%). The Lebanese took another route, emigrating to different continents and countries throughout the world (54.7%), followed by the Egyptians (15.3%) who form a sizeable diaspora in the USA and Australia, whereas their presence in Europe is lower (7%) than the Lebanese (24.5%). No statistics are available for Jordan and Syria, but a similar trend to that of Egypt is observable.

Migration from Maghreb is geared essentially to Europe, with nearly 90% of Algerians, 82.2% of Moroccans and 68.1% of Tunisians. Migration to Arab countries is still very low, with 8% for Algeria and 11% for Morocco. Tunisia has sent the most important contingent from the Maghreb (26.6%). Emigration from Maghreb to Europe, which started in the beginning of the 19th century and resumed massively in the 1950s, was strongly encouraged by the French government and employers. The Algerians were the first to leave, followed by the Moroccans and the Tunisians.13 In 1974, European countries put a stop to immigration and adopted measures to encourage immigrants to return to their country of origin. This attitude was dictated by the world economic crisis and the scope of unemployment in these countries at that time, as well as by the “relatively high cost of social benefits for immigrants, which had become unsustainable for these countries.”14

This change of European attitude forced migrants from Maghreb to change their destination and to turn to Libya and the Gulf countries, even if the number of emigrants to that destination remains relatively modest for Maghreb countries, the biggest beneficiaries being the Mashreq countries. It is worth pointing out that MEDA countries, considered as emigration countries, are nowadays transit, and especially immigration countries. The population movements are such today that each country in the world has its share of migrants and its type of migration. For instance, there is a transit migration

13 Philippe Bernard, L’immigration. “Editions marabout 1993. P 22.”14 Mohamed Ayed, Les grandes étapes de l’émigration Tunisianne. “In Louis Di Comite

(ed.).1995 La migration du Maghreb, Cacucci Editore, Bari 1995. pp. 31-39. p. 33.”

in Maghreb countries by people in an irregular situation waiting to cross to Europe, and labour migration or an influx of refugees in Mashreq countries.

Table 3 / Number of immigrants (in thousands) in MEDA countries in 2005 with projection for 2010 and percentage of immigrants

2005 2010% of the total

population in 2005 % of women

Algeria 242,4 242,3 0.7 45.2

Egypt 246,7 244,7 0.3 46.7

Israel 2661,3 2 940,5 39.8 55.9

Jordan 2345,2 2 973,0 42.1 49.1

Lebanon 721,2 758,8 17.7 49.1

Morocco 51 49,1 0.2 49.9

Syria 1326,4 2 205,8 6.9 48.9

Palestinian Territories

1660,6 1 923,8 44.1 49.1

Tunisia 34,9 33,6 0.4 49.5

Source: Human Development Report, 2009, UNDP, pp 143-145

3 000

2 500

2 000

1 500

1 000

500

0

Number of immigrants in MEDA countries in 2005 in millions

Algeria

Egypt

Israël

Jordan

Lebanon

Morocco

Syria

Tunisia

Palestinian

Territories

Source: Human Development Report, 2009, UNDP, pp 143-145

158 159

Mashreq countries received the highest number of immigrants in 2010: 2,973,000 in Jordan, 2,9470,000 in Israel, 2,200,000 in Syria and 1,923,000 in Palestine. Countries like Egypt and Algeria are home to 245,000 immigrants, while Tunisia and Morocco are practically at the margin of this process with 33,000 to 50,000 immigrants, most often Sub-Saharan Africans on their way to Europe.

In Jordan, immigrants, largely Palestinians established long ago, plus domestic workers from Asia, account for 44% of the total population. In a first for the Middle East, in 2003 the Ministry of Labour introduced a minimum standard contract15 for domestic workers. Lebanon is a destination of choice for Syrians, while the Sudanese are the most numerous immigrants in Egypt. The case of Algeria is very specific, as it plays host to sizeable labour migration with a Chinese contingent working essentially in construction.

There is a sizeable proportion (between 45% and 55%) of immigrant women in these countries, reflecting the family aspect of this migration, and also the mixed composition of labour migration. The sectors in which immigrants in MEDA countries work are construction, cleaning, catering and, for women, domestic work, a flourishing line for women migrants, especially those from Asia.

A research study conducted by the OECD16 on the three Maghreb countries of emigration shows that their community (Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans) in OECD countries went from 49% in 1990 to 56% in 2000. Whereas the number of Algerians and Tunisians has not changed substantially in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the number of Moroccans has increased everywhere thanks to family reunification and regularisation, especially in Spain and Italy.

15 This contract recognises domestic work as productive work and domestic workers as wage earners provided with recognised rights guaranteed by law. It includes insurance for workers in case of illness and death, rest periods, the payment of wages on a fixed date, and the right to be treated humanely, in compliance with international standards for human rights. In Genre et migration, 16 October 2005.

16 Flore Gubert and Christophe J. Nordman. (2008-2009), The future of International Migration to OECD countries. “Regional Note/ North Africa. Paris IRD, DIAC.”

Table 4 / Main destination of migrants from Maghreb to OECD countries (units?)

DestinationsProportion of

AlgeriansProportion of

MoroccansProportion of

Tunisians

France 84.2% 38.9% 69.9%

Spain 3.3% 19.8% -

Netherlands - 13.5% -

Italy - 9.9% 12.2%

Belgium 1.8% 6.3% 2.2%

Germany - 3.9% 4.9%

USA 3.91% 2.7% 2.1%

Total 93.2% 94.9% 93.32%

Source: Docquier and Marfouk (2005), calculated by the authors.

In general, migrants from Maghreb to Europe have a diversified destination with a higher concentration in France. The distribution per country remains highly variable. There is a predominance of Moroccans, in decreasing order, in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and finally Germany, whereas Algerians tend to concentrate essentially in France (84.2%). Tunisian emigration is geared essentially to France, and secondly to Italy, an old immigration country for Tunisia, even if it has faced competition from Morocco since the end of the 1980s.

There has been a sharp resumption of migration movements from Mashreq countries to the West since the mid 1990s, mainly from Jordan and Lebanon and, as of 2000, from the Palestinian Territories. Unskilled Syrians migrate essentially to countries in the region, whereas their more skilled countrymen head for OECD countries. The scope of these flows is reflected in the remittances from expatriate workers to the countries of origin.17

17 Françoise De Bel-Air, Migrations et politique au Moyen-Orient: populations, territoires, citoyennetés à l’aube du XXIe siècle.

160 161

The statistics available, especially those of CARIM, inform us about the share of this migration in the population movements from MEDA countries and the distribution per emigration country. Female migration differs quantitatively from male migration. The patriarchal structures of Arab Muslim countries prohibit or hinder full participation of women in public life and control their movement, especially of unmarried women. Emigration has a very particular meaning for a woman, as it entails breaking a number of taboos to be able to leave alone without male supervision. The fact remains, however, that such cultural constraints notwithstanding, female migration is booming.

Table 5 / Proportion of women in the total number of migrants from MEDA countries to 9 European countries18

Country Total number of

migrants Total number of

women migrants% of women

migrants

Algeria 805,809 355,880 44.2

Egypt 168,138 47,274 28.1

Israel 43,558 16,003 36.7

Jordan 18,422 6,318 34.3

Lebanon 105,767 40,338 38.1

Morocco 2,088,942 886,425 42.4

Syria 65,021 22,697 34.9

Palestinian Territories

4,505 521 11.6

Tunisia 362,071 141,107 39.0

Our calculations based on CARIM data, 2008/2009. Pp 473-477.

For all MEDA countries, the proportion of migrant women in the overall number of migrants is between 28% and 44%, except for the Palestinian Territories, where it is only 11.6%. The proportion of Algerian women migrants is the highest (44.2%), due to the very old migration, followed closely by that

18 Data from France on women migrants are not available for Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian Territories.

of Moroccan women (42.4%). The absolute figures show a strong presence of Moroccan women, who represent more than double the number of Algerian women and more than four fifths of Tunisian women. The number of women who emigrate from Mashreq countries to Europe on the other hand is relatively low.

The increased movement of women should be interpreted with caution, as many of them emigrate for family reunification or in a related or tribally affiliated group, which entails a permanent control of their freedom of movement. The lack of figures on women who emigrate alone does not allow an in-depth analysis of the issue.

A cross-sectional analysis of the graph above shows that Moroccan women account for more than half of women migrants (58.4%), followed by Algerian women (23.7%), while Tunisian women represent only 9.3%.

Percentage of migrant women from MEDA countries to Europe per country of origin

Algeria Egypt Israel

Jordan Lebanon Morocco

Syria Palestinian Territories Tunisia

Source: Our table based on CARIM data, 2008/2009. Pp 473-477.

To summarise, in the nine European countries of our study, women from Maghreb account for 91.4% of women migrants from MEDA countries, Europe being the destination of choice of women from Mashreq. For the six MEDA countries, there are only 8.6% women migrants from Mashreq, the majority of whom from Egypt (3.1%) and Lebanon (2.6%). The percentages of immigrant women from other countries amount to only 1.5% for Syria and 0.03% for the

162 163

Palestinian Territories. The sustained feminisation of migration from Maghreb to Europe is due to the importance of family reunification (for Maghreb), and the reduction of the number of migrants through naturalisation (for Europe).19

Women from Mashreq tend to emigrate to Arab countries. They include the wives of migrants, and those who accompany women who leave alone to study or to work. “In terms of numbers, they represent an important segment of the migration movement. In Egypt, for example, they account for 30% of the total number of migrants. They are not only university graduates or women from well-to-do strata of society, but also illiterate, unskilled women belonging to underprivileged segments of society.”20

An analysis of the figures of female migration from MEDA countries to European countries is an important indicator of the freedom of movement granted to women from the South. Data available on the presence of migrant women from MEDA countries in European countries can be used to analyse their economic and social situation, their degree of integration and the impact of migration on their attitudes and behaviour.

19 Abdellah Berrada, Les perspectives de retour des émigrés dans le cadre de la coopération euro-maghrébine. “In Luigi DE Comite, op cit., pp. 55-74, p. 60.”

20 Aicha Bendiab. (1991), Femmes et migration vers les pays du golfe. “In G. Beauge et F. Buttner (ed.) 1991. Les migrations dans le monde arabe. Editions du centre national de recherche scientifique. “Paris. Pp. 110-122. p. 112.”

Distribution of Algerian migrants in Europe by country of destination

Percentage of Algerian migrant women in Europe

0.0

50.045.040.035.030.025.020.015.010.0

5.0

Austria

Belgium

Spain

France

Netherla

nds

Greece

Italy

United Kingdom

German

y

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, p 473

Algerian women emigrate to two European countries, France and Belgium, with rates that approach 50% (46.4% and 44.2%). The migration to these two countries notwithstanding, there are other important destinations such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy, which plays host to more than 30% of immigrant women itself.

Egyptian migration is geared above all to Anglo-Saxon countries (more than 30%), particularly to the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. The expansion of English in Egypt facilitates communication and encourages many young people to emigrate in order to study or work. Italy remains a traditional destination of choice because of proximity and especially of the Mediterranean culture.

164 165

Percentage of Egyptian migrant women in Europe

0.0

50.045.040.035.030.025.020.015.010.05.0

Germany Austria Belgium Spain Greece Italy Netherlands UnitedKingdom

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006).

Egyptian migration in Europe goes back to the beginning of the 19th century when, after Napoleon’s campaign (1798-1801), Mohamed Ali sent the first Egyptian missions of students: in Italy in 1813 to study printing and the arts; and in France in 1818 for military and naval training. In the 1960s, political, economic and social developments in Egypt prompted young people to emigrate to Europe and the United States. According to CAMPAs data (2001), 824,000 Egyptians emigrated to destinations other than Arab countries, nearly 80% of whom to the US, Canada, Italy, Australia and Greece. The remaining 20% are dispersed in seven West European countries.21 Egyptians established in OECD countries are generally more educated and more skilled than those who emigrated to Arab countries. They constitute a sizeable scientific community. The Egyptian Medical Society in London, for instance, has more than 120 professors and researchers.22

21 Ayman Zohry. (2006) Egyptian Youth and the European Eldorado: Journeys of Hope and Despair. “Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS. Working Paper no 2006/18. Copenhagen.”

22 Ayman Zohry. (2006). Ibid.

Percentage of Israeli women migrants in Europe

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

Germany Austria Belgium Spain ItalyGreece Netherlands United Kingdom

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006)

The data relating to Israeli women migrants in Europe show limited and contrasting numbers: fewer than 25 women migrants in Greece, nearly 4,000 in Germany and 6,000 in the United Kingdom. For their part, Jordanian migrant women are established primarily in Germany (nearly 3,000), in Italy and in the United Kingdom (with a little more than 1,000 women migrants). This is immigration for studies or to accompany a highly skilled spouse.

166 167

0 .0

5 .0

1 0 .0

1 5 .0

2 0 .0

2 5 .0

3 0 .0

3 5 .0

4 0 .0

4 5 .0

German

y

Austria

Belgium Spa

in

Greece

Netherl

ands

United

King

dom

Italy

Percentage of Jordanian migrant women in Europe

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006)

There is a sizeable number of Lebanese migrant women in Europe. The effects of the war and the existence of a rich and attractive Lebanese diaspora encourage many women to emigrate and to get established abroad. The highest number of migrant women is in Germany (15,769) and in France (14,000).

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

German

y

Austria

Belgium

Spain

France

Greece

Ita

ly

Netherl

ands

United

King

dom

Percentage of Lebanese migrant women in Europe

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008)

Morocco is a particular case. Immigration to Europe, which goes back a long way, was initially male labour immigration, then female immigration, reinforced by permanent residence, and permanent emigration for studies has gone up in recent years. In absolute figures, the Moroccans established in the nine European countries of our study represent more than two million people, the largest community of MEDA countries in Europe. Women are not in the margins, as their share reaches 42.4%. A distinction must nonetheless be drawn between traditional host countries, such as France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and countries that have received migrants in the last two decades to Italy and Spain. The number of Moroccan women in Spain (253,662) is approaching more and more the number of Moroccan women established in France (293,000).

German

y

Austria

Belgium

Spain

France

Greece

Italy

Netherl

ands

United

King

dom

0. 05. 0

10. 015. 020. 025. 030. 035. 040. 045. 050.0

Percentage of Moroccan migrant women in Europe

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006)

Spain seems to be turning into the country of choice for Moroccan women. The geographic and cultural proximity, the rapprochement of mentality, the image that the Spanish convey in Morocco as being amiable and less arrogant than the French feed the collective imagination and make Moroccans think that the Spanish are closer and more likely to accept and understand immigrants, all the more so as Spain is a former emigration country. A similar reasoning can be made for Italy, where there are 150,000 migrant women from Morocco.

168 169

As to Syrian women, 44% of them are in Germany (12,471), but are feebly represented in other countries, ranging from 3000 women in the Netherlands to 387 in Austria. It is above all an elite immigration of students or highly skilled persons.

Germany Austria Belgium Spain Greece Italy United Kingdom

0.05.0

10.015.020.025.030.035.040.045.050.0

Percentage of Syrian women in Europe

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006)

The migration figures for Palestinian woman in Europe seem infinitesimal, all the more so as many European countries do not provide data on the matter. The direction of the migration seems clear, with Belgium as the prime destination, followed by Austria and Italy.

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

Austria Belgium Greece Italy UnitedKingdom

Total

Percentage of Palestinian women in Europe

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006)

Tunisian migrant women are distributed evenly in the nine European countries, between 30% and 35%, the highest percentage being in France (42%). Historic factors can explain the predilection for France, whereas other cultural traditions justify the rise in migration from Tunisia to Italy, considered by many Tunisians as a gentler, more friendly country without conflicts.

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

Germ

any

Austria

Belgium

Spain

Fra

nce

Gre

ece

Italy

Neth

erlands

Unite

d K

ingdom

Percentage of Tunisian women in Europe

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006).

In conclusion, women from MEDA countries are involved in the migration process to Europe. The number of immigrant women from Maghreb countries is clearly higher in absolute figures than the number of immigrant women from Mashreq, which shows a two-prongued trend in migration from MEDA countries to Europe, where migration to the Gulf exceeds by far that to European countries. The direction of migration for language reasons is obvious: there are French-speaking immigrants in France and Belgium, and English-speaking immigrants in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. The Netherlands is chosen as a destination because of the flexibility of the legislation on immigration.

Gender not only crosses the migration landscape, but it is an important parameter that shapes and modifies it. The study of the socio-demographic characteristics (age, marital status, fertility, number of dependent children) of migrants in Europe will make it possible to gauge the development of the migration process as well as the changes that have occurred in the lives of immigrant women.

170 171

The age of immigrant women in Europe is an important parameter. Based on existing data, this immigration population covers three generations:

definition of the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

64 years of age;

An examination of CARIM data for 2006-2007 concerning the distribution of migrants from MEDA countries, by age and sex, to Europe, has led us to select the host countries with available and significant figures. Three old immigration countries, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, whose figures by age are relatively important, were selected, along with two new immigration countries, Italy and Spain, with emphasis placed on the presence of Moroccan women in Spain and of Egyptian women in Italy.

The figures available in France concern migrant women from Algeria and Morocco. The distribution of migrant women by age from these two countries shows the seniority of Algerian immigration in France and the continuous flows of Moroccan women to that country.

Table 6 / Proportion of migrant women from MEDA countries in France by age group

Algeria Morocco

0-19 9.60 28.04

20-39 24.97 28.45

40-64 48.72 38.69

65 and over 16.69 4.80

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p 385.

Proportion of migrants from MEDA countries in France by age group

Algeria

Morocco

0 - 19 20 - 39 4 0 - 6 4 65 and over

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

4 5

5 0

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p 385.

The Algerian immigrant female population is ageing, with 17% of women aged over 65, whereas children up to 19 years of age represent only 9.6%. Its Moroccan counterpart is younger, with children accounting for 28.04% and the aged population only 4.8%. The Algerian female population of working age is larger in the 40-64 age group (48.7%), compared with 38.7% for Moroccan women of the same age group.

The first generation of immigrant women from Algeria is clearly more numerous than the first generation of immigrant women from Morocco, reflecting the seniority of Algerian female migration. For Moroccan women, it is the third generation that is growing, owing to the continuing arrivals in France and the later family reunification in the 1970s and 1980s.

172 173

Table 7 / Proportion of migrants from MEDA countries in Germany by age group

Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco

0-19 24.80 23.14 19.63 21.71 38.23 19.44

20-39 59.14 62.64 50.98 61.10 47.78 56.94

40-64 14.06 11.86 22.86 13.50 12.05 18.30

65 and over 2.00 2.37 11.36 3.70 1.94 5.32

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p389.

The case of Germany is very instructive. 50% to 60% of women from MEDA countries residing in that country are aged between 20 and 39, i.e. full working age, a number that tends to decline when approaching the 40-64 age group. But the most striking aspect is the very low percentage of women aged 65 and over (from 2% to 5%) except from migrant women from Israel, and the high proportion of the children’s age group. Female migration from these five MEDA countries to Germany is therefore recent, with the first generation being relatively negligible in numbers, while the second and third are growing. Women from Israel seem to have been long established in Germany, with more than 11% aged more than 65, whereas women from Lebanon tend to be new arrivals, with a child population of 38%.

Women from MEDA countries established in the United Kingdom are mostly of working age, i.e. between 20 and 64, albeit with significant variations from country to country. For Morocco, Lebanon and Jordan, except for some figures, the percentage of women in the 20-39 age bracket is higher than that of the 40-64 age bracket, a trend that increases for Algerian women, evens out for their Israeli counterparts, and is totally reversed in the case of Egyptian women. This denotes recent immigration to the United Kingdom from the Maghreb, geared more to France, very old for Egypt, and relatively balanced for Israel.

Table 8 / Proportion of migrants from MEDA countries in the United Kingdom by age group

Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco

0-19 16.11 8.54 20.08 28.87 11.89 7.15

20-39 53.50 16.47 35.74 45.36 49.66 49.33

40-64 24.74 45.73 36.54 24.40 31.14 39.49

65 and over 5.65 29.26 7.63 1.37 7.31 4.04

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p.387.

The Egyptian example attests to the old and close ties through history with the United Kingdom. It is in fact the first generation of women from Egypt established in the UK that is the most numerous (75% are aged 40 to 65 and over), while children up to 19 account for only 8.5%. Conversely, the countries where the decreasing average age of the female population is the most visible are Jordan, with 29% of children up to 19, Israel (20%) and Algeria (16%). The youth of female immigration is explained by education, and by the arrival of young senior executives who take up residence with their family.

The new Mediterranean migration model, characterised by the establishment of women of working age, young, and with a relatively high level of education, applies to European recent immigration countries, as tellingly illustrated by the Italian and Spanish examples.

Table 9 / Proportion of migrant women from MEDA countries in Italy by age group

Age group / country Algeria Egypt Morocco

0 - 19 26.3 40.4 37.8

20 – 39 54.3 43.0 45.7

40 – 64 16.0 13.1 14,5

65 and over 3,4 3,5 2.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p.387.

Female immigration from MEDA countries in Italy is mostly from Morocco. In absolute figures, there are 71,595 Moroccan immigrant women compared with 9,151 Egyptian and 2,735 Algerian women, whereas the figure is completely

174 175

insignificant (fewer than 1,000 immigrant women) for countries like Lebanon (977), Israel (654) and Jordan (569).

In spite of the variable figures, this table shows a certain homogeneity, attesting to the particular character of immigration to Italy. This concerns young women (more than 80% are between 0 and 39 years of age), i.e. single-parent families or women alone. The 40-60 age bracket is not represented as much (13% to 16% of the overall total), and those over 65 represent a tiny proportion.

The distribution per sex within each nationality reflects the new importance of female migration to Italy, particularly from Algeria, with 27.5% women compared with 72.5% men, whereas these rates amount to 33.5% against 66.5% for Egypt and 39.5% compared with 66.5% for Morocco.

Table 10 / Proportion of migrants from MEDA countries in Spain by age group

Age group / country Algeria Morocco

0 - 19 32.5 33.4

20 – 39 47.3 47.5

40 – 64 16.2 17.1

65 and over 4.0 2.0

Total 100.0 100.0

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p.387.

A similar tendency emerges for Algeria and Morocco, with the nuance nonetheless that there are 170,498 Moroccan immigrant women in Spain as opposed to only 11,145 Algerian immigrants. Immigration from Algeria to Spain has been opened up very recently, owing to the problem of language and the relatively tense political relations between the two countries during the 1970s and 1980s.

A distinction can be drawn between three categories of female immigration in the host countries:

1. France has an ageing immigrant population where the first generation is predominant;

2. Germany and the United Kingdom play host to a sizeable immigrant population of working age (20-64 years old), which attests to the seniority of female immigration;

3. Italy and Spain, recent host countries, play host to a very young female immigration: the proportion of 0-19 year olds is particularly important as is the proportion of women entering the labour force (20-39 years old), which attests to the existence of a relief potential.

Some demographic parameters: changes of attitudes on a cultural basis in motion.

This is an important parameter for gauging changes in the demographic behaviour of migrants from MEDA countries. The massive arrival of women in Europe for family reunification, in particular young women of reproductive age, has disturbed the reference models of immigrant women confronted with a society that has different references. They are thus confronted directly, for the first time, with modernity through the dressing practices and behaviour of European women, the family structure and the employment of women. During the 1980s, the burden of births tended to ease among immigrant women, due to the precipitous drop in fertility in generations that reached the age of procreation.23 A comparison between the number of births in the three communities during the 1980s shows the drop in fertility of immigrant women from Maghreb.

23 Alain Nervez, Les femmes maghrébines en France. “In Khemais Taamallah.( 2005) (ed.) Les dimensions socioculturelles des maghrébins émigrés en Europe. Publication université de Tunis. pp 67-82.”

176 177

Table 11 / Number of births by the woman’s nationality between 1980 and 1990

NationalityAnnual average percentage

of births 1981-1982Annual average percentage

of births 1989-1990

Algerian 2.63 1.96

Moroccan 2.10 1.96

Tunisian 0.92 0.73

Maghreb as a whole 5.65 4.65

Total 100.00 100.00

Source: INSEE, Desplanques Guy and Ismard Michel, Données sociales (Alain Nervez)

The most precipitous drop in birth rate was noted among Algerian and Moroccan women. Tunisian women already had a lower birth rate compared with other women from Maghreb, a difference which dropped even more with migration. This drop in birth rate occurred at the same time as that registered in the countries of origin. At the time, the fertility level of women from Maghreb in France is between the French level and that of the countries of origin. The birth rate tends to drop generally among daughters of migrants, especially those who came at a young age or were born in France (Alain Nevez). The daughters of migrants tend to adopt demographic habits and behaviour similar to those of women in the host countries.

According to an INSEE study from the 1990s, the number of children per woman has gone from 5.2 to 3.5 among Moroccans, from 5.3 to 3.9 for Tunisians, and from 4.2 to 3.2 among Algerians. “Stemming from old immigration, Algerian women are cast increasingly in the French mould, and with 3.2 children, they are far below the 7 children per family in the country of origin.”24 The drop in the fertility of immigrants seems to constitute a decisive factor in the size of the immigrant family.

The rate of abortion, which has been authorised in France since 1975, is higher among foreign than French women, i.e. 0.6% and 0.44% respectively.25 Abortion therefore occupies a particular place as a means for limiting births

24 Bakalti Souad, femmes méditerranéennes dans les migrations internationales, le cas de la France. “In Mohamed CHAREF (2002), (sld). Les migrations au féminin. Les Editions Sud Contact. Pp. 33-46, p 39.”

25 (A. Berrada) op cit.

in marriage, a phenomenon that is more pronounced among Spanish and Italian women rather than among women from Maghreb.

The collapse of fertility among the migrants from Maghreb living in France in the 1990s was a major occurrence that would dominate the future development of the immigrant family and in part guide the demographic behaviour in the countries of origin. Before the age of 20, Moroccan child mortality is close to that of the host countries.26 Migration to France improves the survival of Moroccan children, as the adaptation of the mothers to new sanitary and nutritional conditions as well as medical healthcare for children play a major role in preserving their health.

The period of residence of the parents is a fundamental adaptation criterion that helps to adjust the mortality levels, as economic, social or cultural burdens make way for the possibilities of preventive or curative healthcare offered almost free of charge in the host country (Y. Courbage, p 116). Nevertheless, the imprint of the country of origin persists, especially through the adoption of certain attitudes regarding illness: the prevailing representations of the child change very slowly, revealing traces of different treatment according to sex, to the benefit of males. (Y. Courbage)

The matrimonial behaviour of immigrants has undergone major changes. For instance, the age at marriage has been delayed and young couples live together under more informal arrangements outside marriage. The 1990 census in France showed the new matrimonial trends of the Maghreb communities. In view of their older contacts with France and French culture, Algerian women seem more Europeanised. Two categories of Moroccan women can be distinguished: the younger ones, who are trying to adopt modes of behaviour close to those of Algerian women, and the older ones, who remain attached to the patterns of the society of origin. For their part, Tunisian women are adopting behaviour patterns not far removed from their society of origin, but much more adapted to the host society. The fact is that

26 Youssef Courbage, Utilisation des données censitaires et d’état civil pour mesurer la mortalité et l’émigration des Moroccoains en France. “In Luigi De Comite, op cit., pp. 113-130, p 115.”

178 179

upon gaining independence in 1956, Tunisia adopted the most progressive family code in the region and in the Islamic world, the impact of which on mothers and daughters living in Tunisia has been crucial.

In the 1990s, the impact of the tradition of the country of origin was perceptibly still alive among immigrant women living in Europe. Although early marriages are clearly in decline, in particular among Algerian women, and the fertility rate is down, nearly 60% of young single women continue to live with their parents. Beyond the age of 35, most women from Maghreb live in couples, generally with men of the same nationality as themselves (Alain Nevez). The protection of young women remains in force and marriage is still the only institution for the expression of sexuality and for reproduction. Living together outside marriage, or with a Frenchman, expresses the degree of liberation of women from Maghreb. The fact remains that this type of arrangement is not rare, and that it is encountered most frequently among Algerian women.

For the new immigration countries, especially Spain where there are many women migrants, there is a considerable number of single, widowed or divorced women. The table drawn up by Laura Oso on foreign female workers according to marital status and main countries of origin (1995) shows that of a total of 7,850 Moroccan women established legally and entitled to work, 53.2% were single, 36.7% were married, 4.55 were divorced and 5.5% were widowed. These data confirm the dominance of working economic migrant women in Spain who came alone, independently from men.

Other research studies (M. Khachani) confirm this result, as they show that the Moroccan community in Spain is composed mainly of single people (59% compared with 39% married people), a status slightly more prevalent among women (62% single, 26% married, 7% divorced and 5% widowed). “These data show that the typical profile of Moroccan immigrant women in Spain is that of a woman who has not yet started a family, or who has broken the marital bond and has decided to emigrating to work and rebuild her life. On the whole, these women did not emigrate “by following their husband.”27

27 Mohamed Khachani and Mohamed Mghari. (2006), L’émigration marocaine en Espagne. “CARIM Report 2006.”

This situation may explain the fact that, unlike their Asian counterparts, women from Maghreb who emigrate alone do not leave marital situations behind; they are usually single, widowed, divorced or disowned. Emigration is then seen as a means to get another chance to build a new life in the host country (Ramirez, 1999).

The migration of workers from the South is often undertaken in accordance with family strategy. The number of dependents is an important economic indicator of the development of the family. It depends on the level of education, the professional status and seniority in migration. Dependents include the spouse, children, ascendents or collateral relatives living together with the immigrant, as well as the other members of the family who remained in the country of origin.

The study of Laura Oso has shown that a high proportion of immigrants have dependents: 67% for Africans, 56% for Latin Americans, 60% for Asians. The rate varies widely when dependents in the country of origin are involved: 56% for Africans, 33% for Latin Americans and 36% for Asians. The presence of dependents in the country of origin indicates that migration is not necessarily a family affair, while underscoring the strong ties of the system of mutual assistance and the notion of duty to parents and the nearest family in societies in the southern Mediterranean, and more particularly among women.

The number of dependents was sizeable in the 1990s among immigrants from Maghreb. In Belgium, for instance, each immigrant worker has 5.25 dependents to look after in addition to himself, a figure even higher among Moroccans (5.7 dependents). This load seems far lower in France (1.8 people). In Spain it is 0.7 people, due to the recent immigration movement in that country. In all, each migrant from Maghreb established in a European country supports 2.2 people, whereas he was virtually alone in the 1970s (A. Berrada, p 61).

As regards the distribution of dependents according to sex, economic responsibility is generally assumed by men, in spite of the development of and increase in the number of women as heads of household (63% for men, compared with 57% for women). As most of these women have dependents in

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the country of origin, they provide the main economic support. The number of single Moroccan immigrant women in Spain, and their double responsibility with regard to the family that has stayed in Morocco and the family which they start later in the immigration country, are worth underscoring.

Divorced or widowed women are those who declare they no longer have dependents, far more than their male counterparts (Laura Oso), which reveals the fact that in the case of a family breakdown, immigrant women are economically involved in the household to a greater degree, and their economic responsibility increases.

Overall, the socio-demographic analysis shows that women from Maghreb living in Europe are involved in a greater dynamic of social change, and adopt new social and reproductive modes of behaviour. This dynamic mobilises generational relations between young women, who are more receptive and better integrated in the system, and older women who have helped to establish other forms of sociability. There is a perceptible trend towards greater convergence and complementarity between mothers and daughters than divergences. The changes on the reproductive front are going to be accelerated and reinforced as immigrant women access the labour market and gainful employment that will make them independent, no longer having to rely on husbands, but able to contribute to the expenditures of the household and to the family budget.

Gainful employment is becoming increasingly feminised in the world, including among immigrant women (from 34% in 1993 to 40% in 2003).28 The data available show that immigrant women are increasingly seeking to get integrated in the world of work. They also show that the rate of working women is higher in countries of recent immigration such as Spain or Italy, as the women who arrive in those countries are young, independent, and have their own migration project, the focal point of which is employment.

28 Claudine Blasco. Forum social med. op cit.

Studying the situation of migrant women in the world of work in nine countries in Europe is a challenge given the lack of statistical and sociological data. More specifically, few studies are available on immigrant women in the economic area and when they exist, they are often incomplete, partial and fragmentary. The lack of a major global survey on immigrant women in the world of work stands in the way of conducting a comparative analysis and limits the undertaking to observing broad trends.

The deficit in quantitative and qualitative data can be explained by the fact that access by women to the economic area in host countries was late, and also by the fact that immigrant women were often employed in the informal sector. With the arrival of daughters of migrants in the economic field in the 1980s (as wage earners or self-employed workers), greater interest has been focused on the employment of migrant women, as they are no longer considered only from the cultural angle as the glue to the social cohesion of the family, but also as effective economic players.

In spite of the information gaps, we are trying to give a general overview of the situation of migrant women from MEDA countries on the EU labour market, by underscoring the main characteristics of the participation of migrant women in the labour force (level and sector of employment, unemployment and underemployment), and by drawing a distinction between old and new immigration countries.

Female migration is multi-dimensional: young and old, single and married, heads of household and housewives, immigrant women from the 1970s and from the 2000s. One common element unites them: the search for and exercise of an occupation, or where needed, the projection of a better integration in the economic channels of host countries for their daughters.

The first immigrants in Europe from MEDA countries came to accompany their husbands and to look after their children. The justificatory discourse of family reunification raises questions about the balance of the family, the comfort of immigrant workers so as to be more productive, and above all, greater integration in the host society. The employment of migrant women was not on the agenda. Nevertheless, family burdens, new needs created by

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the change of residence, the education of children and the support of families that have stayed in the country of origin could not be satisfied with the husband’s earnings only. The need to work outside the home increased for women who had hitherto been used to live in the family cocoon and to work for their families only.

Up until the 1980s, Maghreb women were very marginal in the production process, and registered the lowest participation in the employment rate among working women of foreign origin. The feminisation of the migrant working population from Maghreb started only in the 1990s, following the integration and adaptation of more and more immigrants in the production system of the host countries as well as the arrival of educated young women on the labour market with the required qualifications to occupy high-level positions. It is worth adding that developments in the situation of women in the countries of origin, urbanisation, education and advancements in women’s participation in the world of work, helped to destroy the taboo that it is shameful for women – and especially married women -- to work, interpreted as a sign that the husband was not able to assume his responsibilities as the head of the household. Employment has become the norm for migrant women from MEDA countries, and inactivity, or staying at home, the exception, including for married women who have children. For single, widowed or divorced women, employment is a constant.

Most immigrant women from MEDA countries reveal this wish, this need to work, to get a salary and be autonomous and independent of their husbands. Access to the labour market is not easy, however. Whereas better educated women encounter fewer problems, illiterate women or those with very low skills have to cope with very hard conditions, low salaries, and especially uncertainty in work.

The different profiles of immigrants in the new and old immigration countries determine in a certain way the level of access to and integration in the world of work. Motivation for work is certainly the manifest or latent cause or consequence of migration. The fact remains that immigrant women are faced with a way and a world of work that are new, which they try to manage with their cultural and educational potential.

In the old immigration countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and, to a lesser degree, Austria), the participation rates of women in the labour force are considerably lower compared with the new immigration countries, especially for the first generation. Furthermore, in the old host countries, the participation rates of immigrant women in economic activity were very low for the first 5 to 10 years after their arrival. These initial deficits have been reduced or disappeared with time spent in the host country. The participation rates of immigrant women in the labour market in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom are nonetheless 15% lower than that of nationals with comparable socio-demographic characteristics. In the 1990s, women from Maghreb residing in France had relatively low employment rates; they lived in a situation of transition with flagrant differences between the first and second generations.

Table 12 / Employment rates of women from Maghreb in France by age and nationality in 1990

Nationality Age

Algerian Moroccan Tunisian Maghreb as a whole France as a whole

15-19 7.5 7.3 6.5 7.3 9.0

20-24 51.0 49.4 41.5 49.0 59.8

25 – 29 57.2 41.8 44.7 49.2 80.0

30-34 50.3 28.9 33.0 38.6 76.2

34-39 36.3 28.0 33.4 32.7 75.5

40-44 29.3 28.9 32.6 29.6 75.6

45-49 26.3 26.5 35.7 27.3 71.6

Source: INSEE. Recensement DE 1990

Two important facts emerge from the table: the first concerns the difference of employment rates according to the nationality of Maghreb women; the second shows the gap between access to the labour market by French and by immigrant women. In fact, of the three Maghreb countries, Algerians seem to be the most integrated, in particular for the population aged 24 to 39. Employment has become an important dimension in the life of the new generation of women; it is no longer taboo, but has become a necessity of

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modern living – all the more so as the aim of education and training for women is no longer a good match for marriage, but rather to become economically independent from parents and husbands.

Tunisian women come in second, with a nearly identical distribution by age group where, for women aged 30 to 49, the employment rate is between 33% and 36%. The peaks were noted among younger women, aged 20 to 29. For their part, Moroccan women have the lowest employment rate in the 30-49 age bracket (26%-29%), while the figure for younger women aged 20 to 29 is nearly identical to that of the other Maghreb countries. The first generation of migrants, often illiterate and from rural backgrounds, could not really manage to get integrated in the European world of work. The greatest approximation among women from Maghreb is the higher employment rate among young women aged 20 to 24, which is explained by the nearly compulsory schooling for girls, their education and their desire to integrate. Before the age of 20-24, the employment rates have become constant because of schooling.

The main causes that explain these low rates of employment among first generation immigrant women are varied, and include having young children29, lack of familiarity with how institutions function in host countries, apprehension about the alien outside world, and the arrival of successive waves of migrants. All the more so as the mentality of the husbands was not yet ready to accept their wives working outside the home and see them leave every day, leaving household work and children behind.

There are pronounced differences in employment rates between French and Maghreb women, showing different itineraries and life projects, making the lag of women from Maghreb, especially from Morocco, in joining the world of work, all the more flagrant. Furthermore, in France, the labour market has been invaded by the baby-boom generations. In 1990, women aged close to 50 had an employment rate of 71.6%.

A ‘new migration model’ emerged in the new immigration countries of southern Europe, quite different from that in northern Europe. An unorganised,

29 Migrant women from third countries are far more inclined to have young children in their families than are women nationals. In Jennifer Rubin, Michael S. Rendall, Lila Rabinovich, Flavia Tsang, Barbara Janta Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau. (2008). Migrant Women in the Eu Labour Force. Summary of Findings. Commissioned by the European Commission, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. 2008.

Mediterranean model, where migration occurs spontaneously to meet an explicit or implicit demand for labour in booming sectors, particularly in the informal economy.

In these southern European countries (Greece, Italy and Spain), the participation rate of immigrant women in the labour force is clearly higher, as migrant women are on average younger and have work experience in their country. They are often literate, with varied levels of education, and are above all suffused by the culture of employment and the independence it provides. Young, single, widowed or divorced, these women actually migrated in order to work.

Women alone, from MEDA countries, and in particular from Morocco, living in Italy and especially in Spain, migrated solely in order to find work. The market demand for foreign workers is constantly up, establishing thus a migration dynamic that includes not only migrant women but several social players, including the families, networks, agencies and the State. The economic integration of new arrivals occurred in major sectors such as services, agriculture and hotel and catering.

Migrant men are distributed in many different sectors of the economy, whereas migrant women, irrespective of their nationality, tend to be more concentrated in the service sector, which employs nearly three-fourths of foreign women. Other sectors have emerged in recent years, such as trade and interpreting. In the old immigration countries, migrant women used to be very present in industry. But changes have occurred in the secondary sector, in particular textiles, which led to a reduction of nearly 20% of the workforce.30 A much reduced number of immigrants works in the agricultural sector. The search for low-paid, docile workers prepared to perform chores led to the recruitment of women to replace men in the agricultural tasks. Migrant women are still marginally present in mines and construction. Domestic work is the sector where demand for immigrant female labour is

30 Souad Bakalti, Femmes Méditerranéennes dans les migrations internationales. Le cas de la France. In les migrations au féminin. Collectif, coordination par Mohamed Charef. “Ed Sud Contact. 2002 . pp33-46. p. 42.”

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on the rise, particularly in southern European countries – where jobs are considered stable, compared to the situation in certain occupations.

Studies show that immigrant women who create businesses are still rare, but the sector is growing. In the case of France, the number of migrant women entrepreneurs nearly doubled between 1982 and 1990, from 6,532 to 14,109.31 The businesses created concern essentially commercial services and trade: hotel and catering, hairdressing, foods, clothing shops, and retail, especially in the informal sector. The schooling of girls, their learning and success at school, and the duration of immigration have enabled an orientation shift to other types of employment, such as in commercial services, administration, teaching, entrepreneurship or community services and cultural activities. Even domestic services (housekeepers) have tended to diminish for the benefit of new services in cleaning and maintenance firms (S. Bakalti). We may deduce from the foregoing that migrant women work in many different sectors. They vary depending on the country of residence and the legislation in force. Nevertheless, given the dearth of harmonised data, it is difficult to conduct a detailed analysis of the many occupations. We shall therefore limit our attention to sectors where the migrant women are present in large numbers (services, including housekeeping, and small shops) and those in which they have scarcely broken through (trade, the professions and the business world).

The documentation devoted to the employment of migrant women shows that they are passively present in the service sector. The percentages fluctuate between 60% and 70% of immigrant women working in hotel and catering, housekeeping, and the care sector.

The concentration of immigrant women in certain sectors speaks volumes on the length of residence in the host country, their level of education and their partial or total integration in the economy of the host country. A comparison between the occupations of native immigrants and those of third countries is scarcely perceptible, indicating that the status of immigrant women is more

31 Souad Bakalti.op cit .p 42.

decisive than that of seniority in the host country, and even the acquisition of nationality.

Table 13 / Occupational concentration among native and third-country women in certain sectors, 2005 32

Types of migrant women and sectors

Native migrant women in the EU Total 57%

Migrant women from third countries. Total 65%

Sales and elementary services 16% 25%

Assistants and care providers 14% 18%

Clerical employees 13% 9%

Other assistant positions 8% 6%

Teachers 6% 6%

Models, salesgirls, hostesses 6% 5%

Source: Données de l’Enquête sur les forces de travail de l’UE (EU LFS or LabourForce Survey) de 2005.33

In fact, for all occupations which require a certain level of education and training, such as teachers, assistants, and sales staff, the rates remain almost the same for the two categories of immigrant women. The only major difference appears in sales jobs and elementary and healthcare services, which are increasingly being deserted by natives (who tend to focus more on office work). The fact remains that the service sector in general, and housekeeping work in particular, comes in first place for women from third countries.

Housekeeping sector: Multiple forms of housekeeping work

Housekeeping services comprise the largest proportion of foreign women from third countries. In the old immigration countries, first generation women performed this type of work because they were not prepared for other types of employment. They saw their work as helping women in the host country with certain household tasks. Such work was often carried out on a part-

32 Notes: The data concern Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

33 In Jennifer Rubin, Michael S. Rendall, Lila Rabinovich, Flavia Tsang, Barbara Janta Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau. (2008), op. cit., p 7.

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time basis to have time to look after the family. Nowadays, women who do this type of work are relatively educated, some having been schooled in their country of origin. The fact remains that they work in this sector because it is the only one available and the most attractive financially for new arrivals, whilst facilitating the regularisation of their situation.

Data for 1995 on immigrant women working in Spain, irrespective of their nationality, show that most of them are employed in housekeeping tasks (64%). Gender thus emerges as the principal variable that determines the integration in the labour market, far more than origin, whereas employment of male immigrants is more diversified with a predominance for specialisation according to the nationality of origin (Laura Oso).

Group discussions held by Laura Oso with working women and women at home from upper classes, who employ domestic help, have shown that immigrant women are categorised according to singular characteristics. Polish women are thus closer to their female employers, given their high level of education. Filipino women are much appreciated because of their submissive nature and because they are hard working, and Latin American women reproduce the submissive situation they knew in their country, while the shared language brings them closer to their female employers. African women are purportedly the most prone to problems, often to do with delinquency, where difference in race and religion makes communication -- and by extension their integration – difficult. Apart from the stereotypical overall representation, female employers seem to be satisfied with their employees from the South, they think that the latter do their work well, and have friendly personal relations.

Employment in services has been encouraged by the administrative authorities through a policy of quotas and regularisation. The State thus participates in this female migration dynamic. During the 2005 regularisation in Spain, two-fifths of the 700,000 applicants for regularisation were women,

most of whom were employed in the housekeeping sector. The initial impact of the programme was therefore in large measure to regularise migrant women with a housekeeping job, although there were certain indications to the effect that the regularisation would enable some migrant women to get better paying jobs. In Italy, terms used to refer to immigrant women working in the housekeeping sector are most telling. They are referred to not only colf,34 in the sense of help at home with kitchen chores and the children, but also badanti,35 i.e. care providers for the elderly. The same phenomenon is observed in Greece and in Spain. “Furthermore, the major female migration flows from Eastern Europe and the Balkans after 1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall were geared to such tasks. Women from Maghreb started to replace them by flocking to this sector36”.

This new phenomenon has attracted the interest of researchers, who stepped up their work on the subject to grasp and understand the reasons for the growth in demand for housekeeping work in post-industrial societies. Women sociologists in southern Europe have looked into the paradox of ‘liberating one women to serve another one’. Other scholars such as the Italian sociologist Laura Balbo (1994) or Sonia Parella Rubio (2000) and Angeles Ramirez37 in Spain, but also from the English-speaking world such as Jacqueline Andall (2000, 2002), have tried to analyse and to understand this entanglement of demographic, political, economic, and social factors at the origin of this societal phenomenon that recourse to housekeeping help has become.

It is worth bearing in mind that whereas radical changes have occurred in European society and have turned the life of women completely upside down – such as access to employment, expansion of schooling, the drop in the fertility rate, the impact of liberation movements, etc. – the vision of tasks and of roles in the family has scarcely moved. As Laura Balbo (1994)38 has aptly put it, in spite of everything, men have managed to keep their contribution exclusively to the labour market, whereas women have to put in a double day, with organisational arrangements that are not compatible,

34 Colf is an abbreviation of “collaboratrice familiare,” or “home helper.” 35 Badanti, from the verb “badare” to look after, to care care of, carer36 Giovanna Campani, Genre et migration. “Université de Florence. www.unive.it pdf” 37 Les migrations internationales et les rapports de sexe: femmes marocaines en Espagne.

“In (S/D) Mohamed Charef. Les migrations au féminin. Editions Sud Contact 2002. pp. 85-100.”38 Balbo, L. (1981), Women’s Access to Intellectual Work. The case of Italy. “ Signs, Journal of

Women in Culture and society, 6 n.4, pp.763-769.”

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and suffer psychological stress brought about by this situation, known as “double presence”. Even if the new male generations are a little more aware of the fact that they must contribute to the work in the house, their attitude is limited to providing occasional work, as the woman always has to point out what has to be done and how. “We may therefore conclude that the greatest contribution of women in production presupposes a reduction of the number of hours at home, without a comparable reduction in household tasks.”39 Minding children and looking after the elderly are the heaviest household tasks, often performed by women, given the ageing of the population and the welfare system deficit in certain European countries.

Jacqueline Andall (1998, 2000)40 has pointed out that governments in southern Europe have not managed to adapt welfare services to the new situation. She has moreover observed that the women’s movements have not managed to change the traditional gender division of household labour. As a result, women who work prefer to pay themselves for childminding and care for the elderly, as these tasks are still considered as being exclusively for women. Furthermore, “in this patriarchal context, many European families consider the poorly paid and undeclared work of migrant women as a solution to have both a professional and a family life.”41 The demand for immigrant women in household tasks is the result of the difficulty that European women have in reconciling family life with working life, and of the adoption of measures by the States relating to the equality of the sexes, which are applied mainly to native women.

Migrant women employed in this sector are still vulnerable. It is nonetheless worth pointing out that for the Spanish legislation, the granting of a work permit to foreign nationals depends on the employment situation of Spanish workers. Work permits are issued only for jobs in fields where there is a need for a labour force or that have been refused by Spanish workers42 -- all the more so as the Special System for Housekeeping Workers does not include unemployment benefits, compulsory written contracts or the

39 Parella Rubio, S. (2003), Mujer, immigrante y trabachadora, La triple discrimination. “Barcelone, Anthropos Cited by Giovanna Campani. P 282.”

40 Andall, J. (2000) Gender, Migration and Domestic Service: The Politics of Black Women in Italy, Hampshire, Ashgate Publishing.”

41 Attac, (2003), Quand les femmes se heurtent à la mondialisation. Paris les milles et une nuit.

42 M. Khachani et M. Mghari l’immigration Moroccoaine en Spain. Op cit.

recognition of occupational diseases and accidents. The example of Spain can be extended to numerous European countries. The governments generally exclude domestic workers from the protection granted to other occupational categories, do not manage to regulate the recruitment practices, and are often ill-informed about the working conditions.

Household tasks continue to be socially undervalued in many European countries. They are often not considered as real work to obtain a work or a residence permit, or as proof for regularisation. When regularisation takes place, as in Greece, Italy or Spain, female domestic workers are considered as temporary employees and are consequently not authorised to apply for family reunification. Female domestic workers are also faced with a vast range of very serious abuses and are systematically exploited at work. In a new report published on 27 July 2006,43 Human Rights Watch (HRW), which includes Morocco as a MEDA country in its analysis, declared that such mistreatment includes physical and sexual abuse, sequestration, the non-payment of their salaries, privation of food and medical care, excessively long working hours and no rest days. In 2004, when the UN Commission examined the report on the human rights of migrants, the special rapporteur on the rights of migrants Gabriela Rodriguez Pizarro called for the regulation of the sector of migrant women working as domestic staff. In her report, she described the dramatic conditions of women working in the domestic service sector, the abusive working conditions, and the violence on the part of their employers. Her main recommendation was not to have the administrative situation of these women depend solely on the contractual relationship with the employer, in order to limit dependence and submission that prevent migrants to lodge complaints with the authorities. She moreover recommended that all States ratify the convention on migrant workers and their families.

For its part, Human Rights Watch called on governments to extend the main occupational protection to female domestic workers, to establish minimum regional standards on employment so as to prevent any unhealthy competition and to guarantee that the employers and agents are held responsible for any perpetrated abuses.

43 The 93-page report entitled Swept Under the Rug: Abuses Against Domestic Workers Around the World summarises the research studies conducted by HRW since 2001 on the abuse of women and children working as domestic staff from El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Togo, the United States, or who work in those countries.

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The roles traditionally devolved to the mistress of the house are assumed by immigrant women. Thus, the linkage between gender, ethnic origin and class becomes the most appropriate formula for analysing female migration and for examining gender equality and the distribution of male and female roles in Western societies. Major advancements have been made, but it is worth pointing out that women are progressing faster than men, and that their cultural and occupational advancement has led them to take up positions generally reserved for men, but without any profound reconsideration of the division of labour in the family. In short, whereas female domestic workers have liberated the native women, seasonal employment has liberated native and immigrant men.

Seasonal migration has always existed. It concerned essentially men working in agriculture, such as the examples from the Bouches du Rhône and those who went to Spain to work in the greenhouses. Starting in the 2000s, the question of circular migration has been on the agenda, i.e. the migration of labour employed for one season, at the end of which the migrants return to the country of origin. The people most concerned are women from Maghreb, most of whom are of Moroccan origin.

The most tangible example, which has received wide media coverage, is that of Moroccan seasonal migrant women -- a movement in force since 2005, established by an agreement between Morocco (through the national agency for the promotion of employment and skills, known by the French acronym ANAPEC) and Spain, and more particularly the municipality of Huelva in Andalusia. Financed by the MEDA II Programme “institutional support for the movement of persons,” this project is described as an initial experiment to implement a cooperation programme for the management of legal migration flows between Morocco and Europe. This programme concerns essentially women who are recruited for three months to pick strawberries. Under this programme, part of the migrants return to Spain every year in a regulated

framework managed by the partners. They are paid !33.3 a day, and their costs are assumed for the duration of their stay, except for food.

The women are chosen in Morocco on the basis of criteria set by the two parties. They are selected in accordance with the region, marital status and number of children. They are in principle poor, married, widowed or divorced women with a dependent family. The impact of such migration for the promotion of the family and well-being is far from negligible, and remittances certainly help in the fight to eradicate poverty in the locality and even the region. The partners have indicated that they are very satisfied. They have announced to all and sundry the success of this programme and its beneficial consequences, including the income saved by the female workers and the social rights that they enjoy in Spain. Their 95% return rate attests to the quality of the performance.44 Nevertheless, these positive assessments conceal the distress of women living far from their families and young children. Their primary aim is to meet the needs of their families and improve their situation. Women must adapt to very difficult working conditions on pain of losing their job and being no longer selected. The president of Huelva Acoge (an association for the rights of migrants) is very watchful about the conditions of accommodation for female workers, nonetheless declaring that the “women who come under this type of contract are at times poorly housed and paid less than Spanish women. The working conditions are also very hard. Spending a whole day bent over to pick strawberries carefully and put them gingerly in a crate calls for exhausting physical positions and a great deal of energy, with adverse repercussions on the health of these women, most of whom suffer constantly from back ailments and other joint disorders when they go back to their country.45 Alongside this seasonal migration, a new sort of pendular migration has been developing in recent years: women residing in a MEDA country, in particular in Maghreb, travel to different European countries to engage in trade, an activity that can be described as international street vending.”

44 AENEAS, explains that Moroccan women do not run away because some farmers keep the passport of their workers during their entire stay, as well as the fact that they must learn Spanish and that they are made aware of the dangers of illegal migration.

45 Petites mains marocaines pour la fraise espagnole. www.algerie-dz.cm/forums/archive. 10/05/2008_

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Another relatively recent form of mobility for working women connected to the facilitation of transport and the gradual elimination of customs duties between MEDA and European countries is acquiring more and more importance nowadays. This is a movement back and forth by young women, often married with children, who engage in a lucrative activity in international mobility. The wives of migrants for Maghreb were the first to engage in this practice when they returned to their country for holidays or other reasons. They were considered as ‘passive active women’, who needed their husband’s financial support to start the business and his consent to travel. This was an additional activity that Michel Péraldi mentions when he talks about the contingents of women, domiciled in Maghreb in particular, who regularly travelled abroad to make purchases.46 Algerian women headed for Turkey, Tunisian women for Italy (Naples) and Moroccan women for the south of Spain (Algéciras, Ceuta and Melilla).

Such movement is consequently no longer reserved for migrants who have taken up permanent residence in Europe. Migration of women alone has developed, breaking the traditional image of the spouse and mother who follows her husband for family reunification (Campani, 1995; Ramirez, 1999). The feminisation of commercial movements in the Mediterranean area is admittedly still a little known phenomenon. The study by Camille Schmoll draws attention to this aspect of female migration.47 This is nonetheless a micro-network which is not always geared to Europe; most Tunisian women who engage in this activity get their supplies in Libya, Morocco, Turkey and Syria, while their Algerian counterparts go to Turkey for that purpose.

Unlike working migrants in Europe, these women do not meet any demand for work from European companies, but are more in line with trends on the labour market in Maghreb, characterised by a feminisation of certain activities ordinarily reserved for men, such as trade. They are at the heart of the current changes in Maghreb societies. For women, such movement is capitalised on for socio-economic mobility strategies but also for empowerment and independence. Unlike Sub-Saharan Africa, there is no tradition of female trade

46 Michel Péraldi (2005) (in press), Routes algeriennes, in Anteby Lisa, Berthomière William, Sheffer Gabriel Éds., 2000 ans de Diasporas. “Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes.”

47 Camille Schmollp (2005), Pratiques spatiales transnationales et stratégies de mobilité des commerçantes Tunisiannes. Revue européenne des migrations internationales. “Vol. 21 - n°1 / 2005, pp 131-154.” The study is based on research carried out among a group of Tunisian women from the city of Sousse, who travel frequently to Naples to make purchases.

in public spaces in Maghreb. In rural areas, women used to sell their products in the souks. In Morocco, in the Rif region, there were even essentially female souks, where men were not entitled to enter. ‘The suitcase trade’, although tolerated, is not considered a very legitimate activity (Péraldi, 2001), especially when it involves women who are the head of the household. Nevertheless, this type of travel in no way disrupts family or married life, in as much as “a large part of the investments and the decisions relating to migration are discussed and arranged within the household.”48 The wife engages in trade outside, leaves the home for a few days and returns to resume her domestic tasks. As Moroccan women travel to Ceuta and Melilla almost every day, they are never far from their family, and keep constantly in touch with their traditional tasks thanks to the mobile telephone. Furthermore, the success of this female commercial entrepreneurship is based on striking a balance for the married couple and the family. Whereas migration leads to a redefinition of roles on the productive end, the changes in the reproductive sphere are somewhat less clear, as the woman continues to assume the roles of mother and perfect wife, or young woman at home, for those who are still living with their parents.

The choice of such travel back and forth is not made solely to address an economic need. The women who take part in it belong to different socio-economic circles, and international street vending is often part of a family project for upward social mobility and the education of the children. The products sold stem mainly from such sectors as clothing, jewellery, household appliances, baby clothes and trousseaux. These women know the tastes of their clientele and its infatuation with Western fashion (the consumption of foreign products is a sign of distinction for young people from the middle or underprivileged classes), all the more so as the prices charged are relatively more attractive than those charged in the shops.

The diverse movement is put to the test by this specifically feminine knack of knowing one’s way around, through the use of a network of ‘female friends’, the pooling of resources and the learning of negotiating techniques. The networks of such female traders reproduce in part the traditional forms of sociability of the cities in Maghreb, where female territoriality is guided above all by family and neighbourhood ties, as well as a common regional

48 Camille Schmollp (2005), Pratiques spatiales transnationales et stratégies de mobilité des commerçantes Tunisiannes. “op cit.”

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origin (Berry-Chikhaoui, 2000). Femininity becomes a tactic when crossing foreign areas or with customs inspectors. In Ceuta, Melilla or Algéciras, in Naples or in Rome, Paris or Marseille, women traders travel legally, purchase supplies, know the ideal business spots, the quality of the goods, the periods of the sales, and have their established networks, who inform them about and guide them to good deals. The fact remains that such movement, albeit negotiated, affords them an opportunity for greater independence, the means and resources to reshape their status, and a wide variety of relations to capitalise on multiple benefits from this mobility.

When we broach the question of skills, it is necessary to draw a distinction between the children of second and third generation migrants who, through education and training, have gained access to high status occupations, and those who engage in circular migration between the South and the North, thereby responding to a demand of a labour market greedy for skills.

Highly skilled migrants are a minority, even if their numbers have continued to grow these last decades. The number of female employees in multinational companies or international institutions, those working in the professions, senior executives, university professors or entrepreneurs is still limited. The reasons for these trifling percentages have to do essentially with the level of education of immigrant women, their predominantly literary education, and the non-recognition of diplomas between the country of origin and of destination, and segregationist policies that do not enable them to access positions that correspond to their degrees.

There are very few highly skilled positions occupied by immigrant women in Spain (1.9%), but there is a perceptibly sizeable qualitative development, as 12.7% of them now belong to the skilled category, compared with 3.75% in 1993. Nevertheless, in 1999, 78.5% of Moroccans were doing unskilled jobs, of which 41.6% in agriculture, and 14.7% in domestic services.49

The circular immigration of highly skilled workers has in turn become an important element in economic development and in the innovation policies

49 M. Khachani and M. Mghari, (2006).op cit.

of industrialised nations in recent years. A report published in 2009 by the Arab League’s department of population and migration policies,50 lists nearly 100,000 scientists, scholars, doctors and engineers who leave Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria each year.51

Thus, nearly 70,000 Arab university graduates emigrate every year to seek employment abroad. Some 54% of Arab students leave to earn higher degrees abroad and never return to their country of origin; 70% of scientists do not return. Nearly 50% of doctors, 23% of engineers and 15% of scientists emigrate to Europe, the United States and Canada. According to the report, the discontinuation of such emigration of skills on a large scale would enable Arab ‘skill exporting’ countries to save $1.57 billion per year. The report calls on countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan to stop this haemorrhage by taking appropriate measures to create new, well paid jobs and investment opportunities so as to stem the massive departure of young talents and enable them to foster the social and economic development of their country of origin.

The mobility of highly skilled workers has been rising in the last two decades worldwide. This development is explained by an increase in European – and now world – demand for skills, owing to the advances of globalisation and the unrelenting development of information and communication technologies. The emigration of the elites educated in the countries of the South poses many problems which have not yet been solved. The flight of skills is highly paradoxical: some scholarly studies conclude that they stifle -- others that they accelerate -- the development of the countries of origin, stressing nonetheless that consultation and negotiation are needed by and between the country of origin and the country of destination for such departures to be beneficial for all stakeholders. Given the importance assumed by this type of migration nowadays, we may well inquire about the degree of participation by women as well as the areas in which they are the most represented.

Whereas data on the matter are rare and disparate, some research studies consider possibilities for subsequent research studies. For instance, the emigration of students is a pre-existing factor of the brain drain. The

50 Cf. Business News of 07 September 09.51 The report refers to statistics obtained from the Arab League, the International Labour

Organisation (ILO), UNESCO and other Arab and international organisations.

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OECD underscored that in 2000, nearly 1.5 million foreign students were enrolled in higher education in its Member States, and that more than half of these were from countries outside the OECD. There were 223,000 students in the United Kingdom and 187,000 in Germany.52 The share of women among the students who opt for permanent residence is far from negligible, of course. Recent studies by Docquier, Lowell and Marfouk (2007)53 confirm the feminisation of the migration of skills while showing that the emigration rate of skilled women exceeds that of skilled men. In 2000, the number of qualified emigrants from MENA countries compared with emigrants established in other regions of the world was very high for both sexes: 28.3% for women and 33.5% for men.54 In this respect, training and expertise, and not gender, are what counts for the choice of skills. The authors provide figures for these same MENA countries that challenge fully the current stereotypes about highly skilled women from the region, because they show that in 2000, the emigration rate of female skills compared to the overall migration was 9.7%, as opposed to 8.7% for men. The education and training imparted to the female elite in MENA countries have given those women the means to break with tradition to a certain degree, to free themselves from societal and patriarchal constraints, leading to greater self-assurance and self-esteem, and therefore greater autonomy. The authors nonetheless point out that the traditional economic determinants of emigration differ according to gender, with women being more inclined to follow their husband than vice-versa.

As regards the countries of destination, highly skilled women from Mashreq countries tend to head for Anglo-Saxon countries, in particular Egyptian women. For the Maghreb countries, the highest concentration is in Europe, although there is a skilled diaspora also in the USA, Canada and the Gulf countries. This is particularly the case of Tunisia. The classification per sex, according to the areas of specialisation on the list of skills of Tunisian emigrant women, drawn up by the Office of Tunisians Abroad, shows the scope of this movement, especially for women.

52 International Labour Office. Towards a Fair Deal for Migrant Workers in the Global Economy. International labour Conference, 92nd session, 2004. p. 23.

53 Frederic Docquier (FNRS, UCL), Abdeslam Marfouk (ULB), Sara Salomone (UCL, Tor Vergata University) and Khalid Sekkat (ULB), Are Skilled Women more Migratory than Skilled Men?. “October 2008, online.”

54 Table drawn up by Docquier, Lowell and Marfouk ( 2007), ibid., p. 5.

Table 14 / Distribution of skilled Tunisians abroad by area of specialisation (2007)

Area of specialisation Men Women Total

Teachers and researchers 1563 299 1862

Engineers and architects 1668 141 1809

Doctors and pharmacists 699 166 865

Information Technology specialists

299 32 331

Lawyers 53 19 72

Other executives 1635 137 1772

Businessmen 1029 49 1078

Total 6946 843 7789

Source: Office of Tunisians Abroad, file of Tunisian skills abroad, January 2007

The nearly 8,000 skilled Tunisians throughout the world concern particularly teaching and research, engineering, business and senior executives in the public sector. The share of skilled women is low (10.8%) with a pronounced presence in teaching and research, i.e. 35.5%. “The presence of skilled women is explained by the integration of Tunisian women abroad in the school system of the European host countries, as well as the increase in the number of women graduates in universities in Tunisia.”55

Highly skilled women work in traditionally female sectors such as healthcare, teaching and research. There are also expertise lines in industry or information technology. The feminisation of migration, especially the migration of skills, raises specific economic problems. There are many studies, in fact, that insist on the role of education of women in economic and social development, confirming that the male-female gap in education is an obstacle for sustainable development. These countries are therefore in the process of losing part of the major growth potential represented by women.

55 Abderazak Bek Haj Zekri, Les compétences Tunisiannes à l’étranger. “CARIM. Rapport 2009.”

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Immigrant women with a high level of education and qualification are generally employed in sectors that correspond to their level of skills. An examination of the relation between education and employment nonetheless reveals that a significant minority of highly educated migrant women are employed in unskilled jobs.56 By comparison with native women of equivalent education, highly educated migrant women run a ‘higher risk’ of being underemployed, i.e. doing a job requiring a lower level of education than theirs.57

Table 15 / Distribution of highly qualified native women, migrant women born in the EU, and migrant women from third countries by occupation.

Category women – Level I qualification

Native women

Migrant women born in

the EU

Migrant women from third countries

Employment in highly skilled occupations

52% 54% 41.5

Employment in medium skilled occupations

38% 33% 32%

Employment in low skilled occupations

10% 13% 27%

Source, EU LFS 2005.

Immigrant women from third countries with a high level of education are twice as likely to be underemployed than native women or migrant women born in the EU. Many immigrants, and especially women, are sacrificed in occupations which do not correspond to their qualification, like in the service sector. Illegal immigrant women are more exposed to this type of exploitation and encounter many difficulties to change jobs or to be promoted. The distribution of immigrant women by level of education often does not reflect their distribution by occupation, in particular when comparing old and new immigration countries.

56 Analysis of data from “2005 EU LFS.”57 Jennifer

Table 16 / Distribution of the immigrant population from the South Eastern Mediterranean by host country and level of education (Population aged 15 and older).

Country/Level of Primary at least Secondary Higher

Austria 80.3 17.1 2.6

France 46.0 32.5 21.6

Spain 29.2 70.0 0.8

Germany 24.3 73.0 2.7

USA 17.7 21.0 61.3

Source: Les notes de l’IPEMED N° 1, p. 26

Whereas the proportion of women in services is generally high, it does not reflect the level of education of women. The proportion of illiterates and holders of a primary school diploma among the immigrant population from Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries predominates in old host countries (Austria and France), whereas it tends to drop in countries like Germany (without Turkey) and Spain, where the immigrant population seems more literate. This means that the ageing immigrant female population living in France has a relatively low education level compared with a younger population, with secondary education, established in Spain. As indicated above, there are many immigrant women in Spain working in services (especially domestic work) and in agriculture, doing jobs that require no qualification, whereas two-thirds of them went to secondary school. A comparison between Maghreb immigrant, foreign and French women shows that illiteracy predominates among women from Maghreb, whilst their daughters are gradually gaining access to education.

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Table 17 / Percentage of female population aged 15 and over by nationality and highest diploma in 1990.

Nationality Diploma French Foreign Maghreb

No diploma 29.1 61.4 70.9

C E P (basic school leaving qualification)

21.3 11.6 8.3

BEPC (basic school leaving qualification)

11.9 5.7 5.7

CAP or BEP (apprenticeship)

15.9 7.2 8.4

Baccalaureat or higher 21.8 14.1 6.7

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source. INSEE figures, 1990

In the old immigration countries, women from Maghreb were concentrated in the service sector because they had no preparation to do other jobs, and they did not have the training or language skills that would enable them to get better paying jobs. According to CNAV data, 23.5% of Moroccan women in 2003 spoke very poor if any French at all, compared with 7% of the men. The advancement of new generations through schools enabled them to work in higher paying jobs in other sectors of the economy. According to a CNAV survey, 37.7% of the women speak French fluently, compared with 51% of the men.

Prostitution is also an occupation that immigrant women engage in. There are no figures, but it would appear that the number of prostitutes from southern Mediterranean countries in Europe has increased, or at least they have become more visible. Many of them, from the northeast shores of the Mediterranean, were tricked by promises of marriages or employment in the eldorado of Western Europe, or got caught in the nets of Mafia trafficking rings. In Italy, half of the 50,000 prostitutes are foreign and the police estimate that they generate !50 million per year. In France, half of the prostitutes are thought to be foreign and generate an annual turnover of !1.5 billion.58

58 Claudine Blasco. ATTAC France, Commission on Women, Gender and Globalisation. “December 2003.”

Today, more than half of Mediterranean migrants work. They make a considerable contribution to the economic development of their country through remittances and to the development of the host country by working and spending there. Their concentration in low skilled sectors and their low qualification limit their rights as female workers as well as their mobility on the labour market hinders opportunities for career advancement and their chances to develop their human capital. This means that their integration in the EU’s work force is partial at best; they have jobs, but they lack several rights and opportunities that are indispensable for full integration. This situation reveals the fragile status of the working immigrant women. “Even when they actually work, the quality of their job tends to be poor, exposing them to social and economic vulnerability.59 This vulnerability is clearly expressed by their unemployment and underemployment rates.”

Unemployment, part-time employment and employment under a temporary contract tend to affect to a greater degree unskilled or low-skilled people in developed societies. Immigrant women fall under this category. The feminisation of the working population is thus also characterised by the rise of unemployment in Europe in the 1980s which affects immigrants60 in general, including those from Maghreb.

Table 18 / Unemployment rate by nationality (in percentage)

French nationals

Total foreign nationals

EU nationalsNon-EU

nationals

Men 7.0 14.8 7.3 19.6 Women 8.0 18.3 8.9 26.1 Total 7.5 16.3 8.1 22.2

Source: INSEE, Employment survey from the 1st to the 4th quarter 2007. European Union of 27 countries. Metropolitan France, working people aged 15 and over (age at the time of the survey).

59 Jennifer Rubin, Michael S. Rendall, Lila Rabinovich, Flavia Tsang, Barbara Janta Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau. (2008), op. cit.

60 Abdallah Berrada, op cit.

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This table calls for two remarks. The first concerns the unemployment of foreign nationals, which is higher than that of French nationals – twice as high, in fact. The second concerns the unemployment of EU and non-EU nationals, which is three times as high in the case of the latter, indicating a wide gap between the two groups. An EU national working in another European country is less affected by unemployment than a third-country national, all the more so as non-EU nationals are not eligible for a certain number of public jobs, which are subject to national or European conditionalities. Having European nationality may spare workers from the tribulations of unemployment or the constant search for another job.

The dividing line in migration is even more pronounced for women. Not only is the unemployment rate of immigrant women higher than that of men (26.1% to 19.6%) but compared to that of French and EU women, the unemployment of third-country migrants is higher (26.1% to 8% and 8.9%). It can thus be argued that the two major obstacles to the employment of migrant women are gender and migrant status. Women are thus doubly harmed compared to migrant men (gender) and to native women (migration). A third disadvantage has to do with residence in the European Union, which puts migrants of both sexes in a clearly less favourable situation, with an unemployment rate of 22.2% compared with only 8% for EU nationals.

Underemployment (part-time employment) and short-term employment (short-term contract) must also be taken into consideration, as it affects migrant women more. This phenomenon is even more acute in new immigration countries where the availability of employment before the financial crisis of 2008 was such that it was possible to change jobs frequently, particularly for unskilled or low-skilled workers. Thus, these two forms of employment are common in these countries. They are also uniformly more widespread among immigrants from third countries than among nationals of the country of employment. More than one migrant woman out of three works part time. Irrespective of the socio-occupational category, immigrant women are employed part time more frequently than other working women (34% to 28%). Women manual labourers are particularly concerned: 37% of migrant women work part time, compared with 27% for the others. For immigrant women from South-East Asia, this rate is only 23% (INSEE 2007). Employment under temporary contract is another source of disadvantage that affects migrants in general and migrant women in particular. The highest

proportions of temporary employment contracts are concluded with working migrant women, more particularly in the new immigration countries. In Spain, more than half of the working migrant women are under temporary contracts.

Undeclared work, which has always existed for both men and women, nonetheless lends itself to certain types of tasks more than others, in particular domestic work, which is generally the purview of women. Restrictions to employment have not prevented women from working, of course, but they have forced them to undertake undeclared work, in jobs that seem easier to access. In addition to domestic services, fast food outlets and outsourced cleaning manage to evade the regulations.

The development of an underground economy stands in the way of the integration of women in the labour market and violates their rights. It contributes to a concentration of women in unskilled branches without social protection. Migration leads to numerous disadvantages, including unemployment and underemployment, not to mention the difference in pay. The principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ is undermined because the status of migrant women does not confer on them the same privileges enjoyed by native women. Being a woman and a migrant from a third country makes access to employment, especially on a full time basis, even more difficult.61

The situation of migrant women from MEDA countries in Europe has to be analysed from a multi-dimensional, national, generational, and class-related perspective. The daughters of immigrants belonging to well-to-do families adopted the standards and values of the host society rapidly thanks to the acculturation process through the school, the media and their occupation. They hold jobs that require a high level of education, unlike women who belong to underprivileged social strata, and have been rejected by the school system to be employed in services or the social care sector. The new waves of migrant women, who left on their own to find work, wound up doing domestic work or providing help for the elderly. Their only aim and hope is to be able to

61 Jennifer Rubin, Michael S. Rendall, Lila Rabinovich, Flavia Tsang, Barbara Janta Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau. (2008). op. cit.

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reside in the host country to earn a better living and, where possible, return to their country of origin.

An analysis of the situation of immigrant women on the labour market reveals a growing need for integration policies which take due consideration of the specific nature of their situation and are geared to their full economic and social integration in the host country. This requires a reassessment of the contribution they make to the host economies and a reconsideration of their increasingly more significant capacities.

“The fact that a first mover, born abroad to foreign parents, arrives in the country without knowing a word of French, can become Vice-President of the National Assembly, a general counsel or mayor of a large city, would suggest that there is finally an efficient integration model the French way.”62 Arthur Paecht63

Integration is a fundamental element in the processes put in motion by legal migration. Nevertheless, the question asked since the 1980s concerns the ways to integrate migrants established with their families that do not plan to go back to their country of origin. Immigrants of course do various jobs, but they are not very integrated in the host society. Women who came through family reunification get integrated only slowly and gradually in the economic and social structures of the host country, whereas their children tend to get integrated more easily, because they were born or arrived in the host country when they were very young, all the more so as the school plays an important role on the cultural socialisation front. The integration of women who came alone for economic reasons proceeds separately; it depends on their level of education, the occupation carried out, and the degree of integration in the world of work.

62 Arthur Paecht, Revaloriser l’assimilation. In M. Pelissier and A. Paecht, Les modèles d’intégration en question, “Ed IRIS/PUF. 2004.”

63 Arthur Paecht. Was at the time the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institut des Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) and was formerly the Vice-President of the National Assembly.

A successful case of integration of a Moroccan family in France points to the different parameters that are in favour of real integration of migrants. An article by Laetitia van Eeckhout, entitled “Rencontre avec la famille Amri, marocains de France, d’Europe et du Morocco,” 64 tells the story of Mohamed Amri, a former skilled worker at Renault, now retired, who decided to stay in France while maintaining close ties with Morocco, his country of origin, where he spends the holidays in his own apartment.

He arrived in France in 1964 at the age of 24, with a school certificate in hand to “seek a better future”, and has taken root. He married in Morocco, brought his wife to France, had three daughters, and the entire family acquired French nationality. All three daughters went on to higher education in France, and do not want to hear about integration. They consider themselves “both French and Moroccan”, and impugn the term “young people with an immigrant background”. Soraya, 28 years old, has considerable experience on her CV gained in “France, Germany and the United States”. She has gone back to school to earn a master’s degree (she already holds a bachelor’s degree in international marketing). Yasmina, the eldest, aged 30, is a business unit manager in a large office automation company, and is married to a Frenchman of Portuguese origin. The father respects the choices his daughters have made. Naturally, he passed on to them his religious culture, but that of an “Islam of tolerance and open-mindedness”. Yasmina would not dream of asserting that she observes Ramadan, does not eat pork and does not drink alcohol. For her, “religion is a strictly personal matter”. She deplores “all these debates about Islam from the veil to the burqa, finding them surrealistic.”

The father never imposed on his daughters the annual ritual of travelling to Morocco, preferring to ‘tighten the belt’ so that they could discover France during their holidays. Like many second generation Moroccans residing in France, Mr Amri’s daughters do not exclude that they might move to Morocco one day. “If a professional opportunity arises…not in order to get back to their roots.” They are French, but remain attached to the Moroccan traditions handed down to them. They have dual nationality, but nonetheless live in a more cosmopolitan environment than merely Moroccan or even French.

64 Meeting the Amri family, Moroccans of France, Europe and the World. “Le Monde, 18 July 09.”

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This very telling case shows that once the conditions of integration have been fulfilled, the process becomes easier to the point of being self-evident for those who go through it. The father, who came looking for a better future, i.e. an improvement in his material and social situation, was mentally prepared for integration. His level of education helped, and he had no problems of communication with the natives. His involvement in the trade union brought him in closer contact with the world of work and of politics. A well integrated father, who opted for modernity, became the engine and facilitator of his family’s integration. School also plays a major role in integration in the host society. It provides this necessary vantage point for selecting the most appropriate aspects in line with the immigrant’s life project to create a space of understanding and conviviality between people and cultures. Work is another integration factor. Integration in the world of world, particularly when holding positions of responsibility, and the desire for a career, are added factors for good integration.

A general observation concerning the cultural aspect, supported by the Amri case, shows the cultural predisposition for integration and its consequences for the immigrant’s culture. More specifically, the more immigrants are integrated in the host society, the more that religion becomes a personal matter. They practice their religion in harmony with themselves and the principles of the society in which they live, without going overboard, without any demonstrative effect, and without dogmatism. The other is accepted as being different, and this enables the immigrant to live his double culture, and more particularly to readapt the culture of origin to that of the host country, while maintaining a solid attachment to socio-cultural ties with his origins.

In light of the foregoing, the integration of migrants can be said to require a global policy aimed at both migrants and natives to ensure adherence to the laws and culture of the host country among immigrants, whilst getting natives to accept the immigrant and his culture. It presupposes a re-socialisation of the migrant and the native alike for the sake of mutual understanding and acceptance of the other with his difference and singularity.

The notion of integration belongs to various fields of knowledge. Nevertheless, its misuse and its many paradoxes call for a consolidated definition that would remove many ambiguities and place the issue within the framework of European national policies, bearing in mind that there is no European common integration policy.

Since the mid 1970s, the notion of integration has become the dominant term of the discourse on the stakes entailed by the presence of migrant populations in European countries. Most scholarly works that compare the rationale behind policy decisions and measures taken by the different countries to ‘integrate immigrants’ point to the double effort needed from the public authorities and the immigrants themselves, and consider the traditions and cultures as key explanatory variables.

First of all, it is necessary to dispel any confusion between the notions of assimilation, insertion and integration. Whereas the first has been pushed aside, the second held sway for a certain period of time before being replaced by the third. These three terms – assimilation, integration or insertion – are not neutral. They are based on very different philosophies and on various disciplines: anthropology and sociology, psychology and economics. The spontaneous apprehensions of these three modes of receiving immigrants in the host community put them in a sort of scale ranging from the most ‘dominating’ attitude of the host society, in the case of assimilation65, to a more respectful attitude towards the other, as in the case of insertion66 and integration.67

65 Assimilation is defined as full adherence by the migrants to the standards of the host society, where the expression of their identity and socio-cultural specific characteristics are abandoned, or remain confined to the private sphere only.

66 According to the Petit Larousse dictionary, insertion means placing one thing among others and finding a place in a whole. Insertion is a minimalist objective geared to the reception of individuals who have a tendency to return to themselves, whence the emphasis on preserving the migrant’s identity ties with his culture of origin, and even the possibility of returning, as one of the normal prospects of immigration. Danièle Lochak. (2006), L’intégration comme injonction. Enjeux idéologiques et politiques liés à l’immigration , Cultures & Conflits, “N° 64, Winter 2006, pp. 131-147. [Online], 06 March 2007. URL: http://www.conflits.org/index2136.html.”

67 In the introduction of the Commission’s Report entitled Measurement and Indicators of Integration (1998), the authors underscored that the vision of French-style integration and its British or Dutch interpretation is altogether close to assimilation, where individuals are absorbed in the nation, even if they can preserve their traditions, a style of living from their country of origin. It is expected that in a few generations, their children and grandchildren will blend in completely with the population, in what is referred to successful integration, which entails a peaceful and harmonious coexistence with the respect for their differences and a public recognition of said differences. Jean Claude Monod, Quelle politique d’intégration au sein de l’UE. In Questions d’Europe. “N° 53, 5 March 2007. P 1.” Integration is always and everywhere actually a mixture of assimilation and accommodation of the cultural diversity. (Monod, 2007).

210 211

The term integration has managed to generate another notion, that of discrimination, which appeared in the ordinary lexicon of public action in France68 at the end of the 1990s. The fight against discrimination has become one of the main lines of the integration policy. ‘Discrimination’ understood as ‘unfavourable treatment owing to a real or supposed origin’ of people has since been discussed extensively in intellectual, political and associative circles, and has led to surveys by journalists and scholarly work. The fight against discrimination has thus been enshrined in public policies and has become the most mobilising watchword by comparison with the hackneyed slogans of ‘citizenship’ and ‘integration’.69 The fight against social exclusion has become an appendix to the struggle against discrimination, with a particular agenda that encounters difficulties to be put in practice.

In the mid 1970s, political, ideological and legal stakes developed around the idea of integration. Awareness that labour migration, previously seen as temporary, was changing to immigration with permanent residence, turned the question of integration into one of the main concerns of the public authorities and a subject of political debate.

The family reunification policy naturally heightened the problem of integrating immigrants in the host societies, particularly for the old immigration countries. Nevertheless, its implementation remains contingent on ‘controlling migration flows, and the regulation of stay and repatriation’. The fact remains, however, that the integration effort is a shared responsibility incumbent, albeit to different degrees, upon the public authorities of the countries of origin and of destination, NGOs, and the migrants themselves.

68 Didier Fassin (op cit. p. 404) underscores, by way of (significant) example, an analysis of the general table of contents in the fifteen years of the Revue européenne des migrations internationales which shows that not only the term “discrimination” no longer appears in a single title of an article, whereas “racism” or “segregation” occurs many times in such titles.

69 Nacira Guénif-Souilamas, (2001), L’intégration, une idée épuisée, in Libération, “12 July 2001:” and Michel Wiewiorka, Faut-il en finir avec l’intégration? Cahiers de la Sécurité Intérieure. “45, 2001, pp. 9-20.”

‘Europeanising’ the question of integration of migrants has always been on the European agenda, even before the Maastricht Treaty.70 The European Commission has since 1985 taken measures71 in particular to improve access to rights for all foreign residents. In 1987, it also decided to establish a prior consultation procedure for all new policies concerning third-country nationals.72 A European integration policy has emerged since the Tempere Council in 1999 which takes account of different national traditions and has introduced new mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of a common integration policy. Accordingly, as of the 2000s, European measures to counter discrimination were adopted by the Council of Ministers, such as:

Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin73, based on Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty adopted in 1997. Known as the “race directive,” it had to be transposed by the Member States by July 2003;

Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation,74 which introduces protection against discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;

The EU instrument includes an incentive section which materialised in November 2000 with the publication of a programme for the fight against discrimination for the period 2001-2006;

The directive that provides protection against discrimination based on race or ethnic origin is very important in several respects. It establishes a vast system of protection against direct and indirect discrimination and even provides for affirmative action.75 It is applied to areas where there was no EU competence

70 CIG of 1991.71 Commission Européenne. 1985, Orientations pour une politique communautaire des

migrations. “COM(85) 48 def. Bruxelles: CEC, 1985.”72 Five Member States had immediately objected, and the Court of Justice of the European

Communities (CJEC) ruled in their favour in 1987 by overturning the decision: there was no Community competence on integration policy for third-country nationals.

73 Directive 2000/43/EC of 28 June 2000 (Official Journal of the European Communities L 180 of 19 July 2000).

74 Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 (OJEC L 303 of 2 December 2000) and Council Decision of 27 November 2000 (OJEC L 303/23 of 2 December 2000).

75 The directive actually stipulates that “the prohibition of discrimination should be without prejudice to the maintenance or adoption of measures intended to prevent or compensate for disadvantages suffered by a group of persons of a particular racial or ethnic origin.”

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such as housing. Finally, the transposition of the directive requires many adaptations in States where the protection system was insufficient or non-existent.

The adoption of the European Pact76 on Immigration and Asylum by the Council on 15 and 16 October 2008 was followed by a ministerial conference on integration held in Vichy on 3 and 4 November. At this high-level meeting, the 27 EU Member States were unanimous on the objectives and a common timeframe, based on three priorities, namely proficiency in the language of the host country, knowledge and practice of the country’s values and access to employment. Other commitments undertaken include the promotion of diversity in the world of work, the fight against discrimination, and the contribution to promote the role of immigrant women, in particular the fight against violence which they may face.

Family migration has clearly raised the question of integration by showcasing the problems of housing, reproductive health, schooling for the children and work for women. The different components of these problems were identified around the 1980s to square up directly or indirectly to the realities faced by migrants. Institutions such as the High Commissioner for Immigration in France, the Centre for Equal Opportunities in Belgium, etc. were created as well as NGOs to tackle the integration of migrants. Particular attention was paid to women as pillars of the family, guardians of culture, principle agents of socialisation for the children and the persons most receptive to modernity.

Facilitating the acquisition of citizenship is an important means for integrating migrants. The criteria for granting nationality differ from one European country to the next: for some, it is the ius soli; for others the ius sanguini. The fact remains that nationality grants migrants, independent of their origins, the same rights as natives.

76 As regards integration, this pact stresses: 1 / the importance of adopting a policy that enables fair treatment of migrants and their

harmonious integration into the societies of their host countries (with emphasis on language learning and access to employment);

2 / the need to combat any forms of discrimination to which migrants may be exposed.

Desegregated housing is just as important a factor. Diversity comprising migrants and natives in neighbourhoods and buildings has always been considered as a fundamental parameter of the integration of the foreign population. Education includes the schooling of children and adult education, particularly language learning. The school is the main channel through which young people absorb the standards and values of the new society and adopt the dominant culture. It is also a springboard for entering the world of work and a means of social mobility. Enormous efforts have been made by host countries to school the children of migrants, facilitate their integration in school and limit the drop-out rates. European states being aware children cannot be integrated better by rejecting their culture of origin, the language and culture of origin were introduced either as part of the school curriculum or in special time slots.77

Migrant children in general, but especially girls, have an exceptional mission: they must be better educated than their parents to be better integrated in the host society. Parents, and mothers in particular, put great store in their daughters who show, through school, that they are the ones most capable to make their mother’s new dream come true, namely by speaking the language of the country, and being integrated into the world of work through better and higher paying jobs. Some mothers go as far as to allow a mixed marriage with a foreign national, provided the latter converts to Islam; others allow even de facto unions.

Adult education is the most efficient path to integration, especially for migrant women. The State, social services of certain cities, and many NGOs intervene in this sense, starting with the principle that migrants can integrate only by learning how to speak and write the language of the host country. The education of migrant women undertaken by certain NGOs such as Caritas includes basic instruction plus a second section of minimum vocational training (sewing, cooking, child care). These courses also serve as places for sociability, meetings between women and exchanges, creating ties and breaking the isolation to which these women were subjected. In Spain, for example, official social action plans for migrants appeared in 1993, “initiated

77 In France, the instruction of the language of origin in public schools is non-existent, whereas in Germany, some cities give priority to rapid integration in school where emphasis is put on success, while others try to maintain the cultural identity of young migrants through bilingual classes.

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by NGOs with more or less substantial financial support from public bodies. Several municipalities have undertaken such actions.”78

Integration in work entails better occupational integration through the fight against discrimination in employment and the development of additional training courses and placement schemes geared essentially to young people. Various European countries have established a practical vocational training scheme for young people to fight against discrimination in employment and to develop affirmative action for young migrants, from which young girls have benefited extensively.

In the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, young people from ethnic minorities have been entered in vocational training schemes, with specific placement programmes, organised generally by the local authorities that try to reconnect the economic sector with training organisations. These countries have also taken affirmative action measures (based on quotas) for employment, even if in reality such measures do not seem to be able to solve indirect discrimination and the misgivings of the private sector.

Young women are not marginalised, but are gradually entering the labour market, through vocational training sectors leading to qualification. They also take part in the trade union movement. In point of fact, marriages between migrant women and foreign nationals and de facto unions are quite common. The schooling of girls and the acquisition of the language and culture of the host country encourage them to adhere to models of native women, even if it means shocking their parents and the migrant community. Living together, which is completely prohibited by Islam, is becoming a new parameter for naturalisation, but also for defying the family circle or for asserting one’s personal experience. The mixed marriage rate of Algerian women, the oldest of migrants, is relatively higher than that of other women from Maghreb, even if these young educated women tend to prefer to marry a Muslim born in the host country, who seems closer to them than native men from their country of origin.

Local and national associations of migrants are emerging in all European countries. Mechanisms for support, learning and transmitting culture, they are a key means of transmission between government policies and

78 Elisabeth Maluquier, La femme immigrée maghrébine en tant que sujet d’intervention sociale dans la province de Barcelone. “In 1996, Actes du colloque femmes et migrations, op cit, p. 138”.

the migrant population. These associations are organised on a community or intra-community basis, taking into consideration very specific categories such as young people, women and elderly people. Apart from numerous services provided for migrants, these associations act as pressure groups to defend their rights and interests.

Women from Maghreb, irrespective of their age, social level or education, are getting more and more organised at all levels and for all issues (women’s rights, legal counselling, language courses, sewing and embroidery, cooking, traditional crafts, music and dance, etc.). They intervene (especially the mothers) in emergency situations, when things get heated up in their neighbourhoods, to restore peace and quiet, to avoid violence or racism. They get politically engaged in local, national and European elections (France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands). In Belgium, for instance, since the last elections, several dozen women from Maghreb are municipal councillors, alderwomen or regional deputies. In France, for a decade or so now, they have been policy makers in various movements and elected officials. Through their participation in local and political life, migrant women are breathing new life to new and participatory democracy. Their political and associative commitment has made it possible to bring migrant women out of the shadows and make them visible with respect to national and European institutions, thereby promoting recognition for them as potential and effective players for development and as cultural intermediaries that can be counted on.

In spite of all these attainments and advancements, the integration of migrant women remains a slow process full of pitfalls. Whereas European integration policies are multiplying, they are still difficult to be implemented, whilst coming up considerable resistance from the migrant women themselves.

The acquisition of nationality grants different rights and prerogatives to migrant women. Many women from Maghreb have dual nationality through filiation, by being born in the country, or through automatic or voluntary acquisition. They at times find themselves in contradictory situations: as nationals of the country of residence, they fall under the legislation of the host country; as citizens of the EU, they are subject to the rights and obligations of the European Union; as migrants, they submit to the personal status of

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their country of origin which may interfere with other legislation and, in some cases, contradict it. Subject to a legal status that is different from that of its country of origin, the migrant family takes time to assimilate, integrate and appropriate that status. Women are more receptive because of the respect of their political, civil and economic rights. The application of this right to migrant families creates upheavals in their midst, due to the incompatibility between personal status, which remains subject to the legislation of the country of origin and Sharia law, with the values of equality and freedom enshrined in European legislation and international law.

In a general manner, women from Maghreb who arrive under family reunification, the only form of legal immigration, benefit only from rights derived from and dependent on their husbands for family and personal rights, even if administrative independence is acquired (in France since 1986) thanks to the mobilisation and work of migrant women and NGOs. Many institutions intervene to facilitate the integration of the migrant family, and to help women and young girls to free themselves from the constraints imposed by family life. But these institutions are stigmatised by the migrants, in particular shelters for women who flee their homes because of violence, and serious misunderstandings with their husbands, fathers or older brothers. Created at the end of the 1980s in the Netherlands, where they are called darna, these shelters that provide protection for women and children are considered an affront or a threat because they are institutions outside the family, alien to its problems, and must not interfere in the affairs of the household and in relations between parents and children. Migrants are often shocked to see women and children live in culturally alien settings. The husbands or fathers are offended to be considered as louts who beat their women, lock them up in the home, and even deny them food. They claim that these are lies used by the Dutch press to wrest their women and daughters from their control.79 Women who leave their home for such a shelter return only rarely if ever to resume their married life. The dominant Western mode of the family that the migrant family is supposed to adopt does not appeal to all women. There are those who accept it fully, others who deem it necessary but excessive, and others yet who refuse. Some see these centres as a model for emancipation, others

79 Aicha Belarbi, (1994), op cit.

consider them with suspicion because they allow unnatural (de facto) unions, are lax about adultery and lead to the early sexual liberation of young girls.80

It is a telling case of contradiction between legislation that liberates and protects women and children, and a traditional family model which tends to be revived by immigration. It is worth bearing in mind that nearly all the Moroccan migrant population in the Netherlands comes from Rif, a region in the north of Morocco, known for its conservatism, which is reflected in the overprotection of women who are kept in the home far from the eyes of men, preventing young girls going to school and refusing female instructors out of fear that women who come into contact with them will see them as role models.81

Furthermore, whereas housing and territorial diversity between migrant and native population constitute a factor of integration, the fact remains that current housing trends are not in that direction. In certain countries, the creation of suburbs has contributed to the spatial concentration of the migrant population, the very term ‘suburb’ having become emblematic of the presence of migrants on the margin of the host society.82

In France, for example, the first migrants, often hired to work in industry or the mines, settled close to their workplace around towns. When their families arrived, most lived in precarious housing for years, living through harsh winters without heating and through hot and dusty summers, waiting for their applications for housing to be approved -- as the development of the council estates could not meet the demand of migrants and many providers of social housing were reticent to house large families.83 This housing problem created the drift of the suburbs. Since the 1990, it has been an emotionally charged issue, symbolising the fears raised by migrants, the concentration of social exclusion, delinquency, violence, and the ‘rotations’. The media refer to them as no-go areas. In the chaos of these suburbs, young girls and women seem to be the ones most removed, most quiet and least enterprising.

80 Aicha Belarbi, Rapport de mission sur les femmes marocaines en Hollande, migration féminine et retour aux traditions. Training session for female welfare workers. “Amsterdam Town Hall, May 1994.”

81 Aicha Belarbi. (1998), Projet sur l’éducation des filles dans cinq provinces marocaines, le cas de la région d’Alhuceima. “USAID.”[

82 Jacques Barou, Trajectoires résidentielles: du bidonville au logement social. In S/ D Philippe Dewitte. (1999) Immigration et intégration. Éditions la découverte. pp. “185-195. p. 193.”

83 Laetitia Van Eeckhout. (2007), Débat public sur l’immigration. “Ed. Odile Jacob, p. 146.”

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The aggressors are essentially young males, the result of educational wastage and unemployment. They are violent with those around them, including girls, and natives. In these upheavals, women constitute “a strategic group from which emerge women activists that endeavour to restore a balance in relations and fight against deviance”,84 relays and mediators for greater stability in the suburbs, and contributors to the restoration of law and order.85

It goes without saying that generations born and raised in these neighbourhoods are the ones hardest hit by school failure, unemployment and underemployment, and cannot manage to chart a residential mobility project. Social housing becomes for them the only possible horizon and the space of the council estates, likewise the only living space possible, ends up being claimed as their ‘identity territory’.86 The isolation and spatial marginalisation of migrants develop a sense of belonging to a community and reinforce identities. The suburb is turned from a space delimiting social ties to a lawless area that leaves room for the emergence of the role of ‘big brothers’ or caids (young men who make the law in the neighbourhoods, subjecting young girls to excessive control, constraints and acute violence).87

School and work play their integrating role for only a minority of migrant men and women. Integration through education is problematic; the children of migrants are considered as a difficult group with high drop-out rates. Most of those who succeed are geared to vocational training rather then long general education. A study by Vallet and Caille88 concludes that a slight advantage in favour of children of both sexes from an immigrant background was noted during the orientation in the third year of secondary school – an advantage that is not linked to indulgence on the part of the teachers, nor to the competence of the students, but rather to greater mobility by the families who have higher aspirations for the education of their children.

84 Françoise Gaspard, L’émergence des migrantes et leurs filles dans l’espace français. “In 1996, Actes du colloque femmes et migrations, op cit, pp 17-34. P 28.”

85 L’express 1-7 February 1996.86 Jacques Barou,(1999), territoires résidentielles, “op cit p 194.”87 Voir le roman de Samira Bellil. (2003), Dans l’enfer des tournantes. “Editions Denoel.”88 L. A. Vallet et J.P.Caille, (1996), Les élèves étrangers ou issus de l’immigration dans l’école

et le collège français. Dossier d’éducation et de formations, N° 67, April 1997. “Men, Paris.Houria Alami MCHICHI.” Femmes immigrées maghrébines en France: questions de rôles. In 1996, Actes du colloque femmes et migrations. “op cit, pp35-42, p 3.”

Whereas NGOs participate actively in the integration of migrant women, the disillusionment brought about by the daily living experience of migrants has led to the development of religious associations intended not only to provide economic and spiritual support for migrants, but also to prevent Muslim women from falling into ‘irreversible Westernisation’. Religious affiliation becomes a handicap for integration, not because migrants are more religious and sectarian, but because of the new view of Islam in the West as a violent and intolerant religion. Since the end of the 1980s, Muslim migrants from MEDA countries have burst on the public stage and made headlines on the television news and political discussions, solely because of their religious affiliation. The polemic about polygamy and especially girls wearing the veil at school has contributed to make them increasingly more visible and more present on the public stage. This is the debate that revealed the difficulties of the cultural integration of migrants from Maghreb, a debate that assumed a political tone linked to national identity and secularism in France. In 1984 and 1994, the veil in school revived a latent image of migrants. These young girls, seen prior to the veil affair as harbingers of hope for integration and intermediaries to convey the culture and values of the host country in their families and their communities, were considered as a pitfall to integration. The rise of radical Islamism actually gave a new meaning to the veil and those who wear it. The veil of mothers and grandmothers, which continues to be worn in the suburbs, never bothered anyone, whereas that of educated young girls has become a sign of Islamism and fundamentalism. Owing to serious misunderstanding and a wrong interpretation, young girls who wear the veil are considered as victims of the community’s culture. The veil is seen as a symbol of the enslavement of women and an affront to their dignity. In reply, the migrant community from Maghreb asserts that wearing the veil guarantees the dignity of women, as it is the symbol of freedom of religious conviction.89 In this ambivalence, women represent a major political stake: for some, they are the most apt for change; for others, they are the ones most capable of preserving the religious aspect of the culture of origin.

Religion can be invoked to justify the violation of the human rights of women, as a religious interpretation is conferred on cultural practices and traditions

89 Houria Alami MCHICHI. Femmes immigrées maghrébines en France: questions de rôles. “In 1996, Actes du colloque femmes et migrations, op cit, pp35-42, p 3.”

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that violate human rights. A return to a religious attitude can be perceived that may at times have an influence on European policies, which undermines the principle of gender equality. In Europe, “freedom of religion cannot be accepted as a pretext to justify violations of women’s rights, be they open or subtle, legal or illegal, practised with or without the nominal consent of the victims – women.”90

From the mid 1980s, migrants themselves began to become aware of a question concerning themselves: Who are we? What are we doing here, in European countries, whereas we are mentally and emotionally linked to our country of origin? How can we achieve real integration and become stakeholders and not simply be on the receiving end of government policies?

The arrival of young, second and even third generation migrants, with a new perception of migration and their role as nationals from southern Mediterranean, particularly Muslim countries, with different traditions, questioned the dominant miserabilist and victimised mindset, and showed both a greater motivation to integrate and a greater concern for the respect of fundamental rights.

90 Resolution of the Council of Europe. Women and Religion in Europe. 15 September 2005.

The migration of men caused a crack in families that stayed, because migration under family reunification entails a risk of completing and deepening that crack started by the emigration of men. Placed between the two, migrants are trying to integrate in the host society while maintaining ties with the country of origin. An ambiguous situation that has to be settled by giving priority to one nationality over the other. “I am French of Moroccan origin,” Yasmina Amri said. Being French entails not only being successfully integrated, but also assimilating fully the standards and values of the host country. This cannot be achieved by acquiring the nationality but through the desire and effort to become a fully-fledged member, by the absence of a distinction between native and migrant, the reference to the origins being an emotional bond that is loosened through the generations.

As Abdelamlek Sayad aptly put it, “the immigration of families entails assimilation, irrespective of the terms and various euphemisms”91 used to refer to this social reality (adaptation, integration, insertion). In a process of separating from one society and merging with another, the frames of reference of the country of origin disintegrate to make room for the adoption of new ones, more adapted to the host country and its expectations, thereby shaping the behaviour of migrants who merge with society and are recognised only by the family name or the colour of their skin.

The case of Rachida Dati is telling. A woman of Moroccan-Algerian origin, she made great strides to emerge as a French woman who acknowledges her origins but rejects completely the basic reference to Maghreb. Minister for Justice, she acknowledges her origins whilst deliberately circumventing them. An entire media circus grew around her pregnancy, delivery and the name of her companion. Her situation would be inadmissible for a woman in public life in Maghreb living in a Muslim country, where religion and customs leave no room for relations outside marriage. Whereas certain social strata are becoming permissive about relations outside marriage, a child must remain hidden until a legal solution is found. The choice made by Mrs Dati is clear: She is French, she lives under French legislation where living together is one

91 Abdelmalek Sayad, (1999), La double absence. “Paris, Editions Seuil, p 111.”

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matrimonial arrangement among others and children born out of wedlock are just as legitimate as the children of a conventional couple. Integration is a process that gains momentum the longer the migrants stay in the host country: living in decent housing among natives, having access to education and training, working in associations, having a job, getting promoted and pursuing a career, participating in the management of public affairs, etc. are assets that promote the integration of migrants, men and women, in the host country. Women want to become literate and to learn the language and work. To be integrated, they need the means of communication and access to the labour market, two major criteria for their personal development.

Many obstacles to the integration of migrants, especially women migrants, remain however, against which rises the prejudice of double subordination in more or less explicit terms: being poor, with little if any education, relegated to domestic services, they are under the control of their husbands.

The high unemployment rates of migrant women, and the part-time or undeclared employment in which they engage in sectors that remain invisible, cannot help them to integrate in European societies. When the residential marginalisation is added, it becomes clear that migrant women live among themselves, preserve their habits and traditions, speak their language, watch the television stations of the country of origin, and have little contact with natives. “They not only live in the periphery, they are at the periphery of everything.”

Distribution of migrants from MEDA countries by region of residence: figures in 2008

European Union /Statistics of the host countries

Arab countries

Rest of the World

Total

country of origin

Algeria 811,826 72,887 23,491 908,204

Egypte 177,674 1,928,160 381,400 2,487,234

Israel 47,750 NA NA 47,750

Jordan 20,531 NA NA 20,531

Lebanon 145,807 123,966 325,604 595,377

Morocco 2,102,534 281,631 173,312 2,557,477

Syria 100,137 NA NA 100,137

Palestinian Territories

4,195 NA NA 4,195

Tunisia 365,003 142,655 28,715 536,373

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, p 2.

Percentage of migrants from MEDA countries, per region of residence 92

Country of origin

European Union /Statistics of the host countries

Arab countries Rest of the World

Algeria 89.4 8.0 2.6

Egypt 7.1 77.5 15.3

Lebanon 24.5 20.8 54.7

Morocco 82.2 11.0 6.8

Tunisia 68.1 26.6 5.4

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, Stocks 2008, p 2.

92 Statistics were not always available for the other MEDA countries

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Percentage of MEDA migrants in the European Union

Algeria 21.5

Egypt 4.7

Israel 1.3

Jordan 0.5

Lebanon 3.9

Morocco 55.7

Syria 2.7

Palestinian Territories 0.1

Tunisia 9.7

Total 100

Source: Percentages calculated on the basis of CARIM data, 2008/2009, p 2.

Percentage of women migrants from MEDA countries in Europe per country of origin

Total number of women migrants % of women migrants

Algeria 355,880 23.47

Egypt 47,274 3.12

Israel 16,003 1.06

Jordan 6,318 0.42

Lebanon 40,339 2.66

Morocco 886,425 58.45

Syria 22,697 1.50

Palestinian Territories 521 0.03

Tunisia 141,107 9.30

Total 1,516,564 100

Source: Our table based on CARIM data, 2008/2009. pp 473-477.

Distribution of Algerian migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Algerian

Women Migrants

Germany 13,148 3,635 27.6

Austria 990 228 23.0

Belgium 20,295 8,975 44.2

Spain 55,726 16,565 29.7

France 679,000 315,000 46.4

Greece 188 46 24.5

Italy 22,672 6922 30.5

Netherlands 3,790 1,356 35.8

United Kingdom 10,000 3,153 31.5

Total 805,809 355,880 44.2

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent Data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006),

Distribution of Egyptian migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Egyptian

Women Migrants in Europe

Germany 11623 3,771 32.4

Austria 12,878 4,695 36.5

Belgium 2746 873 31.8

Spain 3,680 982 26.7

France 20,000 NA NA

Greece 9,461 1,168 12.3

Italy 69,572 20,492 29.5

Netherlands 11,178 3,293 29,5

United Kingdom 27,000 12,000 44.4

Total 168,138 47,274 28.1

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006),

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Distribution of Israeli migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total

MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Israeli Migrant

Women in Europe

Germany 9,798 3,854 39.3

Austria 2,280 1,015 44.5

Belgium 3,325 1,433 43.1

Spain 2,660 982 36.9

France 4,281 NA NA

Greece 102 24 23.5

Italy 2,332 887 38.0

Netherlands 4,780 2,067 43.2

United Kingdom 14,000 5,741 41.0

Total 43,558 16,003 36.7

Distribution of Jordanian migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total

MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Jordanian

Women in Europe

Germany 7,716 2,857 37.0

Austria 644 209 32.5

Belgium 682 228 33.4

Spain 2,097 488 23.3

France 686 NA NA

Greece 8 2 25.0

Italy 2680 1,032 38.5

Netherlands 804 308 38.3

United Kingdom 3,105 1,194 38.5

Total 18422 6,318 34.3

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006),

Distribution of migrant Lebanese women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Lebanese

migrant

Germany 38,028 15,769 41.5

Austria 1,062 640 60.3

Belgium 4652 1,780 38.3

Spain 3,065 969 31.6

France 33,000 14,000 42.4

Greece 550 236 42.9

Italy 3,471 1,230 35.4

Netherlands 2,939 1216 41.4

United Kingdom 19,000 4,499 23.7

Total 105,767 40,339 38.1

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006),

Distribution of Moroccan migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Moroccan

migrant women in Europe

Germany 66,189 28722 43.4

Austria 1563 699 44.7

Belgium 163,626 76,676 46.9

Spain 683,102 253662 37.1

France 625,000 293,000 46.9

Greece 491 111 22.6

Italy 365,908 149,391 40.8

Netherlands 167,063 78,524 47.0

United Kingdom 16,000 5640 35.3

Total 2,088,942 886,425 42.4

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006),

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Distribution of Syrian migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Syrian

migrant women in Europe

Germany 28,459 12,471 43.8

Austria 2587 387 15.0

Belgium 3,726 1,485 39.9

Spain 4,796 1346 28.1

France 12,000 NA NA

Greece 5,747 988 17.2

Italy 3,539 1,336 37.8

Netherlands NA 2997 NA

United Kingdom 4167 1,687 40.5

Total 65,021 22,697 34.9

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006)

Distribution of Palestinian migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Palestinian migrant women in Europe

Germany NA NA NA

Austria 188 57 30.3

Belgium 137 46 33.6

Spain NA NA NA

France 620 NA NA

Greece 754 229 30.4

Italy 316 88 27.8

Netherlands NA NA NA

United Kingdom 2490 101 4.1

Total 4,505 521 11.6

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006).

Distribution of Tunisian migrant women in Europe according to statistics of the host countries

Total MigrantsTotal Women

MigrantsPercentage of Tunisian

migrant women in Europe

Germany 23,142 7,467 32.3

Austria 3,079 923 30.0

Belgium 10,480 3,649 34,8

Spain 2,384 739 31.0

France 222,000 93,000 41.9

Greece 217 21 9.7

Italy 93,601 32,812 35.1

Netherlands 4,098 1,404 34.3

United Kingdom 3,070 1,092 35.6

Total 362,071 141,107 39.0

Source: CARIM, 2008/2009, pp 473-477. Recent data (2008), except for France (2005) and Greece (2006).

Percentage of migrant women from MEDA countries in Europe by country of origin

Total Migrants % of Women Migrants

Algeria 355,880 23.47

Egypt 47,274 3.12

Israel 16,003 1.06

Jordan 6,318 0.42

Lebanon 40,339 2.66

Morocco 886,425 58.45

Syria 22,697 1.50

Palestinian Territories 521 0.03

Tunisia 141,107 9.30

Total 1,516,564 100

Source: Our table based on CARIM data, 2008/2009. pp 473-477.

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Migrant women from MEDA countries in France by age group

Algeria Morocco

0-19 26,096 77,336

20-39 67,890 78,467

40-64 132,439 106,685

65 and over 45,387 13,254

Total 271,812 275,742

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p 385.

Proportion of migrant women from MEDA countries in France by age group

Algeria Morocco

0-19 9.60 28.04

20-39 24.97 28.45

40-64 48.72 38.69

65 and over 16.69 4.80

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p 385.

Migrant women from MEDA countries in Germany by age group

Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco

0-19 866 714 557 616 6,291 5,701

20-39 2,065 1,933 1,920 1,734 7,863 16,695

40-64 491 366 861 383 1,983 5,364

65 and over 70 73 428 105 319 1,559

Total 3,492 3,086 3,766 2,838 16,456 29,319

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p389.

Proportion of migrant women from MEDA countries in Germany by age group

Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco

0-19 24.80 23.14 19.63 21.71 38.23 19.44

20-39 59.14 62.64 50.98 61.10 47.78 56.94

40-64 14.06 11.86 22.86 13.50 12.05 18.30

65 and over 2.00 2.37 11.36 3.70 1.94 5.32

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p389.

Migrant women from MEDA countries in the United Kingdom by age group

Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco

0-19 508 972 1153 336 535 403

20-39 1,687 1,875 2,052 528 2,234 2,782

40-64 780 5,206 2,098 284 1,401 2,227

65 and over 178 3,331 438 16 329 228

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p387.

Proportion of migrant women from MEDA countries in the United Kingdom by age group

Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco

0-19 16.11 8.54 20.08 28.87 11.89 7.15

20-39 53.50 16.47 35.74 45.36 49.66 49.33

40-64 24.74 45.73 36.54 24.40 31.14 39.49

65 and over 5.65 29.26 7.63 1.37 7.31 4.04

Source: Mediterranean Migration Report 2006-2007, p387.

234 235

3.1.4. The female diaspora of the MEDA countries in Europe: a new contribution to development of the countries of origin ................................................................284

3.1.5. Partnership and cooperation between associations of immigrants and European nationals ......................................286

IV. The impact of migration on empowerment of women and the evolution of the family ................................................... 289

4.1. Migration of women from MEDA countries to Europe: liberation and resistance .................................................................... 292

4.1.1. Migration of women as a factor of social transformation .... 294

4.1.2. Zones of resistance to change .................................................. 298

4.2. The daughters of migrants, with youth comes change ................... 301

4.2.1. Parent-child relations ................................................................ 301

4.3. Migrant women and religious practice: religion coming to the rescue of lost identity .................................. 307

4.4. Migrant women and European women, an ambivalent relation ... 311

Conclusions ......................................................................................... 315

Introduction ........................................................................................ 236 I. The overall context - migration and development: the positive aspect of migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region ......................................................... 241

1.1. Development, a fast-changing concept ........................................... 242

1.2. Migration and development: a global, positive approach to migration .............................................................................................. 243

1.3. The integration of women in the development of MEDA countries: Contribution of the Barcelona process ............. 252

II. Remittances sent to the countries of origin: what participation for migrant women? ..................................... 261

2.1. Individual transfers to improve living conditions of the family .... 264

2.2. Remittances invested in real estate or entrepreneurial activities .............................................................. 266

2.3. Remittances and investments ............................................................ 267

2.4. Channels of transmission ................................................................... 268

III. Role of the diaspora in the development of the country of origin .......................................................................270

3.1. The associative movement: background and evolution ................. 273

3.1.1. The 1970s: the forerunners – associations of militant women .............................................. 274

3.1.2. The 1980’s: the young generation of migrants joins the movement: a new dynamic created by young women from immigrant families. ..............................................................278

3.1.3. The 1990’s: The integration process gave great impetus to diaspora associations to organise and defend their rights in the countries of origin and destination. .............................. 281

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Migration and development have become a central issue in European, Euro-Mediterranean and worldwide migration policy. The countries of destination and of origin benefit from the various contributions of migrants in the context of their respective economic and social development. Migrations thus show strong potential in terms of development, and the migrant has become an effective actor in promoting development and fighting poverty. For example, “South-North migrations are no longer perceived in their individual aspect but rather as strategies for economic, national, regional growth in the developed and the developing worlds”.1 In fact, several regional and bilateral international conventions have adopted a specific section on migration and development, focusing on the positive aspects of migration. European legislation has taken the same road, particularly after the Tampere Council when the question of co-development became much more meaningful, and is now an integral part of global migration policy, an option supported by a whole arsenal of regulations and recommendations at Euro-Mediterranean level.

No doubt, migration creates job opportunities that can improve integration in economic circuits. Migration for work is in fact a means of balancing economic needs of the places of origin and destination, offering job openings to workers with different levels of qualification, and optimising the advantages for the country of origin by means of remittances, skills learned, and availability of immigrant national expertise.

On a worldwide scale, recent discussions in United Nations organisations and at regional level, particularly in the context of the European Union, emphasise the positive relation between migration and development in the countries of departure. These reports and studies attest to the countless contributions (economic, social and cultural) of immigrants to their countries of origin. The funds that they send home play a precious role in reducing poverty and consolidating the development process. They are active today, more than in the past, individually, collectively and by means of associative movements in making financial investments and backing economic and social projects on various scales. They also constitute a network of skills and expertise that can support the development of the country, particularly since temporary or

1 Report of the Global International Migration Commission (2005). “p 25.”

permanent return gives rise to the development of new skills, new actions and other networks of relationships that constitute first class assets for the economic development of the country and the construction of a society based on knowledge and technology.

Until recent years, the strategies for national development and poverty reduction in developing countries have tended to ignore the economic potential of mobility and only to take account of it partially in planning. Today, the ties between mobility and development are increasingly visible and firmly established in recent national and international reports on human development. The contribution of migrants is therefore well incorporated in national development strategies, in both the host countries in the countries of origin.

Migrants from MEDA countries bring Europe what it lacks: they fill the gap of declining demography, represent an important source of inexpensive labour that maintains the competitive position of businesses, and constitute a pool of skills that can manage, promote and support the dynamics of an economic activity based on free trade. Growing awareness of the contribution of immigrants to the development of host countries is increasingly outspoken, and immigrants, moreover, can see this clearly. In France, the demonstration on 1 March 2010 “24 hours without us, a day without immigrants” was symbolic, but still it marks the borderline between yesterday’s and today’s immigrants. The organisers called for mobilisation to show the indispensable contribution of immigration to France. This initiative was also taken in Italy and in Greece that tried to cast a new light on the migratory phenomenon - that is generally perceived as a threat - in an attempt to increase the visibility of immigrants’ effective contribution to the economic and social development in the country of destination.

As we have shown in the previous chapters, the main cause of departure of migrants is economic. It stems from the hope of gaining access to a decent job, better living conditions for themselves, the members of their families accompanying them or who stayed in the home country, whom they generally continue to support financially. Their remittances have attracted growing attention2 in recent years – assessments and case studies have shown the importance of these transfers for families and the States in the country of departure.

2 Studies and reports of the United Nations, the World Bank, OECD, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the African Development Bank, Euro-African conferences, etc.

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The immigrants’ contribution, formerly assimilated to a simple transfer of wages, is taking on a new dimension today and a new significance, with the involvement of civil society and the diaspora of MEDA countries established in Europe. Indeed, the economic role of immigrants is not limited to their financial contribution; they are agents of sustainable development, training, technology transfer, and they initiate economic, social-economic and health projects that first and foremost target an improvement in living conditions of the local population, and profound economic and social transformations in the society of origin.

Relations between migration and development have been studied globally, however, without reference to the gender dimension. Women have always been effective actors of development, nevertheless - whether their actions were visible or invisible – they were always stakeholders in economic and social change. The household work they accomplish, the many chores they take on, often with little or no remuneration, the professional activities they have integrated, the informal sectors they work in, express their important contribution to the labour market and the welfare of the population.

For several decades, questions pertaining to the integration of women in economic and social development have become current issues all over the world, as their quest for broad economic, political and social-cultural participation continually changes shape. Migrant women, with their specificity, carry this universal aspiration as they work to integrate better in the host country and reinforce ties with the society of origin.

No doubt the MEDA countries have made great efforts in the field of promotion of women. International cooperation, and more particularly the Barcelona process in the case of the Euro-Mediterranean region, has given a strong impetus to the integration of women in economic and social development. On the other hand, migration of women, the contribution of immigrants and particularly the new generations, have reinforced their role in development.

Everywhere in Europe, migrant women, wherever they may come from, actively contribute to the economic and social-cultural life of the countries of origin and destination. Their involvement in civil society now constitutes an undeniable dimension of the immigrant associative movement, both in setting up mechanisms to facilitate integration in the host country, and in initiating

international solidarity and local development projects. However, no official statistics show the major contribution of these actions to development, particularly since women’s work is still imperceptible and not recorded in figures, so its effects are only perceived in the very long term.

The impact of migration on development of the countries of origin has a direct effect on the households that remained in the home country, the community of origin, the region of departure and the issuing State. The repercussion of the migration of women is of a special kind – despite its diffuse, indirect and often informal nature, its effects on families, gender relations and compatriots who have not left the country are very tangible. Dress codes, cooking, and models of relations are transposed in the more traditionalist regions, imported by migrants and their daughters and supported by the migrants themselves. The community of origin takes inspiration from them and adopts some of the aspects initially, and then remodels them and re-adapts them to the situation in the country. In this case, it could be said that women are the drivers and the transmitters of social change. When a woman gains confidence in her capacities, often an entire family or social group is affected and will be able to develop their own capacities over several generations.

The extent and duration of female migration movements tend to modify relations between the sexes within the family, and within the institutions of the countries of origin. When women emigrate, traditional roles are upset, particularly those that deal with the concept of the head of the household, and in the case of men migrating, women who stay in the home country gain independence and participation in decision taking within the community. In addition, social standards in force in the host country are adopted in the country of origin, as is shown by later marriages, the use of contraception and low birth rates. Ambitions are also higher for the education of daughters and their access to the labour market. But beyond the direct impact on families, migration can have great effects on societal and cultural evolution, causing political transformations on a different scale.

In the part on legal migration, we dealt with the general contribution of female immigrants to the development of the host country; in this part we will try to show how immigrant women from MEDA countries constitute a financial reserve and a pool of skills, serving their countries of origin. Governments in MEDA countries are very much aware of the issues and the contribution

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of immigrants, and they are adopting policies to reinforce links with their communities in Europe to encourage men and women immigrants to invest in the development of their countries of origin and to maintain cultural and emotional ties with the new generations.

Studying how migrant women participate in development of the countries of origin is really a challenge, given the limited statistical data, the lack of overall studies, and the small number of case studies -- these do not allow for a comprehensive view of the question and do not help develop a comparative analysis between the host countries and the countries of origin. Nevertheless, we have painstakingly collected the data and gathered the cases studies available for the region, making certain adjustments with situations outside the region, supported by personal experience and observation of migration in the field.

This part is broken down into four chapters.

The first chapter describes the general issue of the ties between migration and development, highlighting the theoretical, legal and political aspects behind their interaction.

The second chapter deals with the question of remittances and the major issues pertaining to them, which tend to increase visibility of the remittances made by migrants and the way they are used.

The third chapter deals with the diaspora of MEDA countries living in Europe and the dual role of women’s associations, including the fight for democracy, human rights and the promotion of women in the country of origin, and the accompaniment of immigrant women for their insertion in economic sectors and their integration in the host countries.

The fourth chapter stresses the impact of migration on immigrant women, and the transformations it brings in their family and professional lives, and their social representations. Migration is not only a process of acculturation, it means a reinterpretation of cultures and reorganisation of life to reconcile norms that at first seem contradictory.

The subject ‘Migration and Development’ is very much on international, regional and national agendas. This new approach is part of an effort to cope with chaotic migration and to re-establish a certain balance between excessive development of illegal migration, uncertain returns and fast growing residential migration. So the ‘migration and development’ approach has proven to be effective in terms of cooperation with issuing countries. It allows for mutual assistance in controlling borders, with a certain compensation consisting of co-development programmes, which on one hand provide aid for the return of migrants in irregular situations, and on the other, facilitate intervention procedures for migrant associations that want to establish development projects in their countries of origin and organise repatriation of remittances.

Migration and development have always maintained a trade-off relationship: migration serves development and development is considered as a means to reduce movements of persons. When the concept of gender is introduced, we realise however that the question of development is what predominates. Women, like men, are agents of development and migration is a process that contributes to development for the various protagonists.

Three major questions arise that we will try to answer throughout this section.

1. How are women from MEDA countries contributing to the development of their countries, and how has the Barcelona process increased the role of women from the region in development? No doubt, as we have shown in the previous chapter, the actions carried out in this field by governments of southern countries and international institutions have given considerable impetus to the integration of women in development.

2. To what extent do migrant women, most of whom work in relatively low yield, low wage sectors, effectively participate in the development of their countries of origin since their remittances are lower? In fact, the first

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generation, consisting of women with little or average education, made a limited contribution to development projects. As for the second and third generations, often better and more thoroughly integrated in the host countries, they tend to develop increasingly close ties with the countries of origin.

3. Are migrant women effective agents of social change? Does migration transform gender relations profoundly or superficially in the immigrant community?

Before going into the heart of the subject, we first need a definition of development in the context of migration.

The parameters used to attempt to measure the level of development of a country are based on various indicators, designed to describe the average welfare of the population. While the traditional approach used income per capita as an indicator of economic development, we see that the Human Development Index (HDI) used by United Nations organisation since the 1990s considers three central dimensions instead: health and life expectancy, access to education and a decent level of living.3

Beyond these three criteria, development as defined in the most recent UNDP report in 2009 gives a broader meaning to the concept by introducing “freedom of persons to live the lives they choose”. This concept is based on the work of Amartya Sen and his approach geared to “capacities and opportunities”, which in fact stresses freedom to be and act according to one’s preferences. In the context of migration, the possibility of the place of residence is a principle of human freedom which was already present in classical philosophy. As Confucius wrote, “a good government can be recognised by the fact that those nearby are content and those far away, come of their own initiative”.4

In fact, approaches that try to measure development often refer to the economic dimension, sidestepping the aspect of the welfare of the population. This question was raised in the last Human Development Report 5 that makes a

3 UNDP Report 2009. “p 16.”4 UNDP, Human Development Report 2009. “p 26.”5 UNDP, Human Development Report 2009. “p 14.”

distinction between human development of peoples and human development of countries. For example, rather than measuring the average level of human development of the population living in Morocco, it measures the average level of human development of all persons born in Morocco, independently of their new place of residence. This new measurement has a strong impact on the understanding of human welfare. The UNDP study shows that in 13 of the 100 nations for which this index was calculated, the HDI of the population was at least 10% higher than the HDI of the country; for nine more, the difference was between 5% and 10%. The HDI of Ugandans, for example, was almost three times higher than the HDI of Uganda.6

Despite these multiple definitions and their theoretical importance, we will use a multidimensional approach that attempts to measure development by the economic, social and cultural level of the population living in a given territory, by its capacity to intervene in development and the opportunities offered to it, or that it creates, to contribute to development. Consequently, the criteria that define integration of women in development are: access to health care, education and a decent job, and political participation plus the level of equality of men and women within society.

All over the world, interest in the issues of migration and development continues to grow at the level of States, communities of origin, international organisations, NGOs and researchers. Networking of activities, the drafting of action plans and strategies adapted to the specificities of migration in the countries of origin and in the countries of destination, make it possible to optimise the value added of migration for development, and construct positive attitudes with regard to the movements of persons. Nevertheless, very few studies go into the question of participation of migrant women in the development of their countries of origin. Consequently, we will focus our efforts on analysing the contribution of migration to development in general, while stressing the way women contribute to it.

6 Idem p 14.

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Migration is closely related to economic and social development of the country of origin. Indeed, the first objective of migration is to reduce unemployment that is rampant in developing countries. It is also a means of bringing hard currencies into the country and reinforcing the balance of payments. Thirdly, it provides support to issuing countries by means of development projects and a supply of expertise that is inexpensive, when not totally free of charge, derived from mobilising skills and experts working in Europe, but originating from the South.

Because it is a source of wealth and development, MEDA countries give great importance to their communities outside the country.

European migration policy and that of the Member States have focused drastically on this new parameter of migration and development. Since Tampere, global migration policy has tended to create new partnerships with the countries of origin to fight poverty, improve living conditions and employment possibilities, prevent conflicts, consolidate democratic States and monitor respect of human rights, particularly those of minorities and women, and favour co-development. The contribution of migrants is a central dimension. All the European summits emphasise cooperation with third countries by integrating migration questions in the relations between the European Union and those countries and by insisting on the creation of partnerships with the countries of origin and of transit that promote synergies between migration and development.

In this commitment, the European Union has recalled its attachment to the global approach to migrations, in order to meet the double challenge of migration: the first, by means of developing partnerships between the countries of destination, origin and transit, targets implementation of the common European approach to co-development and aid to development. The second targets promoting solidarity through development actions that enable migrants to take part in the development of their countries of origin. The Euro-African ministerial conferences on migration and development (Rabat, July 2006 and Paris, October 2007) have confirmed this orientation.

This convergence around co-development objectives appears in an entire section on the declaration of the 5+5 Conference organised in 2002 in Tunis. Its objective is to “recognise the economic, social and cultural contribution of migration and the countries of the Western Mediterranean and to improve the conditions that enable migrants to satisfactorily play their legitimate role in the development of their countries of origin, in particular via their economies and investments”.7

The High Level Dialogue on migration and development initiated by the United Nations in 2006, and the world forums on migration organised subsequently, all underlined “the contribution of international migrants to the countries of destination, where they fill the labour go and enrich local cultures”. Consequently, international migration is intrinsically tied to development and human rights. Respect of fundamental migrants’ rights is crucial for the various protagonists to benefit fully from migration.

The joint initiative for migration and development coordinated by the United Nations and the European Commission reflects the growing recognition of and interest in activities linking migration and development. The objectives of the JMDI (Joint Migration and Development Initiative) are to support civil society organisations and the local authorities in order to contribute and reinforce the link between migration and development. In fact, the idea is to encourage the diasporas to participate in the social-economic development of their countries of origin, to reduce the brain drain, to facilitate remittances and the return of migrants who decide to go back.

Remittances and their use in the countries of origin is a major concern both for the issuing and receiving countries, so various provisions on a national or institutional scale have been taken to manage these remittances better. Banking the immigrants’ money can transform these funds into productive investment for the countries of origin. The flows are generally consumed locally, in the food and health fields, to the detriment of financing income-producing activities.

The use of the funds for development has been the subject of considerable thought by international organisations and national institutions that have undertaken to find more pertinent, operational schemes to encourage

7 Points 13 and 14 of the declaration. www.iom.int/en/know/dialogue5+5/index.shtml.

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migrants to put their money into development projects whose effects will be very positive for the local population of the country of origin. “Thus, the co-development savings account (CEC) was created in France in 2008 in favour of migrant workers. It gives them the right to a 25% tax exemption of the amount saved up to ! 20,000. This measure is intended for investments in a development project in the country of origin”.8

The French Economic and Social Council also looked into the means of making productive use of this financial windfall for co-development, by seeking more adequate means to mobilise these savings. In a study on the question, Monique Bourven, a member of the financial section of the Economic and Social Council, considered that “remittances of migrants to their countries of origin represent large volumes of capital in France and in the world that considerably exceed the amounts of public development aid”.9 The study estimates that channelling these funds through the banking system is a crucial issue for the development of the countries of origin. Mobilisation of migrant’s savings, valorised by adapted products, transferred via reliable circuits under good price conditions is a crucial economic, social and political issue. These savings should benefit the local economies first of all, and the welfare of the populations in terms of health, education and vocational training, and then the growth of these economies by productive investment”.10

France, Spain and Italy use many co-development practices. France is a special case, however, because of its different experience and a context that has made progress in the field at the initiative of the central government, whereas in Italy and Spain, co-development experiences are in the hands of the regions. Legislation of the autonomous communities and practices of local authorities recognise the obvious relationship between migration and development. Nevertheless in Spain and Italy too, certain practices are employed by the central government, particularly in the field of temporary migration. An example is the signature of the “Labour Agreement” between Spain and Morocco in 2001 to manage seasonal migration and the “Integrated

8 Une cagnotte très convoitée. Al-khiyal. Janvier 2006. www.Algeria.com/forum/al-khiyal/html. 9 The World Bank estimated these remittances at 240 billion dollars in 2007, whereas PDA

represented only 103 billion dollars for the same year. 10 Report of the French CES. 16 May 2008. L’argent des migrants au service du

codéveloppement.

Migration Information System Project” between Egypt and Italy that began in June 2001.11

Given the important role played by remittances in the development of countries of origin, both at the macroeconomic level and to meet family needs, in 2004 the G8 launched a worldwide initiative on the transfer of remittances. This initiative targets “improving data collection, making regulations more propitious, reducing the cost of transfers and the weight of the informal sector, and increasing the impact of remittances in terms of development”.12 It should be emphasised that the European co-development approach has begun to influence world forums such as the G8. At the Sea Island Forum (June 2004) a document was produced for the first time dealing specifically with remittances, mentioning a few French and Italian pilot projects in Morocco as specifically Mediterranean experiments.13

The Luxembourg Group, created in 2006, has the mission of piloting international activities on data collection and aid to countries to improve their estimates concerning remittances. The Bretton Woods and Eurostat institutions are part of it. Thanks to this initiative, data collection on remittances is improving and the economic role of migrants and the diasporas is increasingly visible and acknowledged.

As for the policies of countries in the South concerning immigration, these are influenced by economic and social agendas. These countries generally recognise that the departure of surplus labour abroad can only improve pressure on the domestic labour market, and indirectly on the State. Their position with regard to immigration wavers between encouraging it and laisser-faire. It also varies with the level of qualification of the emigrants, as governments are more inclined to encourage low skilled emigration and to get alarmed at emigration of people with a higher education. But given the extent of unemployment of graduates in Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, etc., a trend in the opposite direction is taking shape.

11 Med 2005, p 227.12 African Development Bank (ADB) Group. March, 2009, The Bank’s approach to migrants’

remittances. Migration and development initiative. “p 4.”13 Med 2005, L’année 2004 dans l’espace euro-méditerranéen. “CIDOB Foundation. Barcelona.

p 226.”

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As from the 1960s (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) and the 1970s (Egypt, Jordan) governments have facilitated immigration of their nationals, and some of them have made this an integral part of their growth strategies announced in their development plans. Morocco, as from the 1968 five-year plan, set the largest possible number of emigrants as an objective so as to keep the number of jobless as small as possible, and to attract maximum financial resources into the national economy via their savings. The same policy is enacted in Tunisia and other MEDA countries. Emigration is also considered as an export to be promoted for the benefit of the issuing country.

As for Algeria, which unilaterally suspended its emigration in 1973, it has long straddled two positions – on the strength of its oil and gas wealth, compared to which emigrant remittances are insignificant, and concerned with being the avant-garde of anti-imperialism, the government denounced emigration more than once as a form of post-colonial dependence. At the same time, since it cannot ensure full employment on a labour market that is literally undermined by a rate of joblessness varying between 20% and 30% from Independence to date, it has taken care not to organise the return of its emigrants.14

Lebanon, for its part, is somewhat concerned about being bled dry by emigration – they did not stop at the end of the Civil War (1975-1989) and accelerated with the war of 2006. Between 1987 and 1996, nearly one-fifth of adults (21.5% of men and 14.6% of women between 25 and 40) emigrated, and in the following five years, one out of ten left the country.15 Given these massive departures, Lebanon is still more receptive to the contribution of migrants to national construction.

The effects of migration on the countries of origin are many. After remittances, which appear to be fundamental to improve the balance of payments and reduction of poverty, we also see diversification in the participation of migrants, as development projects are set up on a local level and they contribute direct investment that is beginning to grow. The States in the South are very much aware of the contribution of this financial windfall for

14 Philippe Fargues. Notes IPEMED, op cit.15 Robert Kasparian and Choghig Kasparian, Émigration, emploi et conditions économiques.

Le cas du Liban, paper presented to a seminar on Forecasting Economic International Migration in the Euro-Mediterranean Area, 2005-2025, Istanbul, 2006. (To be published on www.carim.org).

its development projects. They make enormous efforts to safeguard and reinforce ties with their communities living abroad.

Remittances: the first contribution to development

Mobility of labour and migrants’ remittances all create a dynamic that can have a definite impact on the development of the countries of origin. Remittances of wages of emigrant workers substantially contribute to income in hard currencies and constitute a major complement to the gross domestic product. World Bank (WB) data attest that “on a world scale, remittances represent more than twice total development aid and, for many countries, are their main source of foreign currencies”.

Traditionally, in countries south of the Mediterranean, half the commercial deficit is compensated by services and remittances of emigrant workers. Countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean are in fact very dependent on emigration, as a result of the considerable extent of remittances from emigrants. Already in 1993-94, the amount of transfers of incomes of Egyptian emigrants ($6 billion) was 12 times higher than Direct Foreign Investments (DFI).16

In the case of the Maghreb, Morocco and Tunisia are tending to become increasingly dependent on remittances from migrants, while Algeria has adopted a more standoffish attitude with regard to its community, whose numbers are falling as a result of naturalisations, but a new trend is growing with the return of migrants and a net growth in remittances has been observed in recent years.17 Consequently, the role of the diaspora proves to be fundamental for the development of the countries of origin through financial, economic, technological and social transfers.

Diaspora: an effective player in the development of countries of origin

Today, the diaspora contributes greatly to the development of countries of origin. It takes part not only via remittances but also by its expertise and the initiation of development projects. This does not mean, however, that the migrants go back. They become a bridge between the host country and the

16 Femise Report 2002.17 Mohamed Saib Musette. 13 March 2008. Les transferts de devises plus importants que les

investissements (IDE). www.Algeria.com/forum/al-khiyal/html.

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country of origin, particularly as a result of the new policy adopted by the EU to promote circular migration.

A general consensus has been found in the Euro-Mediterranean policies, agreements and large conferences of the MEDA countries and the EU on the need to promote mobility of migrants, so that they can contribute to the development of the countries of origin. The idea of co-development is slowly progressing. However, there is a question: the migrants’ funds, the development projects that they set up, the expertise they offer to the countries of origin – can these suffice on their own to settle development problems or are they one of the reliable parameters alongside DFI and PDA, good governance and participative democracy in the countries of origin?

Contribution to development and maintaining and reinforcing ties with the emigrant community by the countries of origin

All MEDA countries experiencing significant migration to Europe have set up institutions, often ministries, centres, councils and offices to organise their relations with their expatriates. These institutions adopt two major guidelines, one economic and the other cultural.18 The economic guideline consists of maximising the benefit that the country can draw from the diaspora. The idea is to encourage emigrants to transfer a large part of their savings to the country of origin and to make as many investments as possible. In all countries of emigration, this has encouraged the adoption of banking and tax reforms, liberalising circulation and investment of funds.

The cultural guideline responds to the concern of the countries of origin and of the migrants themselves to maintain solid ties with each other. If the first generation has remained attached to the standards and values of its country of origin, the arrival of the second and third generations has meant a major cultural transition within the family due to the intervention of school, the media and other institutions. Ministries and public institutions responsible for emigration have developed a series of activities allowing each generation to revive its national and Arab identity (language courses, holidays in the home country, cultural centres in the host country, and they appointment of Arabic language teachers in host countries), and Moslem identity (religious

18 Philippe Fargues CARIM, IUE and Hervé Le Bras EHESS, INED. IPMED Notes N°1, September 2009.

supervision, sending of Imams during Ramadan and religious holidays and religious education in mosques).

This overview of migration and development serves as a framework to better situate and analyse the participation of migrant women in the development of their countries of origin. Consequently, we need to say a word about the real situation pertaining to the three aspects of this question: women, the Euro-Mediterranean region, and the North-South Mediterranean partnership.

1. The economic, social and cultural situation of women in MEDA is in an upheaval. The efforts made by the States and international organisations have given women a new place on the political, economic and social scenes of these countries. However, in 2002, the first UNPD report on the Arab world defined the difficult condition of women as one of the major obstacles to development in the geographic area.19 How has migration been able to give women a new status as contributing to development in the countries of origin?

2. The Euro-Mediterranean region includes two shores that appear to be strongly contradictory. On the one side the European Union, a highly developed geographic, political and economic entity and on the southern side of the Mediterranean a series of independent States, without horizontal cooperation, that are generally considered as developing or emerging countries. The number of immigrants is growing continually: how does this massive mobility express women’s aspirations in MEDA countries and their capacity to be true agents of development?

3. The Euro-Mediterranean partnership began in 1995 with great ambitions, but it dealt timidly and ambiguously with the promotion of women and women’s rights. It took several years, nearly a decade,20 for the promotion of women’s rights to be considered an essential instrument for development in the region. How did the Euro-Mediterranean partnership put an end to this delay and invest directly in a gender strategy to improve the integration of women in the development of MEDA countries, the only alternative to ensure the promotion of women in neighbouring countries and, consequently, reduce illegal migration of women?

19 See UNDP, Arab Human Development Report 2002: Creating Opportunities for Future Generations. “New York, Oxford University Press, 2002.”

20 See Euro-Mediterranean Women’s Conference in 2005.

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Several institutions joined MEDA countries to contribute financing, expertise and know-how (UN, World Bank, etc.). The Barcelona Declaration is only one of many elements of the North-South partnership that targets improving the situation of women, the application of their fundamental rights and their integration in development. The importance of this partnership lies in the fact that it is the most intensive, most effective and most concrete cooperation platform.

The objective of the Barcelona process is to make the Mediterranean a zone of peace, security and shared prosperity. The construction of this area as defined cannot be done without the effective contribution of women in the region, without continual mutual support of the various players, and without an investment of the States of the region for the effective promotion of the political, economic, legal and social situation of women. The contribution of the Barcelona process, which we will consider in greater depth, is found in its explicit, albeit timid, will to integrate the question of women in the declaration itself. Integration of the civil society and the gender dimension among its priorities for development programmes and projects have given greater impetus to the integration of women.

The Barcelona Declaration recognises the role of women in development and undertook to promote active participation of women in social-economic life and job promotion. The specific point of the Barcelona declaration, drawing inspiration from certain parts of the conclusions of the United Nations Conference on Women held in Beijing in June 1995, is marked by a strongly economic penchant. Moreover it stresses the “role of women in development and the need to encourage their active participation in economic and social life by the creation of jobs”. In fact, the objectives of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership cannot be achieved without full participation of women around the Mediterranean basin in the economic, social, cultural and political lives of their respective societies.

This participation came earlier in the European Union where large efforts have been made to promote equal opportunities between men and women in economic, social and civil life. Participation in decision taking, consideration

of the gender dimension, are deemed to be fundamental elements of European construction.

In the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), promotion of women has always been referred to as an important lever in the social development process and the general improvement of standards of living in partner Mediterranean countries. This assertion has been verified both as concerns the content of the cooperation strategies implemented and the indicative national programmes of partner countries where the question of gender is integrated. Taking account of human rights is a fundamental point of the partnership. The governments present at the 1995 conference affirmed that achieving this objective means reinforcing democracy and compliance with human rights as they are universally recognised, of course including women’s rights.

The EMP has also allowed significant cooperation between women from the North and the South, offering them resources, albeit limited, to mobilise for the defence of their political, economic and social rights, for the fight against discrimination and violence and for the development of collective strategies in the short, medium and long-term to alleviate poverty, fight illiteracy and achieve equality of women and men in their countries. However, equality remains a touchy question. Its effective implementation, which depends as much on current law in the field as on actual practice, is far from being achieved in the South, or even in Europe itself, if only in terms of jobs and salaries.21

The intention expressed by the Barcelona Declaration to contribute to the integration of women in economic and social development has gradually taken the shape of a series of conferences and meetings whose objective is to develop ties and solidarity between women belonging to different cultures and civilisations, particularly by establishing economic relations, the cornerstone of any development strategy.

21 Aïcha Belarbi, March 2002. La contribution des femmes dans le partenariat euro-méditerranéen. “Thé de Médéa. Bruxelles.”

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1. The first conference for the participation of women in economic and social life was organised in Portugal (Ericeira Conference) in November 1998. It gave a second wind to the social and cultural partnership, which includes a women’s dimension. The Ericeira declaration came out in favour of a strong political commitment from governments to encourage the access of women to vocational training and education, a decisive step to improve qualifications.

2. The interministerial encounters organised in the context of the EPM (Barcelona in 1996, Stuttgart and Valencia 1999, Marseille in 2000) also refer to the defence of women’s rights. For example, the conclusions of the Marseille Council mention the Ministers’ recommendation to set up “a regional programme on the promotion of the role of women in economic development”. The specific programme was to be launched in 2002 with a budget of 8 to 10 million euros in the context of international cooperation for 2000-2006, to enable women to gain access to the partnership and to “help them and encourage them to set up projects that will be financed by Europe”.

3. The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on the Promotion of Women in Economic and Social Development, which took place in Brussels on 24-25 March 2000, showed the same spirit as the International Conference on Women and Development organised in November 2000 in Casablanca, and that of Ericeira, by focusing mainly on female entrepreneurship, the creation of businesses by women and access of women to the labour market. Participants agreed to set up a Euro-Mediterranean network for sustainable development and integration of women in economic and social life. The ministerial conference of Marseille in November 2000 stressed the need to set up a “women’s” regional programme integrated in the social pillar of the Barcelona process.

4. The Forum of July 2001, which corresponds to the continuation of the initiative of the Belgian NGO AIM, developed three main lines: access and participation of women in the labour market, creation of businesses and education and professional training. The objectives of this Forum corresponded to the logic of increasing participation of Euro-Mediterranean women in the decision taking process, recognition of work of women, particularly in the informal sector and identification of a targeted, more

effective new approach in the field of education and vocational training. In addition, for the first time, the touchy question of equal opportunities was referred to in a Euro-Mediterranean conference.

The conclusions of that Forum were presented by the Belgian presidency of the EU at the meeting of the 27 Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels in November 2001. The main new factor was the drafting of a “women’s” Euro-Mediterranean programme that was independent, at least financially, from regional programmes under the Barcelona process.

The main lesson to be drawn from the series of Euro-Mediterranean conferences on the role of women is the focus on the economic issue (entrepreneurship and women’s jobs and training). Nevertheless it is crucial to take account of the political dimension of global development of the countries in the southern Mediterranean when dealing with the integration of women. Fledgling democracy, economic crises, the weight of debt and demographic pressure are all elements that block promotion of women’s rights in MEDA countries, maintaining underqualification of women, and that seem to consolidate gender inequality and the growing proportion of female poor.

5. An important step was taken in the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on women, held in Barcelona on 24 and 25 number 2005. For the first time, gender questions were at the heart of cooperation on the two sides of the Mediterranean. After ten years of partnership, the importance of women in the construction of this geopolitical area was finally recognised. At least in principle, it was affirmed that it is not possible to talk about economic and political development or democracy without the participation of women.22

6. Further to the recommendation of Barcelona+10 to organise a Euro-Med ministerial conference on women’s rights, representatives of the Member States of the EU and the Mediterranean partners met in Istanbul in 2006 to discuss the “reinforcement of the role of women in society”. They agreed on the creation of a common regional platform, currently called the Istanbul Action Plan, for the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights in the Euro-Med region. This five-year plan for the period 2006-2010 includes

22 Women’s Conference Conclusions: Euromed.

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presentation of an annual report with a final report for the ministerial meeting in 2009.

These recommendations, based on an evaluation of the implementation of the ministerial conclusions and the reinforcement of the role of women in society, are commonly referred to as the Istanbul Action Plan (IAP). The adoption of the IAP in 2006 by the European Union Member States and the Mediterranean partners was welcomed by the Euro-Mediterranean civil society as an effective regional tool to make headway in gender equality, despite a few weak points.

7. The Istanbul conference of 24-25 October 2009 grouped civil society organisations for the defence of human rights and women’s rights from Mediterranean countries and European countries to prepare recommendations for the Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting on reinforcing the role of women in society that was held in Marrakesh on 11-12 November 2009.

8. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), who met in Marrakesh, repeated their commitment to reinforce the role of women in society, pleading in favour of implementing gender equality in priority UfM projects, kand the promotion of substantial financing and coordination of projects. They also proposed to create a Women’s Foundation for the Mediterranean, a project supported by France, Jordan, Morocco and Lebanon. This foundation is one of the concrete projects proposed by UfM. It takes the form of a meeting place for initiatives, exchanges and sharing of local experience, with the objective of affirming the role of women as essential actors of social development.

Cooperation between the two sides of the Mediterranean for the promotion of women and their integration in development, although it is described only briefly in the Barcelona Declaration because of reticence from countries in the South, has gradually made progress with the support of civil society. So the gender question has been integrated in development programmes and projects and has become the subject of increased financing in recent years. The MEDA I and MEDA II programmes gave a still limited but not insignificant place to women, making the principle of equality of men and women the groundwork of their projects. In the context of MEDA I, specific

actions focused on education, particularly access of girls to basic education, integration and maintenance of girls in the school system,23 access of women to health, particularly maternal and infantile health,24 rounded off by a few actions to promote family planning.25 As for income generating activities for women, the first generation of social funds for development provided for micro-credits to promote access to financing and reinforcement of management capacities.26

The financial resources devoted by the Union to specifically “women’s” projects are an important indicator. Five specific programmes or projects for women launched under MEDA II represent ! 24-25 million according to the figures of the European Commission, which is more than under MEDA I. This effort is still weak, however, considering that MEDA II mobilised about ! 5.3 billion for the 2000-2006 period.27 In MEDA II, emphasis was put on integrating women in economic life and on women’s rights, particularly since 2004. The following examples of projects illustrate the interest of the Union for promoting women in countries of the South.

Case of Morocco

“Support to human development and social integration” project (Morocco, ! 5 million) institutional support to the Secretary of State in charge of the family, solidarity and social action (SEFSAS).

“Argan tree” project (Morocco, !6 million) for rural development that targets promoting exploitation of the argan tree, improving working and living conditions of women exploiting argan trees so they can effectively participate in local economic development and contribute to protection and sustainable management of this resource.

23 Basic education programme in Morocco (40 million euros destined particularly for the construction of schools for boys and girls

24 Mother and child health programme in Morocco (! 6.5 million)25 Family planning programme in Egypt (! 9.2 million) for the construction of family planning

centres, vocational training of girls for health professions.26 - Social fund in Egypt, a programme for a total of ! 155 million, of which 88 million are

to support small business, 30 % of beneficiaries being women (of all activities to support income-producing activities, 20 million devoted to microcredits and benefitting women to a large extent);- Economic development fund in Jordan (! 4.6 million) part of which is intended for women. Source, Rabéa Naciri et Nusair Isis« L’intégration des droits des femmes du Moyen-Orient et de l’Afrique du Nord dans le partenariat euro-méditerranéen », Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’homme, May 2003.

27 Naciri Rabéa and Nusair Isis. (2003) op.cit.

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Case of Egypt

“Girls education” project (! 6.5 million) for the project;

“Support of girls who run the risk of being victims of excision” project;

“Role of women in economic life” regional programme (!5 million).

Case of Tunisia

The “Maghreb women: full-fledged citizens” project (2004-2007) targets reinforcing mechanisms and provisions to defend women who are victims of violence. It supports independent women’s NGOs that encounter difficulties in the exercise of their actions in Tunisia. A listening centre has been created for women victims of violence within the Tunisian Association of Democratic women.

Case of Israel

This is a very special case given the level of social-economic development found in Israel. Nevertheless this country is eligible for various Euro-Med programmes which are not specifically dedicated to the place of women, but nevertheless promote their integration. For example, the “Partnership for Peace” programme, which attempts to improve relations between the Arab and Jewish populations in the region, is more specifically geared to Israeli Arab women in its application in Israel.28

Bilateral MEDA actions to promote women have been supported by the European Parliament under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. Budgets ranging from ! 50,000 - ! 1 million per country have been allocated in the form of micro-projects managed by European delegations set up in the countries concerned. Several NGOs from the Maghreb and Machreq have benefited from these to contribute to promoting women’s rights in their respective countries.

Despite this investment by the European Union and efforts at cooperation that take the gender dimension into consideration, it has been seen that the Barcelona process was not able to reach the anticipated results, i.e. the

28 Rabéa Naciri and Nusair Isis, op cit.

integration of women in development. The report on civil society shows a very modest implementation of the IAP and the limited impact of the promotion of equality and women’s rights in the region. The potential of the IAP to effectively develop a gender integration policy has been considerably slowed down by the absence of tangible provisions and binding measures. For the moment, IAP is very much a programme of declaration of good intentions.

As a demonstration of this, at the Declaration of the Summit of Paris on 13 July 2008 that marked the launching of the Union for the Mediterranean, there was a significant omission of the promotion of equality between men and women and women’s rights among the priorities. Similarly, political, civil, social, economic and cultural rights were not integrated in the Agreements of Association between the EU and its Partners, nor were they included in the Action plans for the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Several factors constitute obstacles to the creation of equal rights in the region. The economic crisis and its effects on personal security, the Israeli occupation, armed conflicts, gaps in democracy and fundamental liberties, restrictive immigration policies, the rise in religious fundamentalism, and the deep-rooted patriarchal system are all factors that considerably increase the vulnerability of women. The lack of political determination in the South and a real interest in the North strongly affect progress in equality between men and women in the region and the implementation of the IAP.

The final report of the Euro-Med Conference on women (2005) summarises the situation in a few lines emphasising that “there is still a long way to to to improve the condition of women in the region and it is full of obstacles. In fact there is a great difference between men and women in the fundamental sectors of education, work, health, and sometimes even in lifestyles”.29 Violence too, both physical and moral, is on the agenda and discrimination persists with reference to personal status codes, penal code, nationality codes, without forgetting the aggravation of the women’s rights situation in the entire region, particularly as a result of wars.

The final report of the Marrakesh conference (2009) mentions that “women encounter limits to full recognition of their effective rights, and equal opportunities between men and women still seem far from being reached”.

29 Op. cit.: Euromed women’s conference conclusions.

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The conference underlined that the main instruments for changing the state of things are access to work and fair pay, the fight against illiteracy and a rise in the level of instruction of women. In addition, it proposed to insert an explicit clause for promoting women’s rights in the Association agreements and in the European neighbourhood policy and all other agreements that pertain to relations between the two sides of the Mediterranean.

The Euro-Mediterranean process, despite declarations of intent to safeguard civil and political rights, pays only relative attention to women, and to immigrants. In the Barcelona Declaration, there is only one reference to the importance of the role of women. The Association Agreements say nothing about women’s rights. The credits allocated to the gender question under the MEDA programme are limited too. In the documents describing the international Euro-Mediterranean strategies, and national indicative programmes, and in the Neighbourhood Action Plans, the condition of women is not integrated in a coherent way. In fact “political and economic proposals for growth in the region paid little consideration to the fact that discrimination against women profoundly reduces economic and political growth in the region”.30

Under-representation of women in the Euro-Mediterranean decision taking process, during the negotiations, and their marginalisation in conflict solving, jeopardise the fundamental principles of human rights and are contrary to the implementation of international conventions and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

This situation raises questions about the degree of participation of women originally from the MEDA living in Europe, in the development of their country of origin: Effective or partial participation, participation that takes account of their skills and capacities or that separates them into special niches reserved for persons of their sex? How can migrants who left the country of origin in the context of family grouping or economic migration become first-class development agents for the country of departure? Are they a real force or are they presented as raw potential whose effectiveness can only be shown in years to come?

30 Renata Pepicelli. Les femmes et le partenariat euro-méditerranéen. Confluences, nº60, winter 2006-2007.

Before considering remittances31 from migrant men and women, the question should be situated in the world context. Transfers from migrants have evolved considerably in the last decade. The volume, that was 99 billion US dollars in 2002, has tripled to $308 billion in 2008. This has drawn interest from several protagonists (financial, political and economic), international financial institutions having begun to imagine solutions to orient these transfers of funds to financing the economy and investing in the country of origin.

In recent decades, remittances to the country of origin, and particularly to the town or region of birth, have increased significantly. According to World Bank statistics for 2008, $28.5 billion of funds were sent through official channels by migrants to their countries of origin in the Middle-East-North-Africa zone as compared to $12.9 billion in 2000. The ten countries in Middle-East-North-Africa zone that benefited from most remittances in 2007 were Egypt ($5.9 billion), Morocco ($5.7 billion) Lebanon ($5.5 billion), Jordan ($2.9 billion), Algeria ($2.9 billion) Tunisia ($1.7 billion) Yemen ($1.3 billion), Iran ($1.1 billion), Syria ($0.8 billion), West Bank and Gaza ($0.6 billion).

In many MEDA countries, remittances are the main and most stable source of capital flows. In certain cases, the financial resources exceed direct foreign investment and public aid. The examples of Morocco and Egypt are very significant. For Morocco in 2007, remittances represented 637% of DFI and 452% of PDA. In Egypt, they represent 467% of DFI and 225% of PDA.32

The top ten countries benefiting from remittances in 2006 (in percentage of GDP) were Lebanon (22.8%), Jordan (20.3%), West Bank and Gaza (14.7%), Morocco (9.5%), Yemen (6.7%), Tunisia (5%), Egypt (5%), Djibouti (3.8%), Syria (2.3%) and Algeria (2.2%).

In 2004, the World Bank estimated formal payments to poor countries made by migrants working in rich countries at US$ 126 billion (World Bank

31 Remittances refer to recurrent cross-border transfers of relatively small amounts made by workers in favour of their families in the countries of origin.

32 ADB Group. March 2009, op cit, p 7.

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Report, 2005). These remittances have been growing sharply, since they were 116 million in 2003 and 99 billion in 2002. This is the second source of financing for developing countries after direct financial investment. Public development aid ($79 billion) comes only third.

As we mentioned earlier, in many MEDA countries, migration is a State and family strategy before it is an individual one. First of all, it targets reducing unemployment, improving the standard of living and perspectives for the future, not just for the person who emigrates, but also for the entire family. Consequently, remittances have several functions: they are used to meet immediate consumer needs and social protection of families who stayed in the country of origin, they are invested in real estate, and they are used for development projects on a local, regional or even national scale.

The concept of sending funds as underlined in a study of the ADB does not refer only to simple individual operations, but corresponds to an integrated, dynamic system where each player, in this case the migrant, the beneficiary, the government, the formal financial intermediaries and the informal operator, has his own motivations and strategies. The contribution and use of remittances favours the trend to emigration. In the context of globalisation, it is observed that migration of women is often promoted and facilitated by families and governments of issuing countries, as the migrant women are recognised for their great propensity to send back money.33 This is true despite the fact that their incomes are lower than those of men, a good proportion of their wages is dedicated not only to their parents, their spouses and children, but also to various members of the family, whereas men generally send funds to their parents or their wives.

Many studies show that migration of women has become a family strategy for getting out of poverty. The World Bank study “Moving out of Poverty” done in 2007 shows that in communities that accept migration of women, several households benefit from remittances, thus proving that the integration of women on the labour market is crucial to get households out of poverty. It also underlines that even the most traditionalist households want to send

33 Carlota Raminez, Mar Garcia Dominguez, and Julia Miguez Maorais. (2005), Crossing borders: remittances, gender and development. “INSTRAW. United Nations international research and training Institute for the advancement of women. 2005.”

young women to work abroad, as they are presumed to send back more money to their parents than young men do.

The amounts of remittances sent by migrant women in the MEDA are not often available as the statistics on existing remittances do not take into consideration a breakdown by gender, and data on the differences in male and female behaviour as concerns remittances are essentially nonexistent. Studies done in Asia and Latin America do show some possibilities for analysis. Thus for example, the study done in 2000 by INSTRAW and IOM shows that women in Bangladesh who work in the Middle East send home more than 72% of their earnings. A Latin America study dating from 2001 that says that 87% of women from Nicaragua who immigrated to Costa Rica send money back to their families as compared to 57% of men.

While remittances from migrant women are important, they are nevertheless hard to determine. The real volume and regularity of these remittances from female immigrants to their countries of origin are still quantitatively little-known, due to the many channels they go through, be they official circuits, repatriation by the immigrants themselves or by informal means. Remittances express the social and economic success of migrants of both sexes. A woman migrant who regularly or irregularly sends funds to her family proves that her departure and her installation in a foreign country were successful. The positive image of migration that she carries often helps develop the culture of migration in younger women of the family or from the same area. The Saadia El Hariri study on female Moroccan immigrants in the Paris area, although it dealt with a limited sample, shows their determination to be present both here and there. The first observation is that all the female migrants send remittances to the country of origin. The amount sent back is relatively small, varying between ! 75 and ! 90, while some women admit that they send much less. These are essentially women who came in the context of family regrouping, who do not work or have a part-time job. The fact that life is expensive, that transport and housing costs are high, the presence of young children and in certain cases the husband’s unemployment are what is behind these very small monetary flows. The women say that they reduce their expenditures to put together a small amount. “These tiny remittances

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take the form of aid to the family who stayed back home”.34 This practice, which is common for Moroccans, is also well known for women from the Maghreb and Africa.35

The first contribution of this money transferred by migrants is to help improve the living conditions of families who stayed at home. On this subject, several authors consider that these remittances reduce poverty and make it easier to cope with the ups and downs of the business climate. “These funds constitute one of the regulating elements of the crisis and one of the poverty reducing factors. Even if the durability of this system of survival raises questions, its contribution to the survival of the population is real.” Various studies agree to recognise that a 10% increase in migrants’ remittances would contribute to reducing the rate of poverty by 1.5% (World Bank).

A large proportion of income transferred by migrants is used for everyday expenditures. For some communities in MEDA countries, remittances constitute the only source of family income. The money is consequently used for basic needs such as food, clothing, health care and education, as well as for consumer goods (washing machine, TV, etc.) and for various events (engagements, weddings, birth, funerals, religious holidays, etc.). In 2007, the ADB studied remittances in four African countries including Morocco. It showed that most of these resources benefit poor families, essentially in the most isolated areas, enabling them to acquire imported goods and services. In the countries covered by the ADB study, the remittances benefited poor families that made up 80% of beneficiaries, and were essentially geared to consumption: food, education and healthcare. Unlike foreign aid, the remittances are paid directly to the families in areas that are often hard to reach in the context of development aid.36 The idea has already been discussed by Fall (2003, p. 13) who observes that “the money from the immigrants has

34 Saadia Hariri, Les transferts monétaires et commerciaux des femmes marocaines et le développement local au Maroc. “In : M. Charef et Patrick Gonin.(2005): Emigrés, immigrés dans le développement. local, Editions sud contact. PP 117-131. p 118.”

35 Vermande, 1994, p 74.36 ADB Group. Op cit , p 8 -9.

the advantage of reaching the right destination, which often is not the case of Public Development Aid”.

Many empirical studies37 have confirmed the positive effects of the transfers of international funds on the welfare of households in the countries of origin, on diversification of sources of income and on protection of families in the case of hard times (disease, shocks due to economic downturns or uncertain weather). Men and women migrants have different preferences with the regard to the type of expenditure for which the remittances are used. Women prefer to see the money sent spent on health and education of children, whereas men tend to prefer to invest in the construction of a house or more advantageous projects.38 In keeping with the social construction of gender, women feel more responsible for improving the living conditions of the family, whereas men are geared more to savings and investment (Raminez et al., 2005).39

It goes without saying that the contribution of remittances in financing consumer expenditures must not be underestimated given that consumption has an intrinsic value and long-term effects comparable to those of investment, particularly in poor communities. The improvement of nutrition and other items of consumption considerably increase the human capital, and consequently future income.

Similarly, expenditures for education are often a priority for families who receive funds, because they improve perspectives for the future of the young generation. Most of the forms of expenditures, particularly for labour-intensive goods and services like construction of housing, will also benefit the local economy and can have multiplier effects. It appears that the family having a member who emigrated is more likely to send their children, and particularly the girls, to school, by using the money from remittances to pay for schooling and other costs. The result is a reduction in child labour and prohibition of sending girls out to work as “little maids”.

37 UNPD Human Development Report 2009, World Bank reports 2005, 2007; “FNUAP report 2006.”

38 Catalina Herrera, Nora Dudwick, and Edmundo Murrigarra. (2008), Remittances gender and children welfare outcomes in Morocco. The EC-Funded World Bank programme of international migration from MENA and Poverty reduction strategies. “September.”

39 Catalina Herrera, Nora Dudwick, and Edmundo Murrigarra. (2008). Op cit, p 6.

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Most economic female migrants testify that their departure is often motivated to provide a better life than their own for their children, particularly their female children, which can only be ensured by schooling and prolonging years of studies. Children of migrants are more likely to finish their schooling; since the broader perspectives associated with migration have an impact on social standards and incentives. However, the cost of the absence of mothers can be very high and have a negative impact on the psychological development of the child, and on the schooling of little girls who are sometimes obliged to take on the household work. For lack of data, the effect of the absence of mothers on the child’s success in school and psycho-emotional development cannot be assessed.

A portion of the migrants’ funds are also intended for investments in real estate (construction, purchase or modernisation of housing). This indeed is an important sector of investment for the migrant. Fitting out a place to live in the country of origin enables the migrant to move from one area to another and from one space to the other, without problem. In a rural area, migrants have become the main real estate investor, because they are among the rare people who can acquire a lot or a house, given the high prices of real estate. In this context, the migrant contributes to improving and modernising housing, which, on the other hand, results in a rise in the real estate market that can become hardly affordable for local populations. Real estate has a dual advantage: it represents a sure investment, provides an income from the invested funds, particularly since it is relatively simple and inexpensive to manage. For certain migrants, these investments prepare a possible return and add a solid basis for the attachment to their society of origin.

The ADB study showed the importance of resources allocated to investment in real estate or in the productive sector. The volume varies between 25% and 60% of total remittances, depending on the social-economic profiles of the senders. The most qualified and best paid migrants allocate more resources to investments in real estate or other productive activities. Women have begun to invest in real estate, although it is not possible to give a figure. It is probable that the higher the incomes, the more women construct or purchase housing in their countries of origin. The situation is easier for single women than for

married women with children. The example of Morocco is significant. At the Real Estate Trade Fair (“Le Salon de l’Immobilier”) SMAP, that is present in certain host countries like France, many immigrant women, men and couples were encouraged to acquire property in the country of origin. Members of the community from all neighbouring countries came to visit a market that is flourishing even in recession times. Despite the amounts, the non-productive nature of investments in real estate is often denounced. Nevertheless this sector is recognised for its driving role in the economy and for creating job openings. Migrants also choose to invest part of their savings in small initiatives that managed by the family. These actions such as transport (taxis, coaches, or used cars, importing vehicles and parts, or commercial activities) are more likely to get a parent or member of the clan out of unemployment. The participation of women in these kinds of actions cannot be estimated -- some cases can be identified but not generalised.

This kind of project is a source of personal satisfaction for the migrant, male or female, and even an expression of his/her success that gives him/her a name in the field in the country of origin and a reputation outside it. Financially speaking, this is often presented as a type of savings, but on the whole, it is in fact really a way of structuring the immigrants’ life straddling the country of origin and the host country.40

The funds are also used for projects for basic infrastructure, such as the construction of sections of roads, bridges, setting up drinking water schemes, drilling wells, installing electric and telephone lines and other public works such as construction or restoring of a mosque or a cemetery, or putting a football field back into shape. Sometimes, these projects are co-financed in the context of cooperation between civil society and international organisations.41 In the absence of research that makes this contribution financially visible, it is more than probable that the contribution of women to this type of investment is at a basic stage, given the still recent character of female economic migration,

40 Thomas Lacroix, Les organisations de solidarité internationale issues de l’immigration marocaines : les motifs transnationaux du développement local. “In: M. Charef and Patrick Gonin.(2005).” Emigrés, immigrés dans le développement local. “Editions Sud contact. pp 191-205. p 195.”

41 UNDP 2009, “p 90.”

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the low qualifications of women and their incomes that are barely sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

In fact, these are only the formal figures,42 which no doubt are far from the real figures, since remittances are transmitted via informal channels in many countries,43 and are consequently hard to estimate. Experts nevertheless suppose that their total value is between 40% and 100%.44 In certain countries, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara, more than half of the remittances are transmitted by informal means. In MEDA countries, where the diaspora is estimated at 3.6 million people in the nine European countries of our study, these financial flows are of crucial importance and at times constitute the main source of financing in certain regions.

Total entries of funds in MEDA countries in millions of US dollars in 2007

Country Remittances

Egypt 7.656

Morocco 6.730

Lebanon 5.769

Jordan 3.434

Algeria 2.120

Tunisia 1.716

Israel 1.041

Syria 824

Palestinian territories 598

Source. UNDP Report on human development 2009. pp 177-180

Since the 1990s, migrants’ remittances have been monopolised by companies like Western Union or Money Express, an advantageous market knowing

42 Formal transfers are compatible with data from large companies specialised in money transfers like Western Union or MoneyGram. They also take account of transfers made in commercial banks, post offices, exchange brokers, mutual loan societies, and sometimes Internet.

43 Informal remittances are made via friends or the migrants themselves or via traditional networks. For migrants who do not have official documents, the informal system is often the only one used.

44 Chantale Doucet and Louis Favreau. Les diasporas ouest africaines, agents de développement. http://www.uqo.ca/observer September 2006.

that the commissions charged are between 5% and 20%. Migrants’ money is less subject to great speculation since it often is transferred via informal channels. Many immigrants do not trust banks, due to their illiteracy, lack of information on the banking system, small amounts saved, or simply the ‘hoarding’ habits that are still very much alive with women. According to the World Bank, the informal channel is still the preferred means in many African countries, including the Maghreb, and various studies have shown that the remittances made via these informal channels may represent at least half of the estimated amount of 320 billion dollars in 2007.

A large number of migrant women use informal channels to send money to their country of origin due to the fact that they have trouble gaining access to financial services adapted to their needs (linguistic, cultural and social-economic obstacles). To try to avoid these informal channels that have the reputation of not being reliable services and of charging very high prices for these women with modest incomes, they prefer to make use of members of the family, or friends who are going to the country of origin, particularly for migrants in a regular situation in Spain.

In the study by Saadia Hariri, nearly 40% of the sample of Moroccan women sent their money via official channels – all of them were from urban environments and their remittances were irregular; whereas nearly 60% had never used official channels, and took a large part of their savings with them. Those savings were derived from a professional activity in formal or informal sectors, part of the wages of children who exercise a professional activity or skimping on the family budget without letting the husband know. In addition they all declare that their husbands are not aware of the amount that they have taken back with them when returning to Morocco.45 But even when the women transfer their money by an official channel, they take part of their savings with them when they go back home. They do not want to feel short of money, or be unable to respond to a request for help from a brother or a relation – they must appear to be financially comfortable and generous with regard to the community.

No doubt, with the new economic recession, the increase in unemployment and underemployment of immigrants, incomes have become insufficient or

45 Saadia Hariri, 2002, op cit. pp 120-121.

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barely sufficient to meet needs of the immediate family. Many immigrant women no longer dare return home, and when they do, they stay for a long time waiting for their husbands to find work or for the situation to improve for them (case of female Moroccan immigrants in Spain). Remittances to developing countries logically dropped from $308 million in 2008 to $293 billion in 2009.46

The impact of remittances can have a distorted effect on economic and social development of the country, since the funds sent from abroad, considered to be an economic rent can discourage productive efforts, and incite members of the family not to work and to live totally dependent on the migrant. The sustainability of an economy that is too dependent on financial remittances is uncertain.47 These remittances are known to be cyclical – they peak a few years after the arrival of the migrant and then fall gradually as he sets up in the host country. For the second and third generation, remittances are more limited.48 However, and despite all of the ups and downs, the amount of these remittances has given the diaspora an important place on the economic scene of the countries of origin. They have become the key factor on which the countries of origin base all their hopes. These citizens from both here and there are considered to be agents of development and vectors of modernity.

Diasporas are groups that share a common memory, culture and religion. They capitalise a set of standards, values and practices in the economic, social and cultural fields. The classical approach to diasporas uses the existence of a strong community conscious as the basic criterion. Today, ‘diaspora’ has become a synonym of ‘population of national origin living abroad’. However, the diaspora is far from being a consistent, coherent community because it is divided into distinct social groups, depending on the social-economic, social and cultural levels and membership in a territory.

46 UNPD Human Development Report 2009, “p 8.” 47 Philippe Fargues CARIM, IUE and Hervé Le Bras.48 Philippe Fargues CARIM, IUE and Hervé Le Bras, op cit.

The role of the expatriate communities, or diasporas, in the development of the countries of departure continues to grow and is today considered as an essential driver in the process of constructing the national economy and sustainable development. This approach has gained more global interest since the beginning of the 1990s, a period that indeed marks the beginning of an economic and political transformation, with attempts to confine, if not to settle conflicts, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian question that has upset the Euro-Mediterranean region for decades, causing massive immigration movements of refugees. The importance given to the growing participation of the diasporas shows the increasing cross-influence between the territory and the national population, as well as a ‘de-territorialisation’ (Basch et al. 1994) of politics, without necessarily leading to the disappearance of States as political actors, nor other institutions as vectors of participation/exclusion of expatriates who back alternative national projects.49

The participation of women in development is generally a condition of their access to spatial mobility. Women, be they migrants or no, have been subjected to confinement and control of their space of action, due to the dominant norms and values in southern Mediterranean societies. However, the migration of women and the creation of an increasing number of associations to promote women in the countries of origin and the host countries have enabled them to benefit from new contexts for their actions, to deploy initiatives and to take over space that previously was barely accessible or closed. The female diaspora now presents a new aspect: more resourceful, more dynamic, working with limited resources but great conviction and confidence.

At a crossroads of immigration movements and women’s movements, actors and witnesses of the transformation of European societies and the mobilisation of women in host countries in political, economic and civil life, diaspora women’s movements have given greater visibility to foreign women, and a greater echo to their actions. They have also changed perceptions with regard to them, as passive agents they have become effective actors of development. However, their actions are often still veiled and the memory of them tends to deteriorate because of dispersion of their initiatives, the lack of access to resources and poor documentation.A historical work to safeguard this memory, preserve and enhance records and reinterpret the history of immigrant women’s movements is indispensable.

49 Françoise De Bel-Air. Populations, territoires, citoyennetés à l’aube du XXIe siècle. In Migrations et politique au Moyen-Orient.

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The study of origins and evolution of these movements shows the preoccupations, demands and actions supported by migrant women to gain their place in the host country and reinforce ties with the country of origin, thus creating a dynamic that changes with the issues, the contexts and migratory policies. These movements can be considered not only social movements but also political movements that have given impetus to a generation of militants, giving rise to demands for migrant women’s rights and their integration in development. Personal paths, collective commitments, testify to the preservation and maintenance of ties between generations of immigrants and between immigrants with their compatriots in the country of origin. At the intersection of the feminist combat and the fight for democracy and human rights, these movements have shown migrant men’s and women’s strength and capacity to act and innovate.

The example of France is very pertinent, an example that can be generalised to other European countries. Migrants from MEDA countries, essentially from the Maghreb, have created several types of associations50 for the fight for women’s rights, undocumented immigrants, access to jobs and the right of free movement. These organisations are growing in number to build solidarity between the country of origin in the host country, and between associations of migrants and local associations. The number and diversity of women’s NGOs has resulted in the creation of women’s networks or Euro-Mediterranean women’s networks to which migrants have contributed significantly. A tangible example is the Mediterranean Women’s Forum, focusing on the promotion of women’s creativity in literature and crafts, which has enabled the development of a women’s economic network around the Mediterranean, particularly valorising the work and creativity of immigrant women.

The creation of these associations has pooled actions and brought together various skills needed to start collective projects on a large scale for the community and to create a new dynamic within the host country. A study by Daum (2000) lists 720 migrant associations in France working in 32 different countries. This is an initial estimate and apparently there are in fact still more. In recent years, immigrant women have initiated or participated in collective development projects with very positive effects for the country of origin. The

50 (Groupe femmes algériennes, collectif femmes immigrées, collectif des femmes du Maghreb, les Yeux Ouverts, les nanas beurs, etc.)

diasporas are not simply service providers to families who stayed in the home country – they are beginning to be real institutions for economic development, and organisations for the struggle for migrant women’s rights and for equality, democracy and respect of human rights in the countries of origin.

Our objective in this chapter is to throw a certain light on the history of immigrant women’s movements comprising women originating from MEDA countries, by answering the following questions: how did immigrant women get involved in the associative movement? What was their contribution to the development of their country of origin and their contribution to improved living conditions of members of their families, their towns or regions? What was their contribution to social change and more particularly to empowerment of migrant women or women who stayed in their countries of origin?

The birth and evolution of movements of immigrant women and the paths of their leaders cannot be analysed outside their sociological and political context, and their interaction with other social movements.51

We can identify four major stages52 in recent decades.

1. The 1970s, birth of immigrant women’s associations: actions of militant intellectuals.

2. The 1980s, a new dynamic introduced by the second generation: immigrants’ daughters join the movements.

3. The 1990s, immigrant women take action to defend their rights in the countries of origin and destination.

4. The years 2000, growth of associations for development.

51 Claudie Lesselier: Aux origines des mouvements de femmes de l’immigration. Conference : Histoire, genre et migrations (March 2006) http://www.femmes-histoire-immigration.org/claudie.

52 In the article above, Claude Lesselier identifies three major periods, that we have revisited and reinterpreted, adding a fourth one starting in 2000.

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In the 1970s, the first groups of foreign women originating from the MEDA countries and particularly the Maghreb were constituted. They consisted mainly of students, young intellectuals, women in exile for political reasons and leftist militants. They were inspired both by the national and international situation – a context of protest was prevalent in Europe and particularly in France (support of national liberation movements, student revolt, the rise of feminism) – and supported political and social struggles going forward in their countries of origin. These movements were mainly militant and concerned with politics; the situation of immigrant women came in second place. In the wake of May 1968, whose effects were felt all over Europe, new political agents appeared on the public scene, taking their place in a dynamic of autonomy and self-management outside the institutional political context. The condition of immigrants, race violence, the growing number of women who were migrating via family regrouping, became major issues and solidarity actions were organised by leftist political groups and many associations.

This is the context of the creation of immigrant workers’ associations, adhesion of immigrants in trade unions and the constitution of movements of opposition to political regimes and the system of governance in countries of origin. The struggles for independence, that were still fresh in people’s minds, inspired a combat by women who demanded full participation in the public sphere and criticised political forces that gave militant women second-class status once the war for liberation was over. The clearest example is that of the Groupe femmes algériennes (1977-1981).

The daily associative life of women from the Maghreb became much more political, as they became more independent, expressing themselves in the first-person, and starting research on women’s issues associated with women’s liberation. These movements brought women forward as political subjects in a protest that took many forms against a patriarchal, capitalistic and authoritarian society. It promoted new themes for the struggle, breaking down the distinction between private and public space, affirming the power of women over their own bodies. It refused to see the issues of women’s freedom and rights pushed to the background as secondary to the issue of class struggle (Claudie Lesselier (2006)). In the programmes of these

associations, concern for the situation of immigrant women was not absent, but it was not a priority either. Those responsible for these institutions were more concerned with the state of human rights and democracy than with the situation of women in the countries of origin. Discussions and contributions particularly dealt with organisational problems, autonomy of movements, the possibility for women to speak out independently of parties, women’s rights in all countries, denouncing their belittlement and their instrumentalisation.

In the countries in the Maghreb in the 1970s, and particularly Morocco which chose a multiparty system from the very first years of its independence, leftist political parties created women’s sections in their structures. In these sections, particularly in the USFP53, for the first time women discussed main and secondary contradictions (Althusser), strongly criticising keeping women in the background. The fight for democracy, sharing of power and distribution of wealth were their priorities. The women’s rights question was sidestepped and would only be considered after these problems of national policy had been settled.

The World Conference on Women (Mexico, July 1975) and the International Conference on Women (East Berlin, October 1975) drew the line between the battles of State women’s associations and progressive women’s associations. The former emphasised reproductive health, women’s education and income producing jobs, whereas the second were geared to political struggles, the fight for liberation, the institution of democracy and the fight for equality and against patriarchy of every kind. Militant Maghreb women who had immigrated or were still living in the home countries openly denounced the enrolment of women in the women’s organisations created in the 1970s by the single-party or the government, like UNFA54 in Algeria, UNFM in Morocco and UNFT in Tunisia.

The women’s movement had strong support across the world. It also had a strong international sensitivity, creating a spirit of solidarity between women of the entire world that gave great impetus to many initiatives55 in which foreign women living in Europe, particularly in France, took part. This was

53 USFP = Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires. 54 UNFA = Union Nationale des Femmes Algériennes. UNFM = Union Nationale des Femmes

Marocaines. UNFT = Union nationale des Femmes Tunisiennes. 55 Solidarity meetings with Moroccan women after death of Saida Menebhi from a hunger strike

in prison, with the support of Éditions des femmes in 1978.

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the beginning of networks, informal movements, strengthening of the place of immigrant women who found themselves “in a position between two worlds, with a space to conquer” as Leila Sebbar described it. These migrant and foreign women were not only agents of solidarity, they were also opinion makers and active players in discussions of ideas. The militant movement of Maghreb women gained strong inspiration from the political and feminist trends in Europe, particularly in France, in an international situation where the question of liberation was crucial – liberation of the territory, individuals and culture. Militant political groups such as the Association des femmes marocaines (1972-1978) or the Groupe des femmes marocaines (GFM, 1979-1982), consisting of female students, members of the Union Nationale des Etudiants Marocains and of the USFP, PPS, opposition parties in Morocco fighting repression in the country and struggling for changes in the code of personal status and women’s rights, as they had been fought in the national combats in the Arab world. Maghreb women were intensely active in associations of Maghreb workers in France, in a dual combat for immigrants’ rights in general and the defence of women’s rights in particular. These active groups of Maghreb women published brochures, newsletters, took part in demonstrations, like the ones on 8 March and 1 May with slogans that enhanced their visibility. This was the case of the demonstration organised on 1 July 1978 by the Groupe Femmes Algériennes in support of Dalila Maschino who was kidnapped abroad by her brother; their main demand was “respect of the fundamental rights of Algerian women”.

The demand for emancipation by militant women, in a context of democracy and equality, was the main claim of these groups. Women were militant outside their countries with the objective of transforming the situation of women, and more generally the political, economic and social situation in the countries of origin where they wanted to live, as their residence in Europe was considered temporary. The Groupe des femmes algériennes made contact with the first feminist groups that were being created at the time in Algeria to harmonise their militant actions. Moroccans analysed the situation of women in their country, protesting against the code of personal status, the Moudawana, and the preliminary drafts of the family code.56 According to testimony of feminist leaders, the question of religion or religious reference was hardly

56 Le GFM and GFA constituted coordination of women from the Maghreb (October 1980) then an ‘Association women from the Maghreb’, ‘Les Yeux ouverts’ early ‘83.

touched on. Some texts published by these associations were critical about the appearance and the rise of Islamism, however.

It should be mentioned that the women who came via family regrouping, and economic migrants, who were still relatively rare, had little chance to stand up as collective political players at the time. They remained, or were maintained, on the sidelines of immigrant struggles: workers’ strikes, movements in foyers. Few women played an important role in immigrant organisations. On the whole, the idea of an ‘immigrant worker’ referred to a man, and women, at best, were considered workers’ ‘wives’. Thus legal and statistical distinctions between ‘workers’ and ‘members of the family’, that tended to assign women to the private domain, and men to the public sphere, were not questioned.57 At the time, however, immigrant women were far from non-existent since according to censuses they made up 40% of the foreign population in 1975. This population consisted to a large extent of Spanish and Italian women, women from the Maghreb being only the third group at the time. But the dissymmetry between men and women was still more apparent in certain foreign populations, however, particularly within the Maghreb population from Morocco and Tunisia, where there were twice as many men as women in the over 25 category.58

While the first associations of Maghreb women were geared more to political action, fighting for development, democracy and defending the rights of their compatriots in their countries of origin, those that began in the 1980s were supported by a second generation of women, who were migrants’ daughters. They were more aggressive, more aware of the situation of immigrant women as compared to that of European women, and claimed their basic rights to health, education and work.

57 On legislation at the time, see: GISTI, Le petit livre juridique des travailleurs immigrés, Maspero, 1975; GISTI, L’immigration familiale, 1979 (1 and 2). In Des femmes immigrées parlent, Paris, L’Harmattan, 1978.

58 In 1975, when the global rate of employment of women in France was 30%, it was 7.6% for Algerian women, 13.8% for Moroccan women, but 30.8% for Portuguese women, 21% for women from Mali. Claudie Lesselier. (2006).

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Girls from immigrant families, educated in schools, secondary schools and universities of the host country, who showed perseverance and even obstinacy to make their way, to succeed differently from their parents, despite their vulnerability and the family’s fragile economic position, very quickly became aware of their potential and the job that lay before them to defend the interests and rights of immigrant youth, and particularly women. A new generation appeared, a militant generation aspiring to equality, refusing segregation and discrimination. They fought expulsions, denounced race crimes and police violence. Their isolation in social housing in working class suburbs encouraged them to try still harder, to take more initiatives to get out of isolation and exclusion and bring their families with them. The number of neighbourhood and sector associations (in arts or sports) or other social-professional groups grew with the increasing involvement of women. Young women organised within ethnic or multicultural associations, or neighbourhood associations, that enabled them to develop and gain recognition as militant women entitled to speak their minds, with the conviviality and solidarity among women that was part of the cultural heritage of their families, and above all to support immigrant women to help them adapt to the overall societal context – in other words as militants for women’s rights fighting their precarious situation, while constructing their own cultural identity. As from the 1980s, they took their place in collective groups, feminist movements, the movement against racism, to defend immigrants from the inside. Although this commitment affected only an elite of women, for the first time it grouped many migrant women around new themes more specific to female immigration.

With regard to the political context that created this dynamic, it should be emphasised that the 1980s were marked by a profound change in the French political environment. Their arrival of the left in power in 1981 carried great promise and opened perspectives for wide-sweeping political action. The restrictive provisions applied to foreign associations were rescinded and associations obtained more resources, particularly by means of the FAS (Fond pour l’Action Sociale (Social Action Fund)) and a Ministry for Women’s Rights entrusted to Yvette Roudy.

Taking advantage of this new situation, the women’s immigrant associative movement grew, encouraged in its approach by the dissemination of feminist ideas and the involvement of migrant youth movements in their demands for civil rights (demonstrations for equality by so called Beurs march), without mentioning the major industrial reorganisation at the time that eliminated hundreds of thousands of jobs traditionally for men (automobile, steel industries etc.), and encouraged women to take up different types of activities. These combined elements gave more visibility to the female side of immigration from the Maghreb – as immigrants who had come to stay, durably and even definitively. Young adults of immigrant parents, both men and women, spoke out as a major political player proposing new issues based on citizenship, equal rights and a multicultural society – they wanted to conquer their place in French society. Issues pertaining to vocational training and integration, legal and administrative status, place in society, moved to the fore. In addition, because of economic transformation, many issues shifted from the work place to urban areas, facilitating involvement of women, because these areas could be considered as an extension of their domestic space where actions undertaken pertained to their concrete, daily concerns.

The 1973 march against racism and for equality, as well as other collective initiatives saw the light. Young women hosted and organised these marches with enormous energy.59 They were at the very forefront, like in the “Forum Justice”, that denounced race crimes. Leila Sebbar, who published several novels, wrote of runaway girl protagonists, facing family violence in their families and in the street. She gives them a voice, lets them express themselves with regard to their identity, their relations with their parents or brothers, their aspirations to freedom. “The girls emphasised the social, family dimensions, their difficulties and personal aspirations, their forms of resistance”.60 The theatre troupe Kahina, created in 1976, to a large extent by women, staged new plays, recounting the daily life of an immigrant family, the relations between parents and children, and brothers and sisters. Other groups of girls put on theatre to describe all aspects of their experience, the problems they encounter within the family and society. The work of Nawal Saadaoui, in Egypt, on discrimination against women, that of Fatima

59 The Collectif jeune de Paris (1983) and the Regroupement des associations jeunes d’Ile de France (1985).

60 SEBBAR Leila, Fatima ou les Algériennes au square, “Stock, 1981 ; Sebbar Leila, Shérazade, Stock, 1982.”

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Mernissi in Morocco on “Islam, démocratie, modernité” (Islam, democracy, modernity) denouncing the patriarchy that takes different forms in Moslem countries, gave young women a boost to continue their combat.

The fight for immigrant women’ rights began to take shape and to grow. Participation of women, both in the collective combat of immigration and the fight for their rights as women is a constant factor. Women’s associations became more aware of the growing role of women, the special problems they encounter and their still unachieved aspirations. This favoured the constitution of women’s committees and networks such as Cimade that organised a national encounter of immigrant women in Strasbourg (June 1983). New issues took priority such as the place of migrant women in society, equal French/immigrant rights, racism, women’s rights and how to gain access to independence. The questions of identity, relations with the family, the place of women in the city, were also on the agenda. Women were committed in this field to the fight against all forms of violence (Collectif des mères d’enfants victimes de crimes racistes, les Nanas Beurs, Femmes sans Frontières, la Nahda, etc.). Other groups appeared such as the Collective de soutien des femmes sans papiers (for the support of undocumented women immigrants) that in 1983 became the Collective des femmes immigrées. It groups young immigrant women, French, Latin American and African women. These women, who came to join their families without going through the procedures of family regrouping, domestic help without contracts, divorced women or victims of prostitution, women forced to follow their fathers or husbands if they were denied admittance or deported, had great problems obtaining residence status. The group maintained a help desk and did awareness campaigns with solidarity associations on problems specific to women. It also claimed regularisation of these women and the award of independent status, “not dependent on the father or husband”.

In the 1990s, the objectives and scale of the action of women’s groups and associations varied. They focused on three subjects: rights of migrant women with regard to their integration in the host country, accompaniment of the women’s struggle in the countries of origin, and reinforcement of relations between women’s movements. The principle of solidarity took on its full scope, particularly with the massive ‘departure-exile’ of Algerian women to other European countries fleeing Islamic persecution, and the mobilisation of Maghreb women, particularly Moroccans and Algerians, for a fairer, non-discriminatory family code. These associations moved along very diverse paths, pushing their roots into urban areas and carrying out neighbourhood action, with a large capacity to deal with the real, daily problems encountered by women, combining social, cultural, economic and political dimensions. There was a strong social impetus to create social centres, literacy courses, vocational integration projects by professionally active women or volunteers in these sectors, an impetus that resulted in initiatives and projects – for example the Nahda61 (rebirth) Association that began in Nanterre – defined and managed, more or less independently, by women. Networks developed. Yvette Roudy brought African women together, particularly doctors and lawyers, to create GAMS (Groupe pour l’abolition des mutilations sexuelles - Group for the abolition of sexual mutilation). Training programmes and social actions targeting immigrant women became more common and less geared to family management that maintained women in traditional roles. These groups tried to combine action in several forms, without losing the social aspect (information, help with administrative formalities, legal advice), the cultural aspect (workshops, debates, writing, theatre, cinema clubs, dances), the professional aspect (job creation/restaurants, hairdressers, seamstresses,

61 Nahda Association in Nanterre – Nahda means “effort”, “renaissance” – created in 1981-1982, tried to show the Islam is not synonymous with obscurantism; Islam is a religion of dialogue, friendliness and tolerance. The association considers itself to be a bridge between the North African community and the institutions in the host country. Nahda also stresses creation of jobs. Nadia Châabane. L’émergence des mouvements de femmes dans l’immigration des années quatre-vingt. Round table 11 March 2004. http://www.femmes-histoire-immigration.org/liste.

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vocational training and literacy) and conviviality (parties, meals in common, activities for children). From these actions came the will to be able to speak out as women, who define their own claims and apply, or demand, treatment of their concerns by the appropriate services.

Nedjma Belhadj62 explains that militants in these movements and associations very often described themselves as ‘bridges’, linking the individual and the collective movement, creating an inter-action between emancipating dynamics of women and other aspirations for social change. The “Solidarity, interpersonal exchanges, mutual support, self management” dimension is extremely appreciated in women’s groups; in fact, this is what enables them to break out of their isolation, to get out of the domestic sphere into a broader public space that helps them understand that the so-called ‘private’ problems of each person are an integral part of collective and social problems. Consequently, the Association gives participants a window to the world, to other cultures, and the acquisition of new skills – this is a space for valorisation and recognition. Here is what Alima Boumediene declares: “making a link between advocating as a woman and as someone from the Maghreb means upsetting the traditions of the society of origin and those of the surrounding society and gaining recognition of the emerging cultural wealth of this multiple identity”.63

At the beginning of the 1990s, these groups and initiatives focused in priority on issues in society, access to rights and integration in the country of immigration, but concern about the women’s or the parents’ country of origin did not disappear. New juxtapositions were at work and showed, for example, in the demands of Algerian and Moroccan women for a code of personal status providing effective equality between men and women. The intersection of the paths of all these immigrant women shows the similarity of their concerns and their combat. In fact, these women, citizens of Europe, were still under the thumb of the personal status code of their country of origin. The Moudawana, that governs relations within the family, is often in contradiction with the laws in the host country, a situation that eventually causes human disasters of which women are the first victims. Beyond this contradiction, migrant women could not remain indifferent to

62 Nadia Châabane L’émergence des mouvements de femmes dans l’immigration des années quatre-vingt. “Round Table 11 March 2004.” http://www.femmes-histoire-immigration.org/liste.

63 Interviews of Alima Thiery-Boumediene. 1991. Hommes et migrations, n°1141, March 1991.

what was happening to their compatriots residing in Morocco. Consequently, the fight for equal rights in Europe could not be envisaged without connecting it to the fight for women’s rights in the countries of origin. Direct actions carried out by associations of Algerian and Moroccan women gained considerable following. The partial reform of the code of personal status that was decided in Morocco in 1993 removed any taboo about the review of the text. Despite its religious inspiration, it was submitted to a review to update it and adapt it to the situation of the contemporary family. Algerian women, who were dissatisfied with the law that governs the family in their country, began a think-tank and started making demands as early as the 1980s, a trend that accelerated with the arrival of Islam fundamentalists who challenged modernity and want to impose the return to Islamic tradition.

This was the context in which the caravan for equal rights between men and women was organised, even before the last modifications of the Moudawana in Morocco in 2003. Initiated by immigrant women and women’s associations in Morocco, it toured the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain in turn and finally arrived in Morocco. Algerian women, in their own country or of immigrant parents, took different initiatives to demand a more equalitarian family law. In March 2003, at the time of the celebration of the 20th year of the Algerian family code a group called Collectif 20ans Barakat (20 years is enough) was constituted in Algeria, organising a campaign to denounce the code as discriminatory and demanding its repeal. This initiative spread and a collective group based on solidarity sprung up in the Paris region in July 2003 whose objective was to relay the Algerian campaign and support it by lobbying actions. This campaign banked on media coverage of the cause of Algerian women around two demands: repeal of the Algerian family code and adoption of an equalitarian law; denunciation of the bilateral Franco-Algerian agreements allowing the application of the family code in France. The campaign took the form of awareness actions to rally as many groups as possible to the cause and to get maximum coverage in the media.64

Women’s associations continued to spring up and put down roots, to diversify as new problems arose, increasing the number of issues. Women and girls in the suburbs and undocumented migrants led initiatives daily against

64 Mujeres mediterraneas. http//www.mediterraneas.org Round Table: September 2005. Cordoba. Las otras españolas)

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exclusion and violence and for access to rights. They also built up cross-national solidarity and brought all the militant forces of the host country with them. These women’s movements maintain a dynamic that is due on one hand to their strong relation to concrete reality in daily life and the paths of women in all their diversity. On the other hand, they show their capacity to cope with the difficulties, inequality and violence women are confronted with. The activities of the diaspora in the years 2000 would continue to reinforce this trend, with the appearance and development of new activities geared essentially to development of the countries of origin.

The contribution of the diaspora to the development of the countries of origin takes different forms – participation in development projects in the countries of origin is not the least. Whether women instigated, collaborated or carried out these projects, they played a very important role alongside male migrants. Because of the absence of data in the field, we cannot make a distinction between female and male projects, or identify the fields where women are more enterprising. Documents testify to the presence of women, particularly those who have acquired expertise in a given field, or who have political power (members of political parties and recognised migrant leaders). Development actions are often mixed or initiated by women and addressed to other women. They may also integrate men or work in a partnership with a men’s NGO. The essential purpose is to succeed with a major project in favour of a large number of beneficiaries. Growing awareness of the gender dimension is also due to male associations. The vulnerability of women, particularly in rural and semi urban areas in the MEDA region is undeniable – no action can get around the important dimension of promoting women and girls.

Most of the time associations were formed at the initiative of a few migrants, men or women, who came from well established communities in the host country and were linked by solid social networks. They generally carry out collective development actions in their place of origin, often on a local scale. Federations of associations are also emerging, some of them cross-national. Links are being made between migrant associations and European associations (case of France, Belgium and the Netherlands) that intervene in

the same community. Diaspora associations are involved in development at several levels. Some cooperate in emergency situations in the event of natural disasters, others intervene preventively by sending vaccines or medicines or purchasing ambulances, still others adopt a more long-term logic by setting up development projects in income-creating fields. Social projects are particularly appreciated by the diaspora, and above all by women, such as projects pertaining to education and literacy, particularly of girls, but also to health, facilities, management of schools, educational residential institutions or orphanages. With regard to projects of an economic nature, female and male immigrants are involved in varying degrees in local entrepreneurial activities, private or collective, banks, crafts, production cooperatives, micro financing structures, etc. These multiple actions undertaken by the diaspora in the village or town of origin have been catalysts that led to the creation of new associations by the local population to ensure local management of their achievements. These village associations set up new areas for taking decisions and contribute to the emergence of new social players, including young people and women, who become members of the village council where they rarely had the right to take initiatives and had little access to responsibilities.

Alongside these collective actions, as from the years 2000 a growing number of associations of Maghreb women can be observed, but each tends to mobilise the women in its own community. Nevertheless, certain actions and similar demands bring them together. An acute national awareness is coming to women, and governments are there to support their actions by means of financing or integration in institutions. Associations of Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian women are being created all over Europe. They carry out various activities that correspond to the situation and needs of immigrants in the host country. In Spain and in Italy, women’s associations work to provide major support, assisting illiterate immigrants in a precarious situation and undocumented women. In France and Belgium, Tunisian associations, that enjoy better support from the government, had already initiated a project in 2001 that targeted publicising movements of immigrant women and valorising their contributions, as well as fighting prejudice and representations of which they are often victims. The objective is to contribute to restoring the history of immigrant women’s movements as players in political, social, cultural and economic fields. Promoting remembrance, safeguarding heritage, and beyond that gaining a good understanding of the lay-out of the immigrant population are the issues.

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Projects set up in this context do not correspond to commercial logic – they are based on the values of cooperation and solidarity. A new logic is emerging, one of social transformation that does not seek profit; it targets development of local communities, the safeguard of threatened heritage and the creation of new resources and means of redistribution. The diasporas in general, and female diasporas in particular, have an undeniable asset: their familiarity with both the real situation in the country of origin (local conditions, issues, local languages, culture, structures, networks, people, etc.) and that of the host country. Consequently they are better able to adapt the projects to those situations and specificities of the environment, to facilitate acceptance of the projects by the local population and to create a real dynamic of social change.

A few significant aspects of the dynamic of migrant women can be identified from this brief exposé. Despite their many and varied difficulties and the fact that their contribution is often unsung, they have remained present, combative, battling within associations or collective groups for equal rights, dignity and independence. No doubt the national and international context shapes the migrants’ life and brings out new priorities. In this context, the structures decided to group within a collective body in order to pool resources to improve the visibility of their struggles and their solidarity with women who are victims of violence, exiled women in precarious situations and undocumented immigrants. These collective groups and forums of women, on a national or Mediterranean scale, group women from here and elsewhere, all working for the same cause: rehabilitating women’s rights, recovering the right to residence, fighting twofold violence. They openly discuss questions of integration. These groups have managed to set up collective dynamics, to broaden the dialogue between various communities, to fight fundamentalism, misinterpretations of Islam and stereotypes against Moslem women.

The project coordinated by IMED is a significant example. It is enacted by means of an active partnership between women’s associations, trade unions and NGOs in the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia). It targets promoting

women’s rights and democratic development of Maghreb society by means of reinforcing the potential for the work, action and communication of civil society organisations active in these fields. The project is carrying out various actions in facilities for women in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, supplying information, advice and legal and psychological assistance, encounters, courses and vocational training on specific themes and awareness activities on women’s rights. The project means to contribute to the recognition of women as full fledged citizens and the construction of a democratic, modern society that insures women’s basic rights. Stricter legislation on immigration, both in France and in Europe, hits women hard. More and more tried to flee their countries (fundamentalist pressure in the case of Algeria, armed conflict in the case of countries neighbouring Israel, and unequal and sexist laws, traditionalist families, poverty in many MEDA countries). So inter-association action committees were created on “women’s rights, the right to residence, against double violence”, another collective group tackled questions of forced marriage and other types of violence65 (polygamy, sexual mutilation, rape, etc.). This ancient phenomenon is taking a new dimension that gives cause for concern. The first victims are women from the Maghreb, Turkey and south of the Sahara.

Other attempts are part of an effort to exchange with countries in the South. An experiment is being done by FCI (Femmes Contre les Intégrismes - Women Against Fundamentalism) in Lyon that took inspiration from the experience of the Caravan for equal rights, organised at the initiative of Moroccan women, that has toured various regions in Morocco every year since 2001 under the auspices of the Democratic League of Women’s Rights (Ligue démocratique des droits des femmes - LDDF). This action was renewed in 2006 with other associations in several regions in France. The FCI stands behind the principle of equal rights and treatment for men and women, in France and in the Maghreb. It particularly denounces the application of discriminatory codes of personal status on both sides of the Mediterranean.

The development of the woman’s associative movement in the Mediterranean, particularly by means of the Euro-Mediterranean Network for human rights

65 GAMS (groupe pour l’abolition des mutilations sexuelles – group for abolition of sexual mutilation). This group chose to intervene with school audiences and public authorities to wage awareness and prevention campaigns, in addition to taking care of and accompanying victims.

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(Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’homme (REMDH)), the Euro-Mediterranean platform for civil society, (la Plate-forme de la société civile euro-méditerranéenne), the other Euro-Mediterranean networks, MEDA-Démocratie, have given a new boost to promotion of awareness of women in the Mediterranean and greater visibility to the action of women in the region. Women first mobilised to meet their own needs, and to find practical solutions to some of their problems; they are trying to get together to form a critical mass that can defend the interests and rights of women in regional and international forums.

Female MPs are also very active. Meetings and encounters between European Members of Parliament and those of countries in the South are becoming increasingly frequent, thus contributing to a better understanding and helping develop a common strategy to eliminate all types of discrimination against women. A dynamic relationship between associations in the South and those of the North has been created to group the skills of women immigrants, encouraging them to realise the need to mobilise continually in order to fight together against all obstacles to equality, and particularly against fundamentalism.

Diaspora associations have become indispensable agents for the development of the community of origin today. They have shown that they are effective, efficient and durable. It must be recalled that financing of projects comes both from savings of migrants and the support of governments and local NGOs. The workshops of experts organised by the Council of Europe in 2004-200566 identified the capacity to make its beneficiaries independent and the capacity of projects to reproduce themselves, as factors for the success of migrant initiatives, and the sustainability of the projects.

66 The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Centre Européen pour l’interdépendance et la solidarité mondiales, organised a series of workshops in 2004 and 2005 on the general theme of ‘Migration and co-development’. The objective was to provide support to the Council of Europe’s policy platform on migration and particularly to stimulate cooperation with governments, MPs, local authorities and NGOs in many African countries that maintain close migrant relations with Europe. These workshops looked into concrete questions of cooperation, exchanges of ‘good practices’, particularly in the field of microprojects, and drafting recommendations and proposals.

The history of immigrant women is bound related to spatial mobility and overtaking of exterior space. These movements, whatever their conditions or duration, have a strong impact on family and societal life, particularly since the varied, different and even contradictory spaces in which they are active continue to expand as women move into the host country. Leaving the countries in the southern Mediterranean and their developing economies, where the forces of tradition are still deep-rooted and very strong, where promotion of women is slowly making progress but still encounters considerable resistance, immigrant women gained access to developed, modern and democratic Europe, where women’s liberation is not a taboo or slogan, but tangible reality. No doubt they were apprehensive as they accosted a strange new world.

True, by emigrating in the context of family grouping women had to face the unknown, and slowly but surely broaden their limits, disturbing established spatial and gender relations as they went. They moved out of the home, to which they were still directly attached, to enter a very attractive and coveted public sphere. Far from the influence of the enlarged family, they no longer had to report to anyone on their outings and their movements. The husband was at work all day long, so they had the possibility to discover this new space, which appeared rough and inhospitable to them on arrival, but that they gradually assimilated, integrating it into their schemes of thought to finally conquer it in their own way.

Communication developed between immigrants in the same family or clan, and extended to neighbours and other women sharing the same language, and finally gave rise to the creation of networks of women who came into contact within an associative movement. The evolution of relations between immigrant women was gradual, from the central family core to the constitution of a group of companions of different nationalities, who felt the same effects being isolated in a strange environment. Relations with a few European women would develop later.

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In this way, solid relations were woven between women who shared the same building or the same neighbourhood, as the system of solidarity grew, giving rise to a very strong feeling of ownership of the space. After the neighbourhood, the first living area, women began to spend time in supermarkets, places of worship, markets and hospitals. They would go out more and more, so places of leisure became places for resocialisation. In other words, going to these places broadened the zones of contacts even if this mobility was motivated by family and economic reasons. Women acquired a certain independence67, due to their daily contacts with the host society (administrative procedures, school, errands, potentially a job). After a period of isolation, they managed to integrate many, increasingly broad networks.

By mean of this mobility, these women found themselves in a whirlwind of modernity. Wives became less afraid of the authority of their husbands who grew increasingly permissive because of concern with their jobs, there were many tasks they could not assume – caring for the children and school, and the way the family functioned on a daily basis. Access to the labour world became a must for some women. No doubt they had low-level jobs, but they contributed to the family budget, and helped meet the children’s growing needs and aspirations. The household jobs they carried out brought them into European homes, and they realised the gap between European lifestyles and their own. The use of space, the type of food, family relations – all came under pressure. The family order was questioned wordlessly with certain bitterness: European women had more privileges than immigrants, were more respected by their husbands, and less subject to domestic chores.68 Paths opened for immigrant women, but the women could not take them up directly for lack of means of communication. Not knowing the language of the host country, they observed and interpreted things in their own way. Their efforts to acquire the language were difficult. Some of them learned as they went, others relied on their children at school, and a third category first learned the language within associations.

The first immigrant women made the effort to meet all these challenges. They were pioneers, and proud to be so. They were immigrants and had

67 Bouamama. S and Sad Saoud. H. (1996), Familles maghrébines de France. “Paris, Editions Desclée de Brouwer p. 74-82.”

68 Aicha Belarbi, Biographies de femmes migrantes marocaines en Belgique. “December 2004. Not published.”

confidence in the host country. They were aware of cultural differences, but were still conscious of their roles and their attributions in the new society. Many young immigrants of the second and third generation, both men and women, owe a great deal to their mothers who, in their illiteracy with a traditional upbringing, fought a silent battle to live and evolve in their place of residence. They suffered to acquire their initial knowledge of the language, and banked everything on the education of their children – promoting the girls was their major hope and their own success.

So the traditional model based on the representation of the Maghreb Moslem woman who immigrated to Europe, living in subordination as the ‘migrant’s wife’, stuck in the suburbs, obedient and passive, breaks down in the complex situations that researchers have encountered in the European context.

The second and third generations of migrant women, who attended school in the host country, who were educated and had access to better jobs on the labour market, moved easily with self-assurance in their country of residence. They share the language with the Europeans, and can relate to them – they no longer live on the outskirts of their milieu; they enter it directly. This is when they felt the first resistance of the host society that accepts them hesitantly and integrates them timidly into its structures without listening to their complaints.

The realisation of this reality comes hard. This environment, that accepted their parents as temporary labour, does not seem willing to accept them definitively. Protest movements are organised, young women and men demand respect of their rights as children of immigrants; they demand status and a comfortable professional and social position in the host country. Supported by other progressive social movements, they go on to question integration policies and denounce all forms of racism and xenophobia concerning them. The countries of origin tried to channel this energy in their own favour by maintaining closer ties with the new generation. The ‘migration and development’ approach became the leitmotiv of various protagonists. Migrant women, players both here and there, became active agents of the dynamic of social change.

No doubt, migrations influence and shape the life of migrants, as has been shown in the previous chapters. Gender determines who migrates, why and

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how the decision is taken. This has a lasting impact on relations between sexes, either by reinforcing inequalities and traditional roles, or by questioning and transforming them. The impact of migration not only affects the migrants themselves, but also their families, their regions of origin and of destination.

Migration has ambivalent effects on migrant women. It can have very positive consequences on most women as a result of the actual shift from one place to another, from one culture to another. This creates a situation of acculturation that the women cannot avoid. Migration also gives women an experience of work and economic independence, offering women more possibilities for literacy and vocational training, and thereby freeing them from the roles they are traditionally given. Consequently, it can give them greater control over their own bodies and their lives, as they develop greater self-confidence and self-esteem that favours their independence.69 These effects can also be observed in women who stay at home, whose husbands, parents or members of the community emigrate and bring back not only gifts and funds, but new models, other behaviours and attitudes.

For some migrant women, migration may further isolate them. Incomplete integration, a low-level of education, a precarious professional situation can encourage migrant women to take refuge in the culture of origin or in the traditional religious culture. Gender structures are not automatically questioned by the process of migration. The niches of activity particularly reserved to migrant women (household services, small businesses, care of the elderly or sexual services) sometimes maintain women in a situation of subordination. However, migration can be an occasion for these women to discover other geographic and social places, other value systems. So female migration can be liberating for some and exacerbate dependency of others. It can also change gender relations to varying degrees within the couple, the family and society.

It is not possible to live in an environment without being steeped in its culture, without being marked by new behaviours and attitudes. As they

69 Organisation internationale des migrations, «Gender and Migration. [http://www.iom.int/DOCUMENTS/PUBLICATION/EN/GIC_Factsheetscreen.pdf], (5 août 2003).

move, human beings carry social change, in-depth or superficial, of which they are the first beneficiaries, and whose impact can also be significant on their immediate and even national entourage. While immigrants of both sexes originating from MEDA countries established in European countries, which enabled them to innovate, review their habits and act on the family structure, nevertheless to varying degrees and depending on gender and social-economic levels, they still embodied the traditions of the countries of origin. They stood between the two, accepting modernity and change when it pertained to the family model, and referring to the norms and values of the countries of origin in marital relations and the roles and attributions of various members of the family. This paradoxical situation put women, particularly, at the centre of conflicts. As the educators of children and the guardians of the household, they were considered responsible for any malfunctioning in the home, and the actions of the children, particularly daughters, while, on the other hand, their children would complain about their traditionalism and their acceptance-submission to marital authority. In migration, women found their emancipation, discovered a neglected potential capacity, put their hidden predispositions to work. The wives of migrants who had stayed in the village were one of the first concerns of researchers on migrant women – women that 19th-century Italy called ‘white widows’. In the 1970s and 1980s, these Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, Egyptian women were front-page news. Those women lived a suspended life, experiencing not only the negative effects of the dislocation of the family, but also to a certain extent, the emancipating action of migration via their husbands. No doubt, the wives and members of the migrant’s family benefited from funds that he could send back to them. These funds constituted additional income which contributed significantly to the family income and welfare and, consequently, to enhancing the place of the wife who became the effective head of the household in the absence of her husband. Migration, particularly of women, could upset standards and values of the local culture. The decrease in the birth rate, the adoption of a new concept of children, the demand to have access to the labour market and respect of fundamental women’s rights, the adoption of outer signs of modernity are the most plausible consequences.

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Immigration tends to transform the structure of the family: from an enlarged family, including parents and siblings, to which the emigrant belongs, with a high birth rate for women, to a nuclear family where parents and siblings have little or no place. A new concept of children develops within the immigrant communities. Children are no longer the gift of God that come with their own assets; they become a cost to be paid for maintenance, health care, schooling and leisure. Even in large families, letting women join the labour market is a necessity as additional income becomes an emergency even. These large transformations in the family structure were part of the process of putting down roots for the population born from immigration. The anchoring of immigrant women in a capitalist society tends to reduce family and clan solidarity and means that every service corresponds to a cost. Consequently, for example, the passage of Maghreb families ‘in’ France to Maghreb families ‘from’ France,70 with the emergence of a new family structure that differs from the traditional family model in the country of origin, as well as that of the host country. But this nuclearisation of the family in a migrant situation, with the rise in individualism and women’s heightened aspirations to change and greater freedom, tends to produce a certain malfunctioning in the distribution of roles within the family that result from the weakening of the man’s traditional role. He loses his prerogatives as the exclusive head of the family. Women, conversely, particularly when they are working, acquire greater authority and power within the home. In this dynamic of change, women and children are still under the fathers’ authority, which does not fail to cause friction, necessitate negotiations, compromise and adjustments in relations of couples and between generations.

The access of migrant women to the labour world constitutes an important factor of social mutation of women’s status. From a domestic subject she has become an economic subject. The integration of migrant women into economics circuits has had positive effects on the condition of their families. It has also contributed to their emancipation from ties and constraints that the traditional family imposed, as they shift to models of modernity and equality. Wages are the essential means of achieving this independence. Studies done

70 Bouamama. S. and Sad Saoud. H. (1996), Familles maghrébines de France. “Paris, Editions Desclée de Brouwer.”

in the countries of origin show the same effects of working for a salary on the liberation and independence of women. Since they no longer depend on their husbands, and take part themselves in the family budget, the management of the household, and the choice of investments and savings, their decision taking power increases and their mobility in space expands.

For certain communities, such as the Moroccans from the Rif who set up in the Netherlands or in Germany, the work of women immigrants was a real revolution. They were known for their conservatism and conformism. They refused to have their wives leave the house for whatever reason, but when the households were suffering from serious shortages, the husbands had to make many concessions to allow their wives to go to work.71 This feeling of independence is still greater for single women, and is confirmed for women working in liberal professions or entrepreneurship.

The study on Moroccan women in Veneto is significant. While the majority of women emigrated in the context of family regrouping, they did not correspond to the stereotypes of Maghreb women immigrating to Europe, living passively in migration, and undergoing a cultural breach.72 But nevertheless the breach does exist, as women try to find a common ground, to negotiate their new place on the social chequerboard of the host countries, adapting to situations that arose for them and turning them to the advantage of their families, they showed courage, perseverance and skill. For most of these young women, school is a place of liberty. Not all of them had had the possibility to study at length, as parents, particularly fathers, did not see the interest in giving girls an education and stopped as soon as legislation of the host country allowed it. Other parents, on the contrary, encouraged their daughters to study and projected their ambitions in their daughters’ success.

Integration in the society of the host country presents advantages and satisfaction that are hard to give up. In her surveys, Françoise Gaspard

71 Mohamed Khachani. (1996) La femme marocaine immigrée dans l’espace économique du pays d’accueil, : quelques repères. In Femmes et Migrations. Revue juridique, politique et économique du Maroc. Special issue. “pp 161-183, p 178.”

72 Chantal Saint-Blancat. (1998), “Les Marocaines en Vénétie”, in Migrations-Société, n° 55, vol 10, pp 107-115, Jan. – Feb. This article presents the results of two surveys done with the female immigrant population in the Veneto region (Italy). One is qualitative on female strategies in the migration process based on in-depth interviews of Moroccan women (about 30 interviews). The other is a quantitative analysis of religious and cultural dimensions of Islam in Veneto, based on a questionnaire submitted to 400 Maghreb and Senegalese immigrants (of whom 21.5 % were women, particularly Moroccans).

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observed nostalgia with regard to the country of origin that was more marked for men than for women, and the same difference in attitude was found with children. “The boys are more likely to affirm that their country is that of their parents and that they plan to go back, whereas the girls, while expressing loyalty to their families and the culture of their country, excluded any return. Mixed marriage could also be a means of liberation of migrant women. In migrant communities from MEDA countries, marriage is often endogamous, specially for young women. The first choice is marriage with a close member of the family, or the clan, the second is to marry a compatriot from the country of origin. Marrying a Moslem comes third, giving priority to someone from the Maghreb rather than an Arab. Asian Moslems are not often tolerated because of the language handicap. Christians are forbidden by religion unless they adhere to Islam.73 Some girls prefer a mixed marriage, particularly marriage of Maghreb girls with foreigners and particularly non-Moslems, which can be another indicator confirming the degree of integration. This type of match is high for Algerians (+113%) and Tunisians (+88%) but still low for Moroccans (+ 22%),74 a trend that expresses the modern lifestyle of young Algerian women born in immigration, whereas Moroccans are still very reserved, not daring to infringe their parents’ law.

Another phenomenon is cohabitation of a couple outside marriage, a situation that is still limited in the countries of origin, but is spreading in migration, for both daughters of migrants and economic migrant women. The latter are exposed to several hazards – they have recourse to cohabitation to share expenses of rent, to live with a person who knows the country well, to gain access to new networks, and above all to have someone to talk to and to be listened to in difficult times. Certain immigrant women cohabit with men from their country of origin or with foreigners, a phenomenon that causes major problems in the long run, particularly if a child is born. Birth of the child in the context of cohabitation is considered illegitimate in Islamic countries, and entirely legitimate in European Union countries. The occurrence of this event can result in rejection of immigrant women by the community of the country of origin and the family.

73 Aicha Belarbi. (2004).Biographies de femmes migrantes, op cit.74 André Leban. (1993) Immigration et présence étrangère en France. Le bilan d’une année,

1992-1993. DPM. Ministry of Social Affairs, health and the city. Paris, November 1993, 44. Quoted by Françoise Gaspard, op-cit, p 32.

No doubt in countries in the EU, living with a companion is entirely normal. This is one type of couple among others that does not bind the partners by marriage vows. It is an alternative to the institution of marriage. Unions that seem pragmatic are in fact determined for migrants by the duration of a job, housing or by regularisation. For some, remaining single is a strategy to avoid traditional marriage and to gain emancipation, whereas others, on the contrary, choose an arranged marriage that they then break off by divorce. These women are very critical with regard to young male Maghreb immigrants whom they consider “reticent to changes in male-female relations”. The women feel that the men adopt different attitudes with regard to French women whom they “seduce Western-style” and Maghreb women with whom they behave in a traditional way. The latter, contrary to foreigners, constitute potential wives according to the principle of endogamous marriage. Generally speaking, these women are trying to find a way to make collective honour and individual happiness compatible, and are relatively reconciled to with their parents’ opinions, although they refuse early marriage and will not have their partner chosen for them. Continuing school is often an alibi to delay marriage. They look forward to a real relationship in a couple based on love, understanding and mutual support. However, they consider that they are fulfilled both in motherhood and professional activity, adopting the aspirations of all French girls, even if “their childbearing activity is compromised more, because the many real difficulties they encounter in marrying also jeopardise the chances of marital stability and motherhood”.75

For economic migrants, the strategies are differentiated given marital status, even if the goal is the same: finding a job and earning more. Married women are much more interested in making a living and providing welfare and promoting their children. For single women, migration goes beyond a family project, and supposes a certain degree of independence. Emigrating means getting out of networks of dependence on parents and the family circle, and gaining access to a broader public area both professionally and in terms of leisure (cafés, bars, discotheques). Going back home, apart from the pleasure of seeing the family, represents only a hindrance to personal liberty. Certain single women, particularly those who exercise activities with low or barely average pay, consider getting married to a foreigner or remaining single. Moroccan men are thought to be too authoritarian and conservative.Those who think about

75 Camille Lacoste Dujardin (1992), Yasmina et les autres, de Nanterre et d’ailleurs, filles de parents maghrébins en France. …op cit, p 211.

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marrying a compatriot find themselves faced with the dilemma of the economic instability of the migrant and his role as the head of the household. A person from her country will be a further burden because he will not take charge of housework, or take care of the children, without forgetting the constraints of working and paying for the household alone, as well as bad treatment from the husband. “For a single immigrant woman, marrying a Moroccan means deteriorating her social-economic status. She switches from a live-in maid to hired help. She will be living in uncertain housing and her wages will not be sufficient to maintain an independent home. The money she earns cannot be saved or sent, but will be spent in entirety. Nevertheless giving up marriage is one thing, but giving up motherhood is harder, particularly for women living in a society where motherhood and mothers are privileged (Laura Oso).

The men-women relations in migration or in MEDA countries both refer to the Islamic concept of a couple that is legally set down in the personal status code. Family relations are organised in contexts and spaces that combine zones of dependence and independence, creating gaps between men and women that are based on anthropological and religious segmentation that in fact can introduce differentiations.76

Immigrant men and women who come to work in Europe are confronted with other models and other categories of differentiation, defined by other criteria. In this context, misunderstandings between the standards and values of the countries of origin and host countries appear. Reception and integration organisations in Europe perceive these differentiations as discriminating against Maghreb women. To compensate them, they carry out actions for integration and adaptation that are more egalitarian and democratic with regard to women. But these actions upset the traditional order and get in the way of acculturation which tends to make adjustments by aligning models from the country of origin to European models, so they produce new distortions with regard to both men and women originating from the Maghreb.

76 Barbara Augustin (1998), Différenciation hommes/ femmes dans les populations immigrées , “in Lacoste–Dujardin Camille and Virolle Marie,” Femmes et Hommes du Maghreb. La frontière des genres en question.Etudes sociologiques et anthropologiques. “Paris, Publisud.”

Now there is a contradiction between Moslem family law where women have a status that is dependent on that of the man, and legal practice in Europe, where equality of men and women is a fundamental legal principle. The French-Moroccan and French-Algerian agreements submit immigrants from these two countries living in France to the family law in force in the country of origin, which goes counter to the integration process. In fact, the family with its various components plays a preponderant role, and there is a huge gap between Moroccan law and social reality in France,77 which is an obstacle to this process from the start.

On the other hand, women’s work, which becomes a necessity for survival in the evolution of an immigrant family and a factor of liberation for the woman, must not upset by the order of the family hierarchy. Surveys show that while professional activity for migrant women constitutes an economic necessity, it is not always considered a means of emancipation. Work, considered as a mark of independence compared to the standard of the group, disturbs the family structure and relations, which leads to a reinterpretation of traditional values of the country of origin, but without a break from them, and particularly without questioning their foundation based on religion. Moreover, in gender relations, the juxtaposition of religion, culture and social attitudes proves to be very complex, particularly since women play a crucial role. By combining patriarchal organisation and religious norms, this juxtaposition tends to take a central place in perpetuating the patriarchy and religious practice and beliefs.

It must be recognised that the rigid scheme of standards and values in MEDA countries is generally reproduced in the host countries, particularly since distance and separation create a kind of nostalgia about everything pertaining to origins. The rituals that mark the seasons and the rites of passage constitute one of the clearest signs of the survival of the traditions of the countries of origin, and are a way of safeguarding and reinforcing ties as well as marking one’s membership in the group and one’s difference with regard to the host society.

The perpetuation of certain traditional Maghreb values is often interpreted in the context of migration. Celebrations associated with rites of passage, including circumcision and marriage, are a favourite field for analysing the

77 Abouani A. (1995), La femme marocaine en France : justice civile et processus d’intégration. “Doctoral thesis, Paris VIII-Vincennes-Saint-Denis.”

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persistence of traditional schemes that provide comfort particularly for women in migration. An ethnographic analysis of marriage, observed from the standpoint of women by Noria Boukhobza in a survey done in Toulouse with Moroccan and Algerian women, attests to the perpetuation of the value given to marriage by various generations of women and the mechanisms for transmitting it.78

The ethnographic description of the ritual of marriage in a migration context gives an account of the activation of marriage customs that are tending to disappear in the Maghreb (for example the rite of loss of virginity), and the importance of the role of women during the marriage celebration: women’s celebrations (non-religious and based on jokes about men’s virility and dances with highly sexual connotations, contrast strongly with the bride’s passive attitude), dominate the religious ceremony (reading the Fathira at the mosque) by men, which traditionally is considered to be what legitimises the marital union. In a migration context, women are at the centre of the marriage celebration according to a specific female hierarchy: married women affirm their authority over other women, particularly girls, whose virginity must at all costs be maintained -- the honour of their mother depends on it.

Despite all of these constraints, and the forces of resistance to perpetuate male domination, many migrant women are slowly and discreetly making their way out of it. The position of immigrant women in society, the culture and the impact of the image of the European woman and the media tend to create cracks in this family structure that help migrant women make more or less profound changes in their daily lives.

Moderate female emancipation is visible on the horizon. This takes the form of aspiration to greater equality within the couple, a fairer share of the roles and responsibilities, rejection of polygamy and the exaggerated importance of virginity. However, marriage and female behaviours in keeping with marital status constitute an aspect of their identity and sense of belonging for a majority of immigrant women, and a reaffirmation of their social function.

78 Boukhobza Noria (1997), La noce au féminin : transmission des valeurs culturelles féminines dans le contexte migratoire maghrébin. “pp 53-61, in Migrations Société, vol 9, n° 52.”

Migration is a real family strategy for emancipation of women, for those who migrate alone or in the context of the family grouping. Remittances79 remain crucial to cover various projects associated with survival, children’s education, improving the social-economic level of the family. Women become de facto heads of households, provide remittances and implement development projects. The husband’s agreement is requested, but is not indispensable if he stands in the way of collective projects.

In certain cases, migration of the spouse can reinforce traditional family values. For example, the additional income available through remittances decreases the need for the wife to work outside the home. The migration of men can then act as a conservative force, reinforcing patriarchal culture and the traditional roles of each gender. The situation tends to accentuate the husband’s authority and that of the father within the family.

Daughters of Maghreb immigrants are not on the offensive; they are not wallflowers, not organised, not dependent … like others, they take on the faces of social diversity. Their path winds between two possibilities: integration as an expression of identity, communitarism as a fiction written in exile. Between light and dark, they set the tone in unexpected ways, consisting of temperance and self limits”.80

The recent surveys done by Camille Lacoste-Dujardin and by Nacira Guenif-Souilamas are the first works devoted exclusively to daughters of Maghreb immigrants in France. The sedentarisation of immigrant men and women changes the relations between parents and children, and more specifically the transmission between generations.

The children of North African immigrants found themselves in a particular situation. Although many of them were born in European countries where they spent most of their lives, these young people were treated rather as immigrants

79 Insertion on the labour market, even for menial activities in the case of housework, enables immigrant women to save money, so they can benefit from a large part or their entire wages (servants live at the employer’s home).

80 Nacira Guénif Souilamas. (2000), Les beurettes. “Editions Grasset et Fasquelle. p 15l.”

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than as French citizens. “With the Bonnet law in 1980, the fear of deportation was often part of the daily lives of young people, who were threatened to be deported to a country where they had never lived”. The frustration of immigrants increased -- they felt rejected and their identities denied. The problems pertaining to integration were acute. No doubt, the arrival of people from the Maghreb into France introduced a religious, patriarchal people within a nation that promotes secular education and equality. As a result, the children of immigrants from the Maghreb had to define their place in France themselves.

Belonging to two different and even opposed cultures, that of the parents, based on lines of thought and behaviours inspired by religion and tradition, and those of modern equality in the host country, girls born to immigrant parents aspired to more modernity, and further still to liberation from family and community constraints. Parent-child conflicts, whether open or latent, were at the root of this relational context.

With regard to parent-child relations, a survey done with Maghreb girls81 in France showed that their relations with their parents were tense, and even conflicting, due to a dual distance – between generations, which imposes respect as is demanded by tradition, and in education, due to the educational gap between parents and children. This created difficulties in communicating and exchanging with parents. One might also add that relations within the couple were often marked by a certain gap, but did not give rise to any emotional demonstration – relations but took the form of domination-submission, even though the migrant situation encouraged the adoption of a marital model.

Some fathers, by clinging to traditional attitudes and ‘resisting in conservatism’, widened the gap with their daughters, whereas mothers, depending on whether they supported the authority of their husbands or opposed it, adopted an extremely conservative or more permissive attitude.

It was observed, however, that in most situations, parents were increasingly strict with girls as they reached puberty, due to the danger that could threaten

81 Camille Lacoste-Dujardin (1992), Yasmina et les autres, de Nanterre et d’ailleurs, filles de parents maghrébins en France. “Paris, La Découverte.” Results of a survey done in 1987 in 1990, with 21 young women, daughters of Maghreb immigrants in France, between 18 and 28.

the honour of the family, that being the loss of virginity in sexual relations outside marriage, particularly with a non-Moslem. In addition to parental pressure, there was pressure from the community when young women lived in neighbourhoods where the Maghreb population is concentrated.

Consequently, parents were very strict with their daughters about going out, outside activities, and their friends. Girls easily had access to leisure like reading, which can be enjoyed in the home, but rarely had permission to go to the movies or out for an evening. For most of them, there was no question of going to cafés or going to parties organised by girl friends from Europe or of immigrant parents, and all of them had to comply with the prohibition of having boyfriends.

All of these restrictions gave rise to incomprehension between parents, particularly fathers, and their daughters, and between girls born to immigrants and Europeans, the former repeated the arguments of their parents, who considered European girls to be easy and immoral. The Maghreb girls, who did not comply with this reference model corresponding to standards and values of their social group of origin, were considered westernised, loose or even heretic. European girls considered the immigrant girls to be shy and traditionalist.

Their relationship to the other sex remained complex for these girls who had been raised in a strict separation of the sexes both in terms of relations and space. But if these girls questioned traditional marriage, characterised by the absence of choice of a spouse, in practice for the most part, and symbolically for some of them, they were more attached to keeping their virginity, a principle that it would be hard for them to transgress. It might be underlined that the principle of religious endogamy, meaning that in the Koran a Moslem woman cannot marry a non-Moslem man (who does not convert) is almost the norm.

This restricted situation in which the daughters of first-generation immigrants lived, could not continue as such. The revolt against the patriarchal society was no doubt difficult for these girls, so they laid their claims in the host country, demanding more liberty and respect of their fundamental rights, which encouraged them to participate massively in the beur movement.

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In 1983, a march began in Marseille with the objective of “equal rights and against racism”. From 15 October to 3 December the Marche des beurs attracted about 100,000 children of Maghreb immigrants. It finished in Paris with a meeting with François Mitterrand, who was president at that time, who awarded them with a ten-year residence card. This demonstration is considered as the launch of the beur movement of the 1980s. It was followed by the creation of several associations, the two best known of which are SOS-Racisme82 and France-Plus.83

At that time, one category of the immigrant population constituted the burgeoning ‘beurgoisie’84 ; this was a group of migrants who had completed their integration process and moved away from the delinquent neo-proletariat faction, even if they regretted that they themselves were not able to take part in that kind of process.85

For that matter, the beur movement showed its adhesion to the culture of the host country. It euphorically expressed itself in marches, demonstrations, encounters, etc. Young women in this group felt that they were not victims of racism, or only very exceptionally. It seems that they had resolved the cultural ambivalence resulting from their double cultural reference, and the French culture overcame the North African culture. In an agreement between parents and their daughters on this half truth, they acted ‘as if’ to save appearances, so the profound meaning, which was in fact different for each of the parties, could remain hidden under this apparent agreement”.86

Women from the Maghreb were very active in the leadership of this beur movement. For example, Algerians Djida Tazdaït founded JALB, Jeunes arabes de Lyon et banlieues, and Kaïssa Titous initiated Radio Beur. Other women used the movement to integrate feminist principles in associations

82 SOS Racisme, created in 1984 with Harlem Désir as the leader, served to fight racism. Among its first successful campaigns was the slogan “touche pas à mon pote” (hands off my buddy) and another march for equality “Convergences 1984”.

83 France-Plus, founded in 1985 and presided at the time by Arezki Dahmani, had the objective of getting young people born to immigrant families to take part in civil life, and particularly elections.

84 ‘Beurgeoisie’ is a neologism referring to the French elite born in immigrant Maghreb families. In consists of immigrants and their children who have succeeded in their professional lives. The expression was first cited by researcher Catherine Wihtol de Wenden; it was created from the word beur, French slang for “Arab”, used as a familiar reference to children born in France with North African immigrant parents, and the word ‘bourgeois’. Wikipedia

85 Wihtol de Wenden, Catherine, and Remy Levee, La beurgeoisie: Les trois âges de la vie associative issue de l’immigration. “France: CNRS Editions, 2001.”

86 Idem, p 247.

concerned with the rights of women of Maghreb origin. Others tried to support and defend women undergoing violence, Nanas beurs, founded in 1985, had the objective of helping girls resolve family problems, cases of forced marriages, being taken out of school or runaways after violence from a father or brother. Other groups tackled support and comfort to women in the suburbs by providing legal counselling, literacy courses, help with homework for the youngest, and cultural outings.

Most of the activists in this movement came from families that already had a certain educational, financial or militant background and sometimes from mixed couples, sensitised to the question of immigration, racism and others, with a militant past in their countries of origin that came to Europe and particularly to France to undertake or continue studies.87 Another part came from a working-class environment; for them, they adhered to the beur movement to improve their situation. These young French adults of Maghreb origin mobilised by means of demonstrations and created associations to demand their rights. They explicitly spoke out to refuse the injustice that their parents have suffered from -- they wanted to be the equals of French citizens.

A quarter of a century after the Marche des Beurs, a whole generation of children of Maghreb immigrants were able to climb the social ladder, sometimes at lightning speed. Innovative men and women emerged, very different from the clichés in the media and opposed to racist violence. The children and grandchildren of immigrants occupied preponderant places in the host countries. In competition or in agreement with the European elites, another form of ‘cultural revolution’ took place for recognition and management of identities within a multicultural society.

Whether the origin was Algerian, Moroccan or Tunisian, this new social class took off. Despite discrimination and ambient Islamophobia, it can only be said that the “Republican integration model” works -- a remarkable feat, in one or two generations, the sons of working-class immigrants reached the higher classes to occupy key posts in French society. Be they doctors, businessmen, professors, lawyers, computer scientists, journalists or artists, they had to fight society to succeed, and to climb the social ladder. This new category counts, and is beginning to have economic weight.

87 Wihtol de Wenden, Catherine, and Rémy Leveau. Op cit, p 138.

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In this context, the host countries strongly backed girls with immigrant parents. Great hopes were placed in their capacity to adapt and in their effort to integrate and to mobilise integration of their parents. They were educated steeped in Western culture, and were considered to be a vector of social change and local cultural intermediaries. Living between two cultures with a growing aspiration to modernity, they constitute a strategic group in the fight against deviance and to recover balance in the relations between immigrant families and host societies.

Alongside or in the shadow of the figure of the brother, girls were supposed to be less open to temptation, driven by determination to succeed along sometimes uncertain paths to integration, enjoying a favourable preconceived impression due to the conviction that they have an undeniable hope of emancipation.88 With higher performances than their brothers and good results in school, they are motivated by the desire to succeed which is considered to be a symbol of acquisition of freedom.89

In fact, immigrant girls, looking for a valorising identity, have been able to create negotiation strategies to set themselves apart from their mothers, without denying their cultural origin entirely, in an effort to enter modernity without breaking down the family order by forging a hybrid lifestyle that attests to their membership in a community and on the other hand their “integration without assimilation”.90

Various studies show that women in immigration are less ethnically singled out than men, they appear less on the public scene to disturb the usual order; they are perceived as players in a peaceful integration (Naira Guenif Souilanar, p 87). As they live under parental control and that of the male community, they try with determination to fit into the new society without disturbing the established order, they appear to be more serene, try harder to succeed in their studies and achieve social promotion rather than “battling the neighbourhood as their brothers do”.

88 Nacira Guénif –Souilamas. Les beurettes, “op cit p 23.”89 Conference on the integration of girls born to Maghreb immigrants. At the Senate in

November 1988. Quoted by Houria ALAMI Machichi. Femmes maghrébines immigrées en France (1996) in Femmes et migrations revu juridique ….”pp 35-42, p 37”

90 Expression used by Françoise Gaspard and Anette Goldberg-Salinas in Femmes et Migrations op cit, pp 43-60

So a sometimes very clear-cut distinction is made between the image of the brothers and sisters in the family, young men and young women in the community. The former are presented as troublemakers, the themes of delinquency and violence in the suburbs identify them as harmful, while the girls are catalysts who seem to be above suspicion. This one-sided image of gender relations in the Maghreb immigrant community is very reductionist. It reflects relations in conflict, brothers who order their sisters around and sisters who calm and defend their brothers, whereas the actual situations are varied and more complex.

But the studious girls who are described as calm are the ones who would emerge on the public scene, particularly in France, to make headlines, contribute to political discourse and lead discussions in the streets at the end of the 1980s. Demanding their right to difference and respect of difference, they disturbed the Republican order even in the educational institutions that are the pillars of the Republic.91 The polemic on the question of the Moslem headscarf in schools in France, and beyond in other European countries, helped make these Moslem adolescents more visible. The question of integration by school was questioned. For that matter, in 1989 and 1994 the demand expressed by teenage girls to wear the headscarf in school created a very heated public, political debate that went all the way to the Conceal d’état.

The question of the headscarf triggered a national polemic in France, and even in Europe, which raised the major question that had been sidestepped for years on the role of Islam and Moslem identity in Europe. In fact, very few studies have been done on the religious life of Maghreb immigrant women, despite the growing number of sociological studies on Islam in France and Europe. Islam as it was practised by the first generation of immigrant women is an Islam that is interiorised, often invisible and hard to pinpoint for researchers. Religious practice of men is better known, because of its institutionalisation (mosques, associations, etc.). In addition, media coverage of the question of the headscarf in schools monopolised researchers’

91 Rabah Aït-Hamadouche, La “beurgeoisie” d’origine algérienne, ou les débuts d’une intégration à marche forcée. Hommes et migrations. “N° 1244 – July – August 2003 pp 47-53”

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attention as they tried to study the phenomenon, by considering not only the fact of wearing a headscarf in a secular context, but the reactions of hostile public opinion reflect a position that is specific to Islam and Moslem immigrants.

In the countries hosting immigration, collective female religious practice is a phenomenon that has been studied little to date. This practice has been the subject of surveys, but by and large they are done inside places of worship, and are based only on interviews of women with regard to their representation of Islam and their religious practice. But religious practice goes beyond places of worship and religious schooling, it is increasingly diffuse in the life of the community and is an occasion to create a sentiment of collective identity and to develop new forms of sociability.

The history of female migration testifies to the singular evolution of religious practice that has taken place over three generations of migrant women.

Women in the first generation had a particular relationship with Islam. By and large they were illiterate and tended to practise a popular Islam in comparison to orthodox Islam. Andizhan Susie in 198192 showed that the practice of Islam by Algerian women in France highlights intense religious activity among women, and took on specific forms of practice, such as reference to marabous or worship of saints. Many women joined the religious brotherhood of the Isaac. Both women and men have access to it, but they meet separately for religious practice.

In the years 1970 – 1980, immigrant women formed a religious group to pray collectively; this was open to all Moslem women, even those who did not belong to the brotherhood. Outside the ordinary sessions, women in the group met for rights of passage (circumcision, marriage, death, etc.), religious celebrations (Ramadan), when offering sacrifices to saints to thank them for fulfilling their prayers, and the annual visit of the Sheik. Women hoped to find remedies from the marabou or his representatives for physical and moral problems corresponding to their isolation.

These spiritual meetings would also cover social practices related to therapy, economic exchanges, and a very dense set of relationships. Their

92 Andezian Sossie,(1981), Appartenance religieuse et appartenance communautaire : l’exemple d’un groupe d’immigrés algériens en France. “pp 259-266, in A.A.N (Annuaire d’Afrique du Nord), CNRS, Paris.”

function is cathartic insofar as, by letting themselves go, women could get rid of the tensions inherent to their migrant situation, talk about marital problems, the problems their children encountered, particularly the girls. These meetings were really an exercise of social control of the community by women. “Everything seems to happen as if religion made sacred and therefore legitimised aspects of social life”.93

The religiousness of these women, who were called ritualistic, was expressed in a limited family or neighbourhood environment. It shows emancipation with regard to the community group; women maintained an interior relation to religion and stayed away from community and institutionalised religious manifestations while respecting the rules on food and generally the normative rules of Islam. They actively took part in transmitting religious values associated with traditions to the entire family, focusing more on girls, as boys were by and large out of their control.

Religious practices of migrant women of the first generation gave them an opportunity to reinforce their social status within the family and community structure, and take on a new realm of expression and communication.

Concerning the second generation, from a religious standpoint, most young women consider themselves Moslem by inheritance or affiliation. Nevertheless, they can no longer practise their religion in a profound way, since they are not familiar with the Koran, and are totally or partially ignorant of religious practices particularly because of their relatively poor Arabic. However, they respect many rituals, like fasting during Ramadan or other religious celebrations. Their perception of religion is ambiguous -- they often confuse traditions and religion.

Despite this deficit in their knowledge of dogma, young immigrant women, educated in a culture of equality and democracy, do not adhere to male domination that their families justified by means of Moslem precepts. They reject the headscarf and so-called religious prohibitions pertaining to clothing and behaviour that are argued by their fathers to keep daughters in line. Consequently, their interest for Islam is not of the same type as that of

93 Andezian Sossie,(1981), op cit.

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their parents, who practise a popular Islam – and are unable to respond to their daughters’ desire for a more philosophical knowledge of their religion.94

Religious education is needed – sections of the mosque are reserved for women of all ages, courses in the Arabic language and religious education are given to the young; sexual segregation banished in school is reinforced in places of worship. Boys often complain, particularly in small European towns that they cannot talk to or get to know girls from the community, or under parental control and particularly that male control weighs heavily on youth – and this in the name of tradition and religion.95 The mosque becomes a place for exchanges and construction of solidarity. As pointed out by Ruba Salish (2001, 2003),96 immigrant women who met in mosques managed to establish cross national networks of solidarity by focusing on Moslem identity.

The third generation, particularly those who had had trouble with the integration process, and who found themselves helpless in the fight against the racism and xenophobia they encountered, took refuge in a more orthodox Islam that helps them recover their identity, crystallising on wearing the headscarf. For that matter, “in most cases, the headscarf expresses a desire of integration of girls who find no other means to negotiate and handle the distance between the community of their parents and French society. This is a desire for integration without assimilation, and aspiration to be French and Moslem. Finally, this is an expression to recover their dignity in reaction to the xenophobia of the French.97

The reaction against the headscarf symbolises both the presence of Islam in a national society that was not conscious of it 98 and the growth of radical Islamism. No doubt the «mothers’ and grandmothers’ headscarf, which was quite present in the suburbs, hardly disturbed anyone. It belongs to immigrants. It meant that these women continued to live in keeping with the customs of the country, to which they still envisaged returning. A headscarf worn by

94 Camille Lacoste-Dujardin (1992), Yasmina et les autres, de Nanterre et d’ailleurs, filles de parents maghrébins en France. “Paris, La Découverte.”

95 Phenomenon observed in many neighbourhoods in Brussels with a fairly large Moslem population.

96 Ruba Salih, a Palestinian woman who grew up in Italy. She did a doctorate in UK on Moroccan women in Italy.

97 Gaspard F. and Khosrokhavar F. (1995), Le foulard et la République. “Paris, La Découverte.”98 Françoise Gaspard.(1996). L’émergence des migrantes et leurs filles dans l’espace public

français. “In Femmes et Migrations revue p 17-34, p 24.”

girls, often born and living in France, or in other European countries, posed a more important question to those countries, that of integration and the presence of different religions and cultures in public space”.99 Consequently, the headscarf issue was an opportunity to launch a major debate on the place of Islam in France.

The attitude with regard to the headscarf concerned Moslem girls in secondary school and it varied from one European country to another. France seems to be the most rigid country that firmly rejects religious symbols in secondary schools. Prohibition of the burqa in France and in Belgium tends to revive the debate on orthodox Islam and Europeanisation of Islam.

For these practising Moslem women, emancipation is based on the values of original Islam at a time when women wore headscarves and also had a role in local affairs. They reject western-style emancipation which in their opinion leads to ‘masculinisation’ of women and reduces women to the status of a sexual object. Wearing the hijâb, in this context is a means to take a place in a ‘non-erotic’ social space.100

From the description made by a journalist for the Figaro101, of a centre where Africans and Turks live, one realises how the images and stereotypes that are broadcast about immigrants can generate negative attitudes concerning them:

“It’s an Arab town. A little town. It’s absolutely charming. Basking in the sunshine along the canal. Today is market day. The souk is organised on the quay. It’s very friendly, women in Moroccan wool dresses, with tattooed faces, their arms laden with children, make a ruckus around the green grocer: old men wearing gandura chat in the corner about the bets they are about to place on the ‘tiercé’, young people give themselves airs of a casbah Mafia in patched up jackets with their caps backwards, revving their bikes for fun.”

99 Françoise Gaspart (1996), op cit , p 25.100 WEIBEL Nadine B.(1995), L’Islam-action au féminin ou une redéfinition de l’identité de

genre. “pp 391-412, in Studia Religiosa Helvetica, n° 1.”101 Figaro, 4 April 1996.

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Migrants are described using clichés – a picturesque description that talks about tattooed women carrying children, constantly bickering, useless old men who are still hoping to get lucky by playing the races, and small-time punks who terrorise the suburbs. With this kind of description, the immigrant community loses all value, as the materially and culturally poor in a society sparkling with modernity. These stereotypes have a considerable impact on the European population and on the marginalisation of the immigrant community.

For that matter, migrant women are perceived and described as poor and illiterate, understanding nothing of modern life and constantly looking askance at other women’s freedom of dress and the ease with which they move their bodies in public space. Europeans consider them to be victims of customs and traditions of the country of origin that imposes rules and standards that censuring bodily freedom and any expression of pleasure. The exaggerated control of men over the women’s body expresses only domination by men and submission of women. Consequently women put all their hopes on successful integration in the host country, giving particular interest to education and social promotion of their children, and specially the girls.

This sketchy perception clouds the diverse situations in which Maghreb immigrant women live. It carries a double risk, that of seeing women who present some of the aspects of traditional women (wife not working, mother of a large family and/or dressed in a traditional way etc.) develop an incapacity to react outside of the roles described by tradition, and on the other hand, and that of questioning the capacity of women to be actors of social change.

The immigrant woman has a status that clearly sets her apart, whatever her class, from the women in the host country. Immigration creates a hierarchy among women themselves. The newcomers try to adapt their behaviours, which could have an influence on their relations with their milieus of origin. Some migrations are considered to be strategies for independence that restore women to their roles as actors fully responsible for their own lives.

The arrival of migrant women in the 1970s did not seem to disturb public order. They were hardly visible in daily life and in statistics. They were barely seen, but nevertheless they had no relations with European woman, living in separate neighbourhoods, going to different places, gaining access to separate places of work and sectors of activity and leisure, with a language

gap that cut off any communication. This contributed to creating stereotypes on both sides. Europeans considered immigrant women to be women who belong to the traditions of their ancestors, passive, obedient, ordered by their husbands and on the other hand immigrants considered Europeans to be loose, adopting male behaviour (smoking, drinking wine or sitting in a café) an idea that was spread by migrant men.

The question of the relation between immigrant women and European women has in fact come up in recent years. Common perspectives are hard to establish since the two groups live separately. But the feminist movement in southern Mediterranean countries at the beginning of the 1990s was concerned very little with migration of women.102 For that matter, women from southern Europe are still fighting the very solid vestiges of a patriarchal society and the emancipation process is gradually moving forward. On the southern shores, the presence of immigrant women in menial activities, particularly household work raises questions about the foundations of European society and the fragile participation of European women in active life.

In fact, the problem goes well past confrontation of Western and non-Western women on the question of the meaning of emancipation; the question that arises is the very possibility of emancipation in relation to migration. As a result, there is a breach between immigrant women and southern European women, revealing a contradiction in the feminist perspective of a struggle common to all women for equality and against discrimination.

However in the relations between ‘Western’ women and immigrant women, there is not only a difference in models for possible emancipation, thought must also be given to the gender division of work and the future of household work in Europe. Skilled work represents liberation for European women while household work is relegated to immigrant women. To a certain extent, immigrant women have provided a temporary solution to solve a structural contradiction associated with gender and male-female relations in immigrant and European families. As Giovanna Vicarelli wrote in 1994: “the work of immigrant women seems to soften or solve typical social contradictions and imbalances in contemporary Western societies”.103

102 Genre et migration. “Giovanna Campani Université de Florence 20 p. Migration pdf.”103 Giovanna Vicarelli, 1994, “p.9.”

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European women and immigrant women are interlinked in forms of reciprocal dependence, the emancipation of the former means maintaining the latter in activities traditionally left to women. In an optimistic vision, household work can be a strategy of women to succeed their migration project, based on savings, remittances to the country of origin, and particularly – thanks to the large income gaps – the possibilities of cultural promotion in the host country.

In the name of modern culture, institutions are beginning to take a foothold in family life, trying to protect women and children, thus disclosing private life to condemn it in the name of the principles of human rights, while simply ignoring the immigrants’ basic culture. “All the moralising, normative discourse on families not assuming their role” is nothing but an affirmation of a literal and abusive viewpoint that strangely enough is exercised against families from a working-class environment, and among those, particularly immigrant families. It spares the middle classes, which are supposed to have a natural sense of balance between innovation and self-control.104

By making a distinction between migrant men and migrant women, by describing them as abusive on one hand and victims on the other, by supporting the so-called victims via associations, support groups and training, social institutions and the host society tend to make a gender selection by marginalising men and backing women. Immigrant men become a background issue as compared to the women. But this over-emphasis on women and this under-emphasis on men can destabilise the existing borders between male and female, and cause a fixation on obsolete male and female identities, creating an obstacle to the process of social change with regard to migration.

Migration of women, considered as a means of social change and access to identity, must be analysed globally, by taking into consideration the transformations of attitudes and behaviours among male migrants also. The influence of the society of origin, which is strong for first-generation migrants, tends to diminish and to change, as it takes on aspects more adapted to the host society. Resistance based on identity, exacerbated by the media, only develops on a small scale as compared to those who aspire to insertion and integration in the host society.

104 Nacira Guenif – Souilamas. (2000), Les beurettes, “op cit , p 72.”

Migration is considered today as an essential factor of development and a vector of social change. The countries of origin are perceived as the first beneficiaries. References and statistical data, despite their limits, show that the contribution of female migrants to development of their countries of origin is growing, and actions of the diaspora are becoming increasingly numerous and visible. Nevertheless it must be recalled that remittances made by migrant women are relatively small, reflecting their status as workers who are still poorly integrated in the host countries. However, despite these limited transfers of funds as compared to those sent by man, women greatly contribute to improving living conditions of families who remain in the country of origin. They also show all their generosity by means of donations and gifts that prove their economic and social success in the host country.

For that matter, remittances that have grown in recent years with the emergence and development of associations, meaning that the contribution of the diaspora to the development of the country of origin is increasingly acknowledged by various development players and is gaining increasing interest. By proposing innovating alternatives to the development model in their countries of origin, migrants’ associations are at the very heart of the struggle for democracy, human rights and sustainable development. As crucial actors of development and cooperation between the countries of the South, the female diaspora has gained important experience in this field.

It is clear that migrants play several roles: they are workers, savers, activists, investors, entrepreneurs – in other words agents of development. They have become essentially indispensable for the development of the country, to ensure the survival and welfare of their families and to initiate development projects, mobilise funds and gain access to modern expertise. Women contribute greatly in keeping with their level of instruction and the type of activity they exercise.

Migration determines a change in the traditional role of women based on motherhood and reproduction. Immigrant women leave the private sphere to take on the role of producers and financial support of the household. This new situation demands recognition of women, their contributions, their fundamental rights and their authority.

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Young migrant women are moving increasingly to front lines as social actors in the changes taking place in the family and the community. “As teenagers, they react like their brothers, but in different ways to the different forms of discrimination they suffer from. With their headscarves they are more visible in public space, particularly in school institutions, as graduates they are taking their place on the market of professional skills and contribute to social promotion of their families, development of the host country and the country of origin. As partners or wives they take part in introducing new relations and couples. As Moslems, they are no longer afraid to show their religious practices, as immigrants or daughters of immigrants they say they are proud. As women they demand equal rights, refuse arranged marriages and reject polygamy. They also show their cultural uniqueness, refusing imposed, non-consensual integration and traditions that could maintain them under male domination.

These women take their stance with regard to culture, to religion, in favour of modernity that takes account of various cultural parameters, demanding access to school and work, excluding any non-emancipating aspects of tradition. By rejecting a patriarchal ideology, these religiously active women also make claims to recover their dignity. The relations between tradition and modernity, which are often fluctuating, can also become a haphazard combination of value systems with different references, causing ruptures, cracks and stopgap measures that make it possible to live in a multicultural world. If men and women are to benefit from migration, there must be new focus on an approach to human rights concerned with the equality of men and women, to ensure that development policies and practices are not limited to the economic aspects of migration (remittances to the country of origin or investments by the diaspora, for example), but embrace a broader vision of development including culture, human rights and equality. This means putting greater focus on certain factors such as invisibility, lack of protection, illegality, working conditions, violence and stigmatisation. These factors are decidedly gender-specific, given the different needs of men and women in terms of health, employment, resources and information, which are clearly apparent in the case of migrant women in an irregular situation.

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Introduction ........................................................................................ 322

1. Illegal migration: the general context .......................................... 328

1.1. ‘Irregular’ migration means different things .......................................332

1.2. Irregular migration: a few determinant factors ..................................332

1.3. Irregular migration – between profit and security .............................333

2. Irregular migration: legal aspects ................................................. 334

2.1. International Treaties protecting migrants in an irregular situation ................................... ...335

2.2. Management of irregular migration: European legislation under question ................................................... 339

2.2.1. Control and supervision of borders: barring the way to all forms of clandestine migration ............... 341

2.2.2. Trafficking and smuggling of human beings ...........................343

2.2.3. Voluntary or forced return: two mechanisms are put in place - the admission and return ................................................................. 347

2.2.4. Regularisations: a safety net .....................................................350

3. Economic aspects of irregular migration of women .................... 353

3.1. Sectors of activity ...................................................................................355

4. Social aspects of irregular migration of women .......................... 358

4.1. That migrant women in irregular situations are subject to violence and ........................................................................................ 359

4.2. Women in an irregular situation: victims of prostitution ..................360

5. Irregular migration of women and violence of spouses ...............364

5.1. Violence in the arranged or Internet marriages .................................. 364

5.2. Domestic violence with regard to women in an irregular situation .............................................................................. 365

5.3. Health of migrant women in an irregular situation ............................ 367

Conclusions and recommendations ....................................................372

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All the regions of the world are affected by illicit migration; migrants with an irregular status make up 10% to 15% of the number of migrants worldwide.1 For the last two decades, migration considered irregular, undeclared or illegal has become an international concern. At the beginning of the century, this concern took on particular importance given the new orientations of immigration policies that targeted organised, planned migration first of all, ‘chosen immigration’, to the benefit of the countries of origin, the host countries and the migrants themselves. This phenomenon is of particular concern in the Mediterranean basin notably due to the fact that more women are immigrating. It also constitutes a central issue in relations between the two sides of the Mediterranean. In this area, irregular migration is not a new phenomenon: it existed already in the 1960s-70s, alongside legal migration, as a result, on one hand, of the absence of control of immigration and, on the other, the constantly growing need for labour in a fast expanding European economy. The movement accentuated after 1974, the date of the change in European migration policy which subsequently focused more on family grouping than on attracting migrant workers. When European borders closed, this did not put an end to the movement which continued to develop, as a result of the gaps in development between countries on the two shores of the Mediterranean, political conflicts or armed conflicts that jeopardised progress in the economies in the South, and the financial and economic crisis of the last three years that completely upset the situation in the region.

Free circulation is one of the four fundamental Community freedoms meant to ensure the completion of the European single market. It was designed initially as free movement of individuals, as economic agents, reserved exclusively to European nationals, and imposed a series of rules on non-European nationals. So, while breaking down the borders within Europe, the Schengen Agreement (14 June 1985) and the convention for its implementation (19 June 1990) imposed severe control at European borders, erecting protective barriers against migration flows. (Sevilla Council 2002).

1 IOM, Report 2008.World Migration Report.

Restrictive policies and border controls that tighten conditions for gaining access to European territory, associated with a legal arsenal that increases prohibitions, have resulted both in the development of irregular migration and the growth of the structured networks of smugglers who get rich on migrants’ hopes by selling their services at exorbitant prices. Major challenges include knowing how to control this irregular migration while maintaining respect for human rights, and how to stop criminal acts of human trafficking of all sorts, including organised crime, prostitution, labour migration, making migrants in an irregular situation even more vulnerable.

Today, irregular migration and smuggling of human beings has not spared the countries in the southern Mediterranean. Flows of human beings are pouring into buffer zones between Africa and European countries. The countries in the Maghreb, like those in the Machreq, have been confronted with this new scourge in recent years and are unable to control it. Since their level of development is still low, they cannot supply immigrants with work while they are waiting to leave for Europe. They also face difficulties, particularly financial problems, to send them back and to implement an adequate legal arsenal to protect them.

While Egypt shelters one of the five largest populations of refugees in the world,2 while Jordan and Lebanon host many refugees and provide work for an abundant Asian labour force in the building and maintenance industries and in household work, and while the countries in the Maghreb have become a place of transit work and a new destination for immigration, the growing propensity for illicit mobility from the southern Mediterranean countries towards Europe is a source of human tragedies. Events that occurred in this decade, particularly the dramatic events in 2002, 2003, 2005, on points of entry into the EU (Straights of Gibraltar, Canary Islands (Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) and Lampedusa Island) have entailed growing numbers of deaths, arrests of immigrants and incarceration in camps.

2 The vast majority of refuges from the Sudan, followed by those from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the African Great Lakes region are in Egypt. Jane Freedman and Bahija Jamal. (2008), Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. Études de cas : France, Italie, Egypte & Maroc. “© Copyright 2008 Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’Homme p 63.”

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Given this situation, consultation between governments of countries in the North and the South has become indispensable – the Euro-African conferences have been the most tangible expression of it. The main objectives are to stop the flows of clandestine migration, to develop cooperation between security departments of countries in the North and in the South and to get signatures of readmission agreements by issuing countries, while creating synergy between migration and development.

The question of security in the receiving countries has sometimes been referred to in these exchanges on international migration, given the context of armed conflicts in the Mediterranean region, particularly those associated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Gulf War, added to the implementation of policies on the fight against terrorism. Confronted with the rise in illegal migration, Southern countries have adopted legal instruments in the form of laws on the entry, residence and departure of foreigners. This was the case for Morocco in 2003,3 Tunisia in 20044 and Algeria in 2008. But these laws provide for severe sentences applicable both to traffickers and to the immigrants themselves, and they are not completed by legislative acts pertaining to protection of migrants against the abuse of the administration or mistreatment by employers. For that matter, these texts have drawn criticism from organisations defending human rights, which see them as a framework that could worsen the already considerable humanitarian tragedy on one hand, and, on the other, as a response to pressure from Europe, to the detriment of good relations with neighbours, particularly in Africa. In this context, governments from countries in the North and the South recommend a global approach to migrations, with two inseparable aspects: prevention of illegal migration and re-opening legal channels for economic migration.5

In the discussions of countries from the North and the South, illegal migration is often analysed from an essentially male standpoint. Female clandestine migrants according to the media and certain police reports in countries of destination and countries of origin, no doubt

3 Khadidja Emadmad, 2005, La nouvelle loi marocaine du 11 novembre 2003 relative à l’entrée et au séjour des étrangers au Maroc, et à l’émigration et l’immigration irrégulières, Notes on the analysis and summary. “Carim-AS 2004/01.” www.carim.org/Publications/Carim- AS04_01-Elmadmad.pdf.

4 Hafidha Chékir and Farah Ben Cheik (2005), Tunisie: la dimension juridique des migrations internationales, in Fargues “(ed.) 2005.”

5 Migrants et Migrations en Méditerranée. “Les Notes IPEMED n°1.”

represent only a small proportion of illegal migration. Emigrating without papers and finding oneself in an irregular situation are presented as the greatest danger run by a woman in general and more particularly by a woman from a MEDA country. These women are in no way armed to undertake a journey with no destination or to play hide and seek with the police. Nevertheless, despite the fact that they are not prepared for adventure, some of them throw themselves into it, either to join their husband or fiancé, or to find work; others are victims of trafficking. Often, women choose regular immigration with a visa giving them access to European countries; the irregularity occurs once the date of validity of the visa has expired, as they wait in this irregular status for possible regularisation that would enable them to benefit from the right to reside and work in the host country.

Migrant women in an irregular situation are generally exposed to various types of violence: within the family, the community, the place of work, or within broader social structures. The persons responsible for this violence include relatives, employers and in certain cases persons who were not known to these women beforehand. They also face economic insecurity that can be a further cause of violence. The types of jobs proposed to them are to a large extent relatively unskilled, badly paid and precarious, offering only limited social and legal protection. The fact that these women work illegally, because they do not have the necessary work permits, makes their working conditions less sure and exposes them to the risks of additional violence at the hands of their employers. Being in an irregular situation is not a natural state, but the result of a combination of several factors. In the second part of this study on what determines migration, we have indicated many factors acting as incentives. They are often economic or social, given the breach in the levels of development between the two shores of the Mediterranean and expanding the culture of emigration, which is increasingly popular with young people and women in southern Mediterranean countries. Women from MEDA countries in an irregular situation are generally women who emigrated in the context of family regrouping, or migration for work, with a visa for a limited duration.

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Smuggling and trafficking of women - a modern form of slavery - is linked to globalisation: the opening up of markets and growing demand for cheap labour, development of a society of leisure and easier means of travel increase the risks for women and girls of being the objects of international trafficking used as a labour force subjected to prostitution. It is hard to gain reliable data on persons victimised by trafficking. Estimates indicate between 500,000 and 1 million persons per year and a ‘trafficking business’ that generates between $ 7 and 12 billion per year, in all regions of the world.6 For MEDA countries, alongside this absence of figures, there is also a shortage of literature on the question. It does seem, however, in view of the available data and the snippets of information we were able to gather, that trafficking of women in the region is very limited.

By their very nature, the movements of clandestine immigrants and the presence of irregular immigrants in European countries are hard to tally. While statistics of persons arrested in an illegal situation are at times available in host countries, it is hard to find reliable, consistent and comparable data, particularly on women. We can only deal with estimates and they are contradictory, dissimilar, partial and even distorted, when it comes to a breakdown by gender. To compensate for the lack of data on the question of migrant women, we agreed with the persons responsible for the Euromed Migration II Programme, to include a chapter on the irregular migration of women from MEDA countries to Europe. In this part of our study, which was the hardest one to do, we tried to cast light on the problem in a pertinent way, to define new channels for research and to draw the attention of decision takers to the need to undertake research and studies to improve knowledge and therefore to aid in taking decisions..

The issue of female migration in an irregular situation is multidimensional. It involves several disciplines (social sciences, legal sciences and political sciences) and many partners, in particular the intervention of States, international organisations and NGOs. The treatment of the subject is touchy and complex, it is barely visible, and when it emerges much is left unspoken. Women’s movements are always controlled, when a woman emigrates underground, or is in an irregular situation and is deported, she represents shame and dishonour for the family.

6 People on the move “N° 3, 2008.”

Irregular migration concerns several types of migrants, as well as refugees and asylum-seekers. The number of people who emigrate as a result of conflicts is huge. At the beginning of 2008, there were about 14 million refugees falling under the competence of the HCR or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), representing about 7% of international migrants.7 Since MEDA countries are not in zones of a major conflict causing massive population displacements, except for the area on the edge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we will limit our study to the situation of immigrant women from MEDA countries in an irregular situation, since the number of women originating from these countries applying for refugee status or seeking asylum in Europe is minimal, particularly after the end of the internal conflicts in Algeria.

In this part, we will go into the three main dimensions (legal, economic and social) of illegal immigration, after having described the overall context in which illegal migration takes place, more particularly for women.

1. The legal dimension: we will examine the international legal arsenal, in particular international treaties and European legislation, that protect irregular migrants, in order to take a look simultaneously at the new orientations of European policy and the logic behind the security tendencies in force in Europe today, as well as the mechanisms implemented to protect irregular migrants and prevent trafficking of women.

2. The economic dimension: we will identify the real issues of the European employment market, particularly the demand by employers for cheap labour in certain sectors of the economy, highlighting the situation of employment of immigrant women in an irregular situation.

3. The social dimension: we will present various forms of exploitation of irregular migrant women, the violence inflicted on them, the exclusion they suffer from and the precarious situation they live in, and refer to the fundamental principles of democracy and human rights, on which Mediterranean societies are built.

7 2009 UNDP Report.

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Migration in an irregular situation is related to development issues. The growing inequalities between the North and the South generally affect models of displacements of persons. In fact, as long as imbalances between supply and demand of labour are broadening between the countries in the North and the South of the Mediterranean, people will continue to move to look for new opportunities for work and better living conditions. The discussion on illegal migration is dominated by two concepts: the first sees irregularity as proof of deviant behaviour that in a way justifies denial of rights, deportation and the adoption of dissuasive measures against illegal immigration. The second sees the irregular situation as the result of various circumstances, some of which are beyond the migrant’s control, requiring intervention of the State. In this concept, the irregular situation can be managed by regularisation procedures and the State taking responsibility with regard to the migrant.

The term ‘irregular migration’ is commonly used to describe a variety of different phenomena involving people who enter or remain in a country of which they are not a citizen in breach of national laws.8 It includes:

Migrants who enter or remain in a country without authorisation;

Persons who are smuggled or trafficked across an international border;

Migrants in an irregular situation who entered a foreign country legally but remain after the validity of their visa;

Unsuccessful asylum seekers who fail to observe a deportation order;

People who circumvent immigration controls through the arrangement of bogus marriages.

Clandestine migration implies “the migrant’s decision to leave using means that escape the control of the State and get around its authority, thus infringing the sovereignty of the State which, in the name of that sovereignty,

8 GCIM, p 35.

has the responsibility for controlling the territory and its citizens in their displacements”.9

The recent term ‘clandestine’ has become the centre of discussions on migration policy decided in Europe. In fact, when there were no controls for entering Europe, the status of the clandestine immigrant did not exist. With the creation of a visa, as a restrictive measure, the phenomenon of the clandestine immigrant appeared. This is a man or woman who enters a foreign country in violation of the law.

An immigrant waiting in an irregular situation to benefit from regularisation manages to survive in a very precarious situation by doing small jobs offered by the host country that is willing to take advantage of very cheap labour, without protection and without demands. Italy and Spain are emblematic cases, due to the existence of a flourishing informal sector, particularly a labour-intensive agricultural sector, where several regularisation measures eventually took place.

Today, clandestine migration is generally perceived as a threat. A clandestine immigrant is considered like a criminal, increasing the general impression of insecurity, which at times is amplified by the media.10 The handling of this question falls under the responsibility of the Minister of the Interior in the context of the safeguard of the territory.

The expression ‘clandestine immigration’ takes on a special meaning in the Maghreb. In the local dialect, clandestine emigration is called hargua or hrig, meaning ‘burning’, as in ‘burning the border’, crossing the border incognito, or ‘burning paper’ to become anonymous. This is a recent expression that appeared in Maghreb countries in the 1990s with reference to the emigration of compatriots leaving to Europe by sea on makeshift vessels or in the hold of a ship or a container. So hargua is a form of infringement of the law, an illegal undertaking that can only be done behind the backs of security services and in places that are not continually under supervision.11

9 Badie. B. Flux migratoires et relations transnationales. “In Etudes Internationales. March 1993, N° 1, p 16.”

10 Monica Lorio, Anna Leone and Fabiola Podda. 2000. Op cit p 120-121.11 Hocine Labdelaoui. 2009, “ Hargua “ ou la forme actuelle de l’émigration irrégulière

des algériens. “Carim, report 2009, pp 1-24, p 2.”

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Hargua is a field that has been studied little and has not yet been quantified at all. This phenomenon refers essentially to men, at least as described in the media -- the number of women involved seems very small. Women rarely leave by dangerous means of travel, particularly since the family and their entourage discourage them from going into clandestine status. Women often leave with a visa, and enter the foreign country legally; they only become illegal immigrants when the duration of residence awarded to them expires.

Surveys done in Algeria by the police departments, the gendarmerie and the Ministry of Solidarity in 2006-2007 attest that the haragua are young men, under 35 for 91%. They are generally single (90%) – married persons represent only 8.5%, the others being widowers or divorced. Haragua with a medium level of instruction are more numerous (50%) than those with a primary school education (16%) and only 6% have higher education degrees. The report specifies that the causes of emigration under illegal conditions are, first and foremost, unemployment (82.5%) and the desire to improve living conditions (17.5%).12 It should be noted that these studies say nothing about the participation of Algerian women in this type of migration. Southern Mediterranean women, like many others, are not tempted by death-threatening undertakings. The risks run by the young clandestine emigrants are numerous. In reaction, associations of families victimised by clandestine emigration sprung up in Maghreb countries. They operate on three aspects: prevention, repatriation and informing families. One very meaningful and exceptional example is the creation in Senegal of an association of mothers and wives of victims of clandestine emigration. They grouped in a cooperative manufacturing couscous in order to provide the needed aid to families and prevent the death of husbands and sons on the high seas or in the desert.

The expression ‘irregular migration’ is used to refer to a variety of phenomena, particularly the illegal entry of nationals from third countries into the territory of a State other than the State of origin, or legal entry that becomes illegal when the resident permit expires or renewal is refused after the loss of the person’s job or for other reasons. Authorities in the host country, who are not informed of the migrant’s residence, cannot issue any papers if the migrant does not meet the necessary conditions. Illegal status keeps the migrant in a marginal situation, as migrants who infringed the country’s law cannot benefit

12 Hocine Labdelaoui ? 2009, op cit pp 5-8.

from minimum protection from the host country. Most migrant women from MEDA countries in an irregular situation are women who came to Europe to join their husbands, fiancés or near relatives. Given the restrictive legislation in the field of immigration, female migration takes place in a family context, which is by far the main basis of legal admission. In France, for example, 70% of entries into the territory took place on the grounds of marriage or family grouping.13

A distinction should be made between human trafficking, and smuggling of migrants. As Article 3 of the Palermo protocol states,14 “ ‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

In the case of trafficking, the victims are exploited to a maximum, or even reduced to slavery, and traffickers use any and all means to achieve this: fraud, corruption, violence, confinement, sequestration, blackmail, threats, deprivation of freedom, confiscation of identity documents, etc. Trafficking can be exercised in the country of origin but most of the time victims are displaced to other countries. Trafficking of persons cannot be dissociated from international migration flows and at times, it takes the same itineraries. Victims are mostly, but not exclusively, women and children. On the whole, the traffic goes from poor countries to rich countries. The types of exploitation are highly varied, as is clear in the definition above. Criminal organisations create a durable relation of dependency with their victims, who live constantly under their control – their loss of freedom is similar to slavery.

13 Agence nationale d’Accueil des Etrangers et des Migrations (2007), Rapport d’activité 2005-2006. “Paris : ANAEM.”

14 Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children adopted in 2001.

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Migrant smuggling pertains more to displacement of clandestine immigrants. It consists of smuggling them through borders to the final destination in exchange for an amount agreed in advance. Once the passage has been made, the passers and the migrants will not attempt to get in touch with each other again. Smuggling is a criminal problem associated with clandestine migration and exploitation of others, and a moral problem (prostitution). Note that the consent of the victim is immaterial in the definition of the smuggling offense, which means that anyone who has paid or is paying intermediaries to cross borders can be considered a smuggling victim.

Irregular migration is driven by combined powerful forces. Relations between development, poverty and population movements are very complex. Poverty is often cited as the main cause of irregular immigration, so it could be understood that less poverty means less migratory pressure. But this could underestimate the fact that a reduction in poverty can also induce population movements in the short and long term. After all, people who live with more resources have better access to information, their networks develop, and that contributes to more frequent movements from one country to another.15

Irregular migration is also related to various constraints imposed on legal migration. Thirdly, it is facilitated by the existence and development of criminal networks that derive considerable profit from smuggling and exploitating people. Finally, factors like facility of transport and means of communication, as well as the existence of a diaspora that enables people, particularly women to travel safely, must also be taken into acccount.

The movement of irregular immigrants from MEDA countries to Europe represents a significant proportion of migrants, nearly 20%. Irregular migration of the three Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) has grown in parallel to legal migration. On the other hand, cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean and the amount of funds allocated to controlling the borders have contributed to reducing clandestine migration and dissuading potential migrants. In Machreq countries, and particularly in the case of Egypt, irregular emigration of Egyptians to Europe is a recent phenomenon.

15 Massey and others 1998, p. 277.

Over the last decade, many Egyptians made the fortune of smugglers by crossing the Mediterranean in makeshift vessels at great danger.16

Like for migrants from the Maghreb, the main reasons why Egyptians chose this type of migration are youthful unemployment, the difficulty of finding opportunities to work in Gulf countries due to competition from Asian labour, and finally the proximity of Europe, particularly since departures are generally done via Libya, which does not require a visa for Egyptians. The number of migrants who reach Europe by means of a legal Schengen visa is still by far the largest.

The study done by the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior in 2006, called “Attitudes of Egyptians with regard to migration in Europe” states that the favourite destination of Egyptians leaving for Europe is Italy (54%), followed by France, and then Great Britain, the Netherlands and Greece. It should also be noted that the most recent waves of migrants included younger people with an elementary level of education, as compared to the emigration to Europe of more qualified persons in the 1960s-1970s. A ‘poor man’s migration’ is developing; the outflow of young people is growing, and they often go irregularly.17 The percentage of migrant women in an irregular situation is not mentioned in the report.

In the context of national and international competition, every country is trying to maintain a certain balance between the logic of economic competition, that targets increasing the GDP and improving the welfare of the population, and the logic of security that pertains to the sovereignty of the State for the regulation of the system of migration and supply the competent labour needed for the development in countries in the North, while closing the borders to any intruders who break the rules. In this case, the possibility for an immigrant to reside in the EU area is related to the need for the labour force – any surplus immigrants should be expulsed.18

16 Howaida Roman. 2008, Irregular migration of Egyptians. “CARIM Report 2008.”17 Howaida Roman. 2008, op cit.18 Di Monica Lorio, Anna Leone et Fabiola Podda, L’immigration marocaine en Italie entre

la clandestinité et la légalité. Un regard sur la Sardaigne. In la migration clandestines, enjeux et perspectives. “Acts of the conference organised by MERM , Rabat, April 1999. Editions Al Karama 2000. Pp 113-121, p 117.”

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The security logic enacted by the State cannot cloud the reality of a specific migration that meets needs for service providers in certain sectors, like household work, both formal and informal. Immigrants in an irregular situation come to the rescue of the economy to fill vacant jobs abandoned by nationals, because the jobs are dangerous, dirty and poorly paid. The security approach preferred by States in the North (border controls, expulsions, or regularisations) puts them in a deadlock. Southern Mediterranean countries are more concerned about clandestine migration in their own territories than that of their nationals leaving to Europe. While the host country considers that this is a violation of its territory, its rules and its sovereignty, the country of origin tends to turn a blind eye, given the growing economic demands and pressure from the jobless that the national economies cannot absorb. The Moroccan Minister of employment and vocational training 1998-2002, Mr, Alioua19, declared: “It is time for the Europeans to realise that we cannot bear the entire burden. They must act preventively rather than reactively by observing that immigration poses a development problem more than a security problem”.

Any analysis of the various aspects of irregular migration must deal with this double logic: increasing economic needs, and consequently attracting more irregular migration, versus the sovereignty of States, in confrontation with migrants’ rights. An African saying comes to mind “when you see a frog in the hot sun, it must be running away from danger”.

“States, exercising their sovereign right to determine who enters and remains on their territory, should fulfil their responsibility and obligation to protect the rights of migrants and to re-admit those citizens who wish or who are obliged to return to their country of origin. In stemming irregular migration, states should actively cooperate with one another, ensuring that their efforts do not jeopardise human rights, including the right of refugees to seek asylum. Governments should consult with employers, trade unions and civil society on this issue”. (Global Commission on International Migration, p 35).

19 In Le Monde 16/06/1999. Interview of Philippe Bernard.

This global quotation does not focus exclusively on the sovereignty of States – it also refers to the obligation of the States of origin and the host States to protect migrants’ rights and the need to cooperate for better management of irregular migration. The State must also safeguard the security of people in irregular situations in the context of its international commitments. Under international law, the rights to life, safety and freedom, the prohibition of being sold in marriage, the prohibition of slavery, torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, and forced labour and child labour, among other things apply to all individuals living in a given territory whatever their legal status or national origin.20

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares in Article 13:

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

While the right to movement is guaranteed, the right freely to enter another country is not mentioned. “Neither international law, nor any convention on human rights enshrines freedom of cross-border movement as a fundamental right that individuals could invoke with regard to States; each State, in the exercise of its sovereignty, has the faculty to control access of foreigners to its territory and to reserve access to those who meet the conditions that it determines.21 States, in the exercise of their sovereignty have given considerable attention and devoted enormous resources to preventing any intrusion in their territory, in their concern to safeguard their prerogatives with regard to authorisation of the right to enter and reside in their territory. Consequently, little progress has been made to develop a binding legal framework that regulates population movements between States, while protecting the rights of migrants.

20 FNUAP. (2006), Etat de la population 2006. Vers l’espoir, les femmes et la migration internationale. “p 47.”

21 Danièle Lochak and Carine Fouteau. (2008), Immigrés sous contrôle. “Le Cavalier Bleu publishers. P 41.”

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Only the Geneva convention of 1951 on refugees tends to limit the State prerogatives in virtue of the principle of ‘non refoulement’. Protection of an immigrant in an irregular situation is nevertheless one of the obligations of the receiving States. The rights of non-nationals in fact only become effective when they have managed to enter the country of destination, which, in a European context, has become even touchier in recent years. Still, the most significant efforts on protection of migrants in an irregular situation are found in the Convention on the protection of all migrant workers and their families adopted in 1990 but which took effect 12 years later. This Convention recognises that “the human problems involved in migration are even more serious in the case of irregular migration”. It underlines the need to encourage appropriate actions “in order to prevent and eliminate clandestine movements and trafficking in migrant workers, while at the same time ensuring the protection of their funadmantal rights”. (Preamble).

This Convention applies to legal migrant workers and those in an irregular situation. Chapter 3 of the Convention calls for protection of human rights for all, both for regular migrants and for those who are pejoratively and modestly referred to as ‘irregular’, ‘undocumented’.22 It first proclaims intangible rights, like the right to life (Article 9), prohibition of the use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 10), prohibition of slavery or servitude (Article 11, par. 1) and the use of forced labour (Article 11, par. 2). The Convention also recognises fundamental liberties for migrant workers such as the freedom of opinion, expression and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of borders, orally, in writing, in print or in the form of of art, or through any other media of their choice (Article 13); freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 12); freedom to take part in meetings and to join a trade union (Article 26). All these universally recognised fundamental freedoms constitute the backdrop of fundamental freedoms and rights that are applied to migrant workers.

22 Yao Agbetse (2004), La convention sur les droits des travailleurs migrants : Un nouvel instrument pour quelle protection? “Droits fondamentaux, n° 4, January – December 2004. www.droits-fondamentaux.org. Pp 47- 66, p 53.”

Guaranteeing the rights of irregular migrants seems to be a revolution in international law.23 The ambition of the Convention is in strong contrast to a well established principle in international relations. The rights guaranteed by the States carry the seal of nationality and governments seem to value protection of their nationals and their territories. The Convention of 1990 helps and supports the States in that, while it recognises the rights of migrants in an irregular situation, it gives the States arms that can put an end to clandestine immigration.24 This Convention endeavours to guarantee the rights of migrant workers and their families, whatever their status. It essentially concerns migrant workers in a regular situation, rather than irregular migrants who, because of their administrative status, work undeclared, passing from one sector of activity to another. Other earlier conventions, such as the ILO labour migration conventions of 1949 and 1975, also apply to migrant workers, but very few States have ratified them.

Many schemes have been created in the field of the fight against smuggling and trafficking of human beings, considered as a violation of human rights. Since the end of the 1990s, a new scope of the fight against this traffic has developed, giving rise to a host of protocols, recommendations, conferences and programmes. The latter are generally carried out jointly by UN and European institutions, the States and NGOs. The texts that organise the fight against this traffic are ranked in a series and are applicable at every international (Palermo protocol, IMO), European (Parliament, European Committees, OSCE) and national level. Note that the largest and most restrictive legal framework concerns trafficking and smuggling of human beings. Some States, in particular the members of the European Union, have made it one of their priorities. The General Assembly of the United Nations, meeting in plenary, adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its two additional protocols on 15 November 2000. They were presented for the signature by the States at the Palermo Conference.

23 Yao Agbetse (2004), La convention sur les droits des travailleurs migrants, “op cit, p 55.”24 The States parties to the Convention, whether they are the States of departure, transit

or destination, undertake to put an end to trafficking of labour, notably by fighting the circulation of misleading information, (Article 68, par. 1 a). So they agree to punish persons, groups or bodies that organise clandestine migration (Article 68 par. 1b) or that have recourse to violence, threats or intimidation against migrant workers (Article 68 par. 1c) and to inflict sanctions on employer of migrant workers in an irregular situation (Article 68, par. 2).

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The provisions of the Convention and its Protocols comply with the principles of the protection of human rights.

The Palermo Protocol targets preventing, repressing and punishing trade in human beings, particularly women and children, and concerns not only trade for the purposes of forced prostitution. It also considers new forms of trade such as forced domestic labour and arranged marriages. It proposes procedures for protecting victims of trafficking to the signatory States. If victims denounce their pimps or smugglers, they can claim a temporary residence permit for the time the investigation lasts. This protocol, which is the result of more than two centuries of often difficult international reflections, is exceptional, since it is the first text that covers all aspects of trafficking (particularly slavery). The UN Protocol against trade in human beings recommends that governments authorise the victims to stay in the country of destination temporarily or permanently. It also asks the States party to the Convention to ensure the safety of victims, to protect their right to privacy and their identity, and to envisage providing them with housing, information and legal advice in a language they understand, as well as assistance as concerns education, employment and vocational training. It even recommends that legal measures be taken to compensate the victims.25

Efforts to reinforce migrants’ rights have been implemented in various United Nations legal instruments, and the question has become recurrent in various UN conferences in the last two decades, (from the International Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, to the Conference on the Population in 1994 in Cairo, the Women’s Conference in Beijing in 1995, the Durban International Conference against Racism in 2001) during which the States agreed to implement norms protecting human rights in general, with an action plan for better management of migration.

In 2002, the UN Secretary General, in his report on reinforcing the United Nations, pleaded in favour of a global examination of the various dimensions of migration, in particular the causes of population movements and their impact on development.26 The report of October 2005 by the Global Commission on International Migrations, ordered by the UN Secretary General brought to light

25 UN 2005, resolution adopted by the Assembly General in the report UN UNFPA 006, “p 47.”26 United Nations, General Assembly 2002b.

new orientations to be adopted to safeguard migrants’ rights and for migration that is beneficial to all parties. The High Level Meeting of September 2006 on migration and development looked into the subject. Similar efforts were made in the European Union; Member States are constantly confronted with complex questions pertaining to the management of the migration process. The Union continues to cope with the arrival of clandestine migrants, although to a lesser extent in recent years, and tries, insofar as possible, to discourage this type of migration in its territories.

When speaking of irregular migration, the following dilemma is generally present: How is it possible to reach a relative balance between safeguarding State sovereignty and economic development on one hand, and the rights of persons in irregular situations on the other?

Global migration policy of the European Union focuses on management of legal migration, the effects of migration on development and reducing migration in an irregular situation. The last point is what seems to be a priority in view of the extremely strict measures put in place on closing borders and the use of a mandatory security programme with the objective of preventing any illegal entry or residence in European territory.

European choices with regard to migration have always been clear: Europe wants organised, legal migration that meets its economic and social needs. Irregular migration is perceived as an abnormal movement, an undesirable establishment since it was not planned or organised in any way. It forces itself on Europe, which is then obliged to create and develop new mechanisms to manage the unforeseen arrivals of migrants. For irregular residents who have been living in Europe for a long time and are integrated in the labour market, on the other hand, regularisation becomes a demand and almost a duty for Europe. So, the essential objective for Europe is to control the flows of migrants with the determination of ‘channelling’ it. This is expressed both in the policies of the Member States and in the priorities of European immigration policy and has been confirmed by various European Councils, from the Tampere Council (October 1999) to the Pact on Immigration and Asylum (2008).

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On a strictly Euro-Mediterranean scale, the intermediate meeting in Crete, that grouped the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in May 2003, recognised the pertinence of the Valencia Action Plan, was essentially devoted to the security aspect.27 Later, in December 2003, the Euro-Mediterranean conference in Naples reaffirmed the need to approach migration and human movements from the standpoint of a balance between security measures and measures designed to manage migrant flows.28 This awareness led to the organisation of the Euro-African ministerial conference is on migration and development (Rabat in July 2006, Tripoli in November 2006, Paris in 2008).

As concerns irregular migration, Europe makes use of three joint options requiring reinforced cooperation between countries in the North and the South of the Mediterranean with continual collaboration between international organisations. In fact, they consist of:

1. Preventing irregular migrants from entering European territory, by means of strict controls at the borders;

2. Repatriating all persons who are not who are not in order – those who entered illegally and those whose duration of residence has expired;

3. A regular rise in a few categories of migrants that correspond to criteria and standards required by the European Union, whose supply of labour meets certain needs of employers.

27 The Valencia action plan establishes a framework for regional intervention in the field of justice, the fight against drug trafficking, crime and terrorism and in field of social integration of immigrants, migrations and movements of persons. European Commission (2002). Valencia Action Plan. Conclusions of the Valencia Euro-Mediterranean meeting, 22 and 23 April 2002. Brussels, European Commission.

28 14 Conclusions of the Presidency. Euro-Mediterranean conferences of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Naples, 2-3 December 2003. (Med.2003 is a joint publication of the European Institute of the Mediterranean - IEMed- and the Fundació CIDOB) 208-209 Med. 2003 Report: Mediterranean year.

European control is operative at several levels. It is of four kinds:

Control of the borders to prevent any illegal entry, and the requirement of the visa for any entry into the Schengen area;

The fight against smuggling and trafficking of human beings;

Control of carriers carrying clandestine immigrants;

Control of employers using clandestine labour.

Controls at borders are of two types. In the first place, they consist of careful supervision of borders, land and maritime transport, by setting up patrols, building barbed wire fences and using more sophisticated technologies. In the second place, this means setting up a visa so only desirable persons can enter. The gradual entry of countries into the Schengen system made new countries like Spain, Italy and Greece the first guardians of the external borders of the European Union. The tendency to have strict controls at the external borders of the EU, greater vigilance with regard to carriers of clandestine immigrants and sanctions against the employers who employ them, are the expression of the solidarity of European countries and a gradual approach to a common immigration policy. No doubt the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the pressure from migration from countries in the South, and particularly the growth of migration from south of the Sahara to Europe transiting through North African countries, encouraged countries in the North to adopt a new security scheme and to construct another strategy with regard to this serious problem.

The adoption in December 2000 of the Eurodac convention on asylum permitted comparison, using a computer database, of fingerprints of asylum seekers and persons who crossed the borders irregularly. Access to this information is open to each Member State of the European Union. European cooperation to develop integrated management of external borders of the Union was defined in The Hague in 2004. In this context, an agency to manage the external borders, called FRONTEX was created.

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The European Council of Brussels 2004 stressed the importance of rapidly doing away with internal border controls, continuing gradually to set up an integrated system to manage external borders and to reinforce controls and supervision of those borders, further to the accession of new countries that would become the European Union’s eastern border on land. These states – Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic States – were invited to effectively reinforce their controls and a programme of the financial aid was set up.

The obligation to hold a visa for nationals of third countries is another form of protection of the European Union from undesired immigration. In fact, visa policy is closely related to the policy of controlling migrant flows. Two fundamental acts govern this subject. They are the regulation determining the list of third countries whose nationals are subject to the obligation of a visa, and the regulation establishing a common model of a visa. The European Council of Brussels of 2004 also recalled that it is appropriate to continue to set up a common visa policy to fight clandestine immigration by means of greater harmonisation of national legislation and procedures for issuing visas in local consular missions. The adoption of a computerised system of control, called SIS (Schengen information system) aligning national data on ‘undesirables’ (clandestine immigrants, refusals of the right of asylum), obliges all European States to refuse the right of residence and to expel them.

The Pact on Immigration and Asylum (2008) repeats Europe’s determination to close its doors to all migrants in an irregular situation (to protect Europe better by controlling its external borders). Two of the five commitments of the Pact refer to the fight against this kind of migration:

Commitment 2 - to control illegal immigration by ensuring the return of illegal immigrants to their country of origin or a country of transit;

Commitment 3 - to make border controls more effective.29

29 The measures taken are:1/ the creation of a real European police at the borders, 2/ finishing the biometric project for visas, 3/ reinforcing the Frontex agency, in charge of coordinating supervision of external borders of the EU. To improve effectiveness, the Frontex scheme of border control will have a dual command for the Southern and Northern zones of the European Union.

It goes without saying that the fight against clandestine migration has been dealt with in reinforced bilateral cooperation between the MEDA countries, particularly the ones in the Maghreb, and European countries. The assaults of emigrants from south of the Sahara on the metal barriers around two towns, Ceuta and Melilla (2002-2003 and October 2005), which got considerable media coverage internationally, and the human tragedies on the high seas, have triggered new efforts in the common fight against clandestine migration. The first responses made by the Spanish and Moroccan authorities were an increase in security: additional barriers were built around the towns of Ceuta and Melilla; border control schemes were reinforced to contain flows of migrants, while increasing measures to escort clandestine immigrants to the border. At the same time, in France, the government put forward the idea of ‘chosen immigration’ that would enable better control of the procedures for access to the territory on one hand, and ensure integration of immigrants on the other. The draft law on “chosen immigration”, no doubt inspired by the violent crisis in the French suburbs in 2005 and a step up in migration flows, was adopted in France in May 2006. It was the basis of bilateral agreements between France and certain countries of departure of migration,30 and constitutes a focal point of the Pact on Immigration and Asylum.

Trafficking and smuggling of human beings constitute the darkest point of migration and, further still, of globalisation. Opening national borders and international markets has led not only to growth in international flows of capital, goods and labour, but to globalisation of organised crime.31 Concerning Europe, migration associated with trade in women and prostitution of migrants from Eastern Europe to the West grew after the fall of the Berlin wall as result of two phenomena that have direct consequences on the situation of women in these countries: the ‘opening’ of borders to countries in Eastern Europe and the pauperisation of the former communist countries.

30 Textos de Casa Árabe www.casaarabe-ieam.es.31 UNFPA, State of the population 2006. A passage to hope, women and international

migration. “p 44.”

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Trafficking and smuggling of human beings are scourges that preoccupy States and many international, regional and national organisations. Europe is sparing no efforts to reinforce instruments for protecting victims of traffickers, establish sanctions against the perpetrators, carriers and employers.

Trafficking of human beings is synonymous to deprivation of freedom and infringement of human rights. People caught up in a network of traffickers are often isolated and their travel documents are stolen. Criminal networks exploit the absence of multilateral migration policies and the absence of cooperation between countries. Traffickers force women and girls into prostitution, the number of unaccompanied minors, both boys and girls, is growing. Figures show that nearly 80% of victims of trafficking are women.

Gaps in national legislation in countries of destination such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden represent one of the obstacles to fighting migration associated with trafficking of women and prostitution. The provisions in these countries go from prohibition of the purchase of sexual services to legalislation of pimping insofar as the prostitution is voluntary.32

Trafficking in migrant women and their prostitution has been covered in vehement speeches in politics and the media that tend to draw the attention of various institutions which consider the subject to be trafficking and not migration movements. Nevertheless, there is an interrelation between migration, trafficking of human beings and prostitution that follows a division based on class, gender and origin.33 Women who are victims of trafficking are usually forced into prostitution and sex tourism, commercial marriages and other ‘female’ activities like domestic work, agriculture and sweatshop labour.34

To protect these women, short-term residence permits were issued to victims of smugglers and traffickers who cooperate with the competent authorities. A proposal for a directive in 200235 provides for a grace period

32 Parliamentary assemblies 2003.33 By Nasima Moujoud and Maria Teixeira. (2010), Migration et trafic de femmes, prostitution.

“Le monde Monday, 3 May 2010.”34 Report of UNFPA, 2006. “p 44.”35 Proposal for a Council Directive on the Short-Term Residence Permit Issued to Victims of

Action to Facilitate Illegal Immigration or Trafficking in Human Beings Who Co-operate with the Competent Authorities”(COM(2002) 71 final - 2002/0043 (CNS))

of 30 days to be granted to the victim to make the decision to cooperate with the competent authorities in question. Within that time, she is put in the hands of an appropriate government organisation or a recognised non-governmental organisation.

The Convention of the Council of Europe on action against trafficking in human beings (2005), covers all forms of trafficking including those practiced within the boundaries of one country, and sets up a monitoring system involving both representatives of ministries, independent experts, in charge of assessing the implementation of the convention and recommending improvements.36

No doubt the informal economy and clandestine employment constitutes a factor attracting clandestine immigration, smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and results in exploitation of persons and particularly women. The Member States of the European Union have undertaken an increasingly strict control of carriers that transport clandestine immigrants and apply severe sanctions to employers who work with labour entering the country illegally or who turn a blind eye to persons who are subject to trafficking. The example of the proposal for a Directive of 16 May 2007 providing for sanctions against employers of illegally-staying third country nationals37 is very significant.

The European Union has also set up various programmes to stop this serious problem that comes to a large extent from Eastern European countries. The programme STOP (trafficking of persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation) targets helping people working in Justice and Home Affairs Departments to collect data and do studies in their fight against criminals. The programme that lasted five years had a budget of 6.5 million ECU (European Commission, 1996) pooled and disseminated data and trained officials in charge of immigration present at the external borders of the European Union.

36 Convention of the Council of Europe on action against trafficking of human beings (2005).37 COM (2007) 249 – 2007/0094/COD

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Other programmes whose objective is to fight violence with regard to women in the Member States take account of violence suffered by migrant women. For example, the Daphne programme was an initiative launched by the European Commission in 1997 at the instigation of the European Parliament to finance measures to fight violence against children, teenagers and women. This programme, managed by the Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security, financed several projects specifically devoted to violence with regard to migrant women. The Daphne programme applied only to projects done by NGOs, associations or local authorities in one of the Member States of the EU or in a candidate country, but the model that it proposes could perfectly well be adapted to future projects for a fighting violence against women in the entire EuroMed region.

The European Union does indeed take considerable interest in trafficking of women who come from Eastern Europe, particularly republics of the former Soviet Union. It finances programmes that encourage recognition of human rights. Specifically it supported a project targeting prevention of trafficking of women in collaboration with Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Similarly, it financed programmes whose objective was to train and find jobs for women living in the countries in question.

Among the projects financed by the Daphne programme that successfully fought violence against migrant women are RESPECT 38 and the WAVE network.39 The latter founded the European Information Centre against Violence, and publishes a newsletter Fempower, several issues of which were devoted to the question of violence against women.40

One might think that with all these measures, migration flows are better controlled and trafficking of human beings is punished. Nevertheless, obstacles remain: lack of data on the questions, gaps in concerted programmes, corruption and the clever resistance of criminal networks that change strategies and tactics frequently, continue to undermine the efforts made, flout existing laws and hide behind legal mechanisms, or purely

38 Schwenken, H. (2005), The Challenges of Framing Women Migrants Rights in the European Union. Revue européenne des migrations Internationales, “21, 1.”

39 WAVE website, http://www.wave-network.org.40 Jane Freedman and Bahija Jamal. (2008), Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et

réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. Études de cas : France, Italie, Egypte & Maroc. “© Copyright 2008 Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’Homme. p 27-28.”

and simply ignore legislation that protects persons exposed to this kind of exploitation. Consequently, to act against waves of clandestine immigrants arriving in Europe and to remove irregular immigrants, measures pertaining to readmission and return have been taken since the 1990s.

An important parameter of European immigration policy consists of effectively deporting people residing irregularly in the territory of the Member States. Consequently, migrants who do not or no longer have the right to reside legally in the European Union must return to their countries of origin voluntarily or, if necessary, under constraint. The major obstacles to expulsion are the difficulty in establishing the irregular nature of the residence and the nationality of the migrant, and obtaining agreement of the State of origin by the delivery of a laisser-passer.

The European Councils have always recommended setting up an eviction policy based on common standards, so that the people concerned are repatriated in a humane way that respects their fundamental rights and dignity. Already in 2000, discussions began on the minimum standards applicable to return policies. The European Commission published a green paper in April 2002 on the subject41 before launching a discussion in the circles concerned on the need for a common policy on return. For humanitarian reasons, voluntary return is preferable to forced return, an idea that is also recommended by the Pact on Immigration and Asylum (2008).

Control over borders and asylum policy have fallen under the scope of intergovernmental decisions (Justice and Home Affairs) since Maastricht in 1992. The Treaty of Amsterdam introduces measures to fight clandestine immigration, including repatriation of people whose residence is irregular. Bilateral admission agreements have been set up long since between European countries and, as from 1991, with non-Community neighbours of the European Union.

41 Green paper on a Community policy on the return of persons in an irregular situation, “COM (2002) 175, April 2002”

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As concerns bilateral admission agreements, they have evolved in stages: the ‘first generation’ readmission agreements were concluded between France and countries with which it shares a border like Germany, in 1960 and the Benelux in 1964. In the 1990s, the ‘second-generation’ readmission agreements were concluded with the objective of making countries of transit (Eastern European countries) bear the brunt of the lack of control at the borders with the obligation to readmit nationals from third states who transited through their territory to get to European countries. The ‘third-generation’ readmission agreement was concurrent with the Treaty of Amsterdam, giving the Community competence for the question of repatriation of irregular residents. Today, readmission agreements and standard clauses are integrated in the association and cooperation agreements with Southern Mediterranean countries. It should be underlined, however, that the only common policy of the European Union is that of readmission.42

Pressure from migration in Europe has been the subject of considerable discussion which resulted in 2008 with the adoption by the European Parliament of the Return Directive, a security-minded approach that does no more than extend the Schengen agreement and the visa system. On one hand, it confirms the displacement of borders since the internal borders disappear for Europeans while the external borders are reinforced for non-Europeans, and on the other hand, mechanisms are put in place to reinforce the walling off of Europe, including a computer data bank, the SIS and the signature of readmission agreements with third Mediterranean countries that make those countries the border control of the Schengen system. This dissuasion strategy contributes to installing stable migration in the countries of the Union and to reducing entries. But here and there, Europe ‘à la carte’ cannot be prevented. The United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland do not take part in the common policy on immigration and asylum, although they have signed the Dublin Agreement on the review of applications for asylum.

As concerns voluntary return, despite the importance given to this by the Euro-Mediterranean partners and European partners, and the advantageous conditions that are awarded, it remains quite small quantitatively.

42 Valentine GREFF, Conventions of Member States of the EU with “third countries” and “countries of origin” tend to restrict migration towards Europe. DESS thesis, Administration du politique Jérôme “VALLUY, 2004 -2005.”

The European Council of Tampere in 1999 proposed increasing aid to countries of origin and transit to facilitate voluntary returns. Special aid (cost of travel of the applicant for the returnee and his family, removal costs, repatriation compensation) has also been granted for a voluntary return. In 2002, proposals change slightly. The expression ‘aid for return’ was no longer used but rather ‘aid for reintegration’. The objective of this policy was to support and follow development of zones with strong emigration of their nationals, in order to reduce irregular immigration. It seems that the co-development touted by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, the French Minister of the Interior, and managed by Sami Nair, has not concretely resulted in the anticipated massive voluntary return.

These programmes for voluntary return do not interest Europe alone – countries of transit are also affected, particularly countries in the Maghreb. The project for the voluntary, assisted return of irregular male and female migrants to Morocco and their reintegration in their country of origin is part of a global IMO programme for voluntary, assisted return.43 The context of this project is the evolution of migration routes in the Maghreb region which have become countries of transit or destination for male and female migrants coming for the most part from Africa south of the Sahara. Nevertheless, only part of these people reach Western Europe – many others in an irregular situation are ‘blocked’ in Morocco, sometimes for several years.

This project proposes an alternative to this critical humanitarian situation by means of the implementation of an effective mechanism for voluntary return. It also responds to growing demand from migrant men and women. Thus, from March 2007 to July 2008, the project assisted 171 irregular migrant men and women. The destination of return was mainly Central and Western Africa.

43 Financed by the Swiss government, it is implemented by IMO in a partnership with the Moroccan authorities and other local partners. This project began in March 2007. It was extended thanks to cofinancing from Switzerland and several other European countries, based on the very positive experience of ODM and humanitarian aid from the DDC; in April 2010, cofinancing with Belgium of a new phase of the project was decided. This gave rise to the second phase of the project that would be co-financed by Switzerland, Norway and other European countries. The next phase of the project (until April 2010) is co-financed by the European Commission. The current phase (up to the end of June 2011) is co-financed by ODM, humanitarian aid from the DDC and Belgium, and targets assistance of more than 500 migrants in transit.

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The people who benefited from the assistance under the project were often young men, but also people in a vulnerable situation (women with children, unaccompanied minors or people with medical problems). 112 professional projects were carried out. Most of the reintegration projects were micro businesses and service micro-projects. From July 2008 to November 2009, thanks to cofinancing by Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, nearly 570 migrants were able to return to their countries of origin with aid for reintegration.

The 2008 pact reiterates the Member States’ determination to fight irregular immigration and to reinforce cooperation to combat criminal trafficking and smuggling of human beings and to organise deportation of immigrants in an irregular situation. On the basis of the “return” directive adopted by the European Parliament on 18 June 2008, the Pact calls for the organisation of flights for joint repatriation under the supervision of Frontex and continuation of the signature of readmission agreements for clandestine migrants with countries of origin and intensifying their fight against trafficking of human beings.

Nevertheless, despite this legal arsenal, the institutional scheme and very strict measures against irregular immigration, South-North population movements persist in varying degrees as is demonstrated by the pressure for regularisation.

“What characterises the situation of a foreigner as compared to a national, is not only the obligation to be in order, but to remain that way and be able to prove it: which is why there is such an obsession with papers”.44

Since immigration stopped in 1974, regularisation has been considered as a tool to regulate migration policy. It attests to the difficulty of applying restrictive provisions rigorously as set down in the law. In fact, immigrants who by and large were workers, have become men and women fleeing poverty and dictatorship in their countries of origin. Europe is no longer in a position to offer them jobs, and consequently decent living conditions, so increasingly drastic laws closing the borders were adopted.

44 Danièle Lochack et Carine Fouteau. (2008), Immigrés sous contrôle. “op cit , p 57.”

As a result, the number of clandestine ‘undocumented’ immigrants began to rise as never before. The call for regularisation becomes a demand by irregular migrants, supported in their stance by NGOs. Decisions on regularisation depend much more on the strategies of Member States than on European migration policy. When Spain, which received more than one third of the immigration into the European Union in 2003, putting it at the top of the list in terms of the annual volume of entries, decided to proceed with two successive regularisations, followed by Italy, the French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy complained that this was an open door to African immigration. The Zapatero government answered that more than half of the immigrants regularised were from Latin America.

The Pact on Immigration and Asylum45 recommends limiting regularisation on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian or economic reasons (Pact, commitment N° 2). Negotiations between Paris and Madrid were stormy, because France wanted to prohibit massive waves of regularisations as applied by Madrid and Rome. But France had to change its position on this question, to keep from upsetting its partners and jeopardising the future of the proposed Pact, which needed a unanimous vote to be adopted.46

The various regularisations that took place in France, Spain and Italy made it clear that a significant number of irregular immigrants were women. Women represented 20% to 30% of the foreigners who were regularised. Most of them came into European countries on a tourist visa. However, during the regularisation campaigns, the criteria concerning women in an irregular situation exercising a precarious job were hard to meet.47 The action carried out by the network RESPECT, with the support of a large trade union (Transport General Workers Union), led to a regularisation procedure for all domestic workers victims of abuse.48

45 Council European Union, 24 September 2008, 13440/08. The Pact is a political document and not a binding legal document. This document presents the main guidelines of the EU policy on immigration, asylum and management of the borders. It is part of and completes the EU effort to develop a common policy in the field of migration.

46 Aicha Belarbi. (2009), La pacte sur l’immigration et l’asile, une nouvelle réglementation pour la gestion des flux migratoire. Programme du BIT pour les migrations internationales, atelier de Formation. “Tunis 28-29 July 2009.”

47 Anderson, B. (2004), The Devil is in the Detail: Lessons to be drawn from the UK’s recent exercise in regularising undocumented workers, M. Levoy, N. Verbruggen & J. Wets (editor), Undocumented Migrant Workers in Europe, Brussels: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Quoted by Jane Freedman and Bahija Jamal. (2008).Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. “op cit p 29.”

48 Ariyadasa, K. (1998), Kalaayan! Justice for Overseas Domestic Workers. “London: Kalaayan.”

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In Italy, the household sector also benefited from exceptional regularisation immediately after the adoption of a law in July 2009 that made irregular residence a criminal offense.49 The government organised an ad hoc regularisation that concerned no fewer than 300,000 people according to official estimates. For employers, the only condition required was an income that would justify using household help or a medical certificate of an elderly person needing nursing care. Employers had to pay !500 for each application for regularisation.50 This regularisation, that was cause for great rejoicing by the people who got it, raised a lot of questions for NGOs and trade unions who did not see why it applied only to nursing aides and household help, while there were other categories of undocumented immigrants working in productive sectors such as the building industry, trade or agriculture. The person behind the regularisation, the Secretary State for the family, Carlo Giovanardi, answered: ”In the government, I am responsible for families and therefore I took into account the situation that concerns millions of families. Other Ministers can extend this regularisation to other categories.”

Concern with managing migration trends began early this century with joint initiatives in countries on the southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean basin. An interesting intergovernmental initiative was set up – this was the first interministerial conference on migration in the western Mediterranean, organised in Tunis in October 2002 (Dialogue 5+5),51 that targeted setting up a context of dialogue and regional cooperation between the Maghreb and Southern Europe. Discussions started up again in October 2003 in Rabat, where emphasis was on the security dimension in the dialogue on migration.52 There was also a multilateral initiative that was set up to define the main points of agreement on migration transiting through the Mediterranean, where 18 European countries and 5 MENA countries, plus the European Commission, the Arab League and the UNHCR met53 for the first time in June 2003.

49 For each control by the police, an undocumented person bears a heavy fine -- up to !10,000 -- and is sent before a judge to be deported on the spot. Badanti and colf are spared.

50 Salvatore Aloïse. L’Italie découvre l’utilité sociale de ses sans-papiers. “Le Monde of 02.08.09”51 Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Malta. Aubarell,

G. (2003), La relance du Dialogue 5+5 : pour un nouveau plan. “in Afkar/Ideas nº1.”52 Tunis Conference:http://www.iom.int/en/know/dialogue5-5/ tunis.shtml Rabat Conference:

http://www.iom.int/en/know/dialogue5-5/ rabat_fr.shtml Intermediary Euro-Mediterranean conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Crete, May 2003)

53 A meeting held in Alexandria in June 2003, coordinated by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

From the European standpoint, ‘illegal’ immigration in the Mediterranean has always been on the agenda. For example, we can recall the bilateral agreement of the Ministers of the Interior (October 2003) between France and Spain, in which both parties agreed to apply jointly to the EU for expenses pertaining to surveillance of the border. On another level, Euro-African conferences, in Rabat and Tripoli in 2006 and Paris in 2008, which initiated reinforced cooperation between the various protagonists, focused more on economic and social development of countries in the South to act on these movements. Cooperation between Member States goes without saying to manage irregular migration, so the conclusions of the Council of July 2007 recommended reinforcing cooperation in the field with various international institutions.

The emergence of the concept of irregular migration and trafficking goes hand in hand with the growing poverty in the countries of Africa, deterioration in the economic and legal situation of women in countries in the former Soviet bloc after 1989, restrictive policies for entering into Western Europe, and the emerging desire for freedom resulting from globalisation. This is also the consequence of deficits in aid to development. “No doubt, for 30 years, development aid confiscated a certain number of prerogatives of women in the economy, business or production. This is because the agents of international organisations favoured control of resoures by men, by dealing exclusively with them, including in fields that traditionally were controlled by women.“54

Employers are the ones who draw the main advantages from irregular migration: it considerably contributes to the economic system insofar as the demographic slump and the growing need for labour with various levels of qualifications, accentuated by the unwillingness of nationals to do certain jobs, considered unpleasant or unworthy, continually boost demand for migration in countries of destination.

54 Françoise Guillemaut, (University of Toulouse Le Mirail), Mobilités au féminin Journées de rencontres internationales, Tangiers, 16 - 19 November 2005, Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).

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“The State recovers with the left hand what it has previously rejected with the right”, which reflects hypocrisy pinpointed by organisations defending human rights. Certain analysts go further still in this thinking, considering that migrants, albeit irregular, are in some ways de facto “members of the national community in virtue of their economic and cultural contributions” and therefore, legally, should be qualified to enjoy certain basic rights.55

On applying a neoclassical approach to the migration phenomenon of irregular immigration, the logic of costs and profits applies. It defines an irregular worker “as a good that can be managed according to market rules in the context of a free market economic system”.56 Despite consecutive official decisions on immigration, the economies of advanced countries continue to express structural demand for cheap, irregular labour. “Certain authors consider that, within these economies, a ‘centre/peripheral’ structure is established.” The centre is composed of highly qualified workers; peripheral activities use a labour force under precarious employment conditions. At the bottom of the ladder, undeclared work supplies this sector that constitutes a call for illegal economic migrants. This is referred to as ‘peripheralisation of labour’.57 The informal economy and clandestine labour are a factor attracting clandestine immigration and leading to exploitation of migrants.

If today, migration in an irregular situation and trafficking of human beings is so prevalent, this is because the gap between rich countries and poor countries is broadening. There is a lack of opportunity and perspectives for young people, and poverty that affects women in many countries makes them particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The difficult economic situation in the countries of origin triggers massive departures of young people and persons in distress who are exploited by organised criminal networks, whether they are in the countries of origin or in the countries of destination. In fact, the insufficient supply of labour in certain countries of destination creates a demand for migrant workers, and when legal migration does not fill this deficit, there is a strong temptation to call on illegal migration and smuggling of human beings.

55 Yao AGBETSE (2004), La convention sur les droits des travailleurs migrants. “op cit, p 56.”56 Idem, p 50.57 Houria Alami Machichi, Migration clandestine et logiques étatiques.

In La migration clandestine enjeux et perspectives. “Rabat, al karam. 2000. Pp 46-76, p 51.”

“Repressive migration policies and the illegal status of women that results in the countries of destination have increased dependence and vulnerability of migrant women with regard to various forms of exploitation and mistreatment.”.58

In this context, irregular migrants do not represent a threat for the labour market, or for nationals. They are recognised by employers and the authorities (Chambers of Commerce). Competition is established to find the poorest, least expensive; when a migrant becomes expensive, he/she is traded for another, with a sword of Damocles over the entire process in the form of promises or expectations of regularisation. Many women in an irregular situation or who are victims of trade in human beings respond to the ever-growing demand for babysitters, care for the elderly, models, hairdressers, dancers and waitresses or maids.

Women constitute a significant proportion of migrants in an irregular situation. Confronted with gender discrimination, they are often obliged to accept the lowest jobs in the informal sector, as domestic help and in the sex industry.59 They are often exposed to exploitation, mistreatment and all sorts of abuse, including health risks and exposure to HIV/AIDS. In many European towns, the phenomenon of sweatshops60 using irregular workers continues to be actively present. By and large men occupy jobs in the building and agricultural sectors, and women are generally integrated into the informal sector, particularly in household jobs, seasonal agricultural, services and certain industries. They are unscrupulously subjected to violation of their fundamental rights, deprived of access to social aid. These women in irregular situations, including those from MEDA countries are obliged to accept jobs without any legal protection, job security, medical cover or social benefits.

58 Parliamentary assembly (2005).59 CCMI. 2005. P 37.60 Sweatshop production, a concept used by R. Ross and K.Trachte. 1990. Global capitalism /

the new leviathan. Syracuse. New York press. To express international transformation of labour trends, they affirm that sweatshops in New York are the logical consequence of globalisation in the clothing sector, and particularly in competition for jobs, focusing on the army of labourers made up of irregular migrants.

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They accept the lowest wages and a workload that is almost inhuman. Women occupy undeclared jobs in the sectors of restaurants, maintenance, household work, and are often isolated from other categories of wage earners, having no adequate contract, they depend to a large extent on the willingness of their employers.

The situation is still worse for women exploited for sexual purposes by organised crime. Women victims of trafficking and smuggling of human beings cannot be considered as ‘illegal’ or ‘legal’ workers, but as victims of gender, class and ethnic exploitation. Already in 1991, a report of the European Commission61 testified to the presence of foreigners, immigrants, documented or not, who accepted to work under conditions well below standard in the countries in question. The report also recognised the existence of an underground economy in southern Europe that proves to be a fundamental pole of attraction for immigrants from non-European countries. In Spain, for example, 70% of migrant women who have a job work in personal care and domestic jobs, types of employment marked by instability of working conditions and limited access to support and to information networks. Migrant women employed in household services live on the edge of society, with no one to help them in the case of violence or abuse by their employers.62 An article published in Le Monde on undocumented labour 63 shows the need for a family help; Italy can no longer do without these workers are referred to as badanti (from badare, ‘to care for’ in Italian); these ‘personal aids’ are generally foreign women from Eastern European countries and are generally undocumented. In a country where the population is ageing, and where social security services and assistance for the elderly have always been defective, these women have become indispensible for families to function, as are household helpers, the colf. While southern Mediterranean women generally exercise the functions of domestic help, caretakers for the elderly tend to come from Eastern Europe, perhaps due to their cultural and religious proximity, their facility in learning or perfecting their Italian and their higher level of instruction.

61 Commission of the European Communities. 1991. “Immigration of citizens from third countries into the southern member states of the EEC”. Brussels 1991.

62 Jane Freedman and Bahija Jamal. (2008),Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. Études de cas : France, Italie, Egypte & Maroc. “© Copyright 2008 Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’Homme. P 19.”

63 Salvatore Aloïse, L’Italie découvre l’utilité sociale de ses sans-papiers. “Le Monde of 02.08.09.”

The elderly are purported to be hard to live with, they need care and someone they can communicate with. An interview with a lawyer working in a migrant assistance centre confirms that badanti are particularly exposed because of their total dependence on their employer.“They live in the family and for the family. They share the bedroom of the person they take care of. A symbiotic relationship takes hold. They have no support, and no getaway. This is a situation of total dependence, not just economic, but from every standpoint”.64

Migrant women in an irregular situation, including those coming from MEDA countries, employed in the household sectors, are often exploited and submitted to acts of violence. The ILO estimates that migrant women in an irregular situation who work in the home have a degree of vulnerability that is not comparable to that of other workers.65 Since they are often employed in private households, any violence and abuse are invisible. UNIFEM reports that “in a study done on employees in foreign households, one person questioned out of two declared that she had been the victim of physical or verbal violence”.66 These various studies attest that the government’s responses to these acts of violence and aggression perpetrated against immigrant women employed in the homes are limited, and often tinged with a refusal to allow these people to benefit from general legislation on employment.67

In a study on the integration of migrant women employed in homes in the European Union, (INTI), the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies studied the case of Italy. A study in the field observed that Italian political decision takers were more interested in the needs of families who made use of immigrant household employees, than in the rights of these employees themselves. The training courses given to household workers cover improvement of their skills and caretaking, rather than information concerning their rights or the possibilities of recourse in case of violence or abuse by their employers.

64 Jane Freedman and Bahija Jamal. (2008), Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. “op cit, p 49.”

65 ILO (2003), An Information Guide: Preventing Discrimination, Exploitation and Abuse of Women Migrant Workers. “Geneva: ILO, p. 30.”

66 UNIFEM (2003), Human Rights Protections Applicable to Women Migrant Workers. “New York: UNIFEM.”

67 Human Rights Watch (2006), Swept Under the Rug: Abuses Against Domestic Workers Around the World. “New York: Human Rights Watch.”

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The report concluded that “women employed in the personal care sector remain invisible for the Italian State; their working conditions are often precarious and they are increasingly exploited, whereas demand, because of an inappropriate healthcare system and the rise in the elderly population, is constantly on the rise”.68

Migrant women in an irregular situation encountered many obstacles for any type of organisation or mobilisation against various forms of violence with which they are confronted. The most significant of these obstacles is specifically that of ‘illegality’ which keeps them living in fear and reticent to be visible in public space. In addition, the type of work they do isolates them in silence and prevents them from gaining access to any kind of support from existing institutions, trade unions or NGOs to recover their rights. Consequently, this precarious economic situation has a direct effect on their social situation, and shows how fragile and vulnerable they are.

Irregular migration of women and migration associated with trafficking of human beings and prostitution are one of the darkest aspects of the inequality between men and women, as many kinds of discrimination and violence are perpetrated against women. Already in 2003, the Parliamentary Assembly expressed its dire concern with the development of this type of migration, which has become a huge, highly organised, international criminal traffic related to exploitation of women.69

However, reliable data on this phenomenon in different regions of the world including Western Europe are rare. Existing information, although incomplete, shows the extent and recent trends in these movements. The social aspects of migration of women in an irregular situation show the main forms of abuse against women: sexual exploitation, arranged marriages and healthcare deficits, abuse that affect their bodies, their psyches and their social lives.

68 Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (2007), Study Visit in Italy November 2007, Report prepared by the INTI Team, report available at www.medinstgenderstudies.org/wp/

69 Parliamentary Assembly. (2003), Migrations liées à la traite des femmes et à la prostitution. Commission report on equal opportunities between men and women. “Doc. 9795. 25 April 2003. Rapporteur: Mme Zwerver, Nethelands, SOC.”

Violence seems to be the fate of migrant women in irregular situations. Violence incurred in their country of origin, violence encountered during their displacement, and violence they must deal with once they have arrived at the threshold of Europe. Violence perpetrated by traffickers, spouses and employers, to restrict this study to these three examples.

The majority of women who emigrate illegally, or wind up in an irregular situation, have generally tried to flee joblessness and under employment, confinement and social constraints that women know in their countries. The majority left voluntarily, as attested by the study of Françoise Guillemaut. “As they do not belong to social classes which have the possibility to have an impact on social organisation or to influence changes in society in their own country, even if they may be educated or qualified, they prefer to leave”. Many of them want to affirm themselves and change the perception that their family has of them, to be recognised as a person who has resources, rather than a non-productive person, which gives them more consideration and even a certain power. Others attest that they had no other means to flee the family project, particularly an arranged marriage. A third category fled to try to do something elsewhere, expressing a desire to travel and not be limited in future projects. In other words, these young women expressed satisfaction with being in Europe, given the living conditions that they left in the country of origin.70

Compared to the violence incurred in the milieu of departure, violence during displacement is as strong or more. During travel as irregular migrants, women are subjected to all kinds of abuse and mistreatment – rape, pregnancies, hunger and disease. Women can be doubly persecuted: by spouses or other men they are travelling with and by border police, who submit them to the same treatment as men, except for pregnant women or women accompanied with young children. Once they arrive in Europe, they might suffer from the treatment in detention centres and police interrogation.

70 Françoise Guillemaut, (Université Toulouse Le Mirail), Mobilités au féminin. Journées de rencontres internationales, “Tangiers, 16 - 19 November 2005, Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).”

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When they start working, the situation may be worse. An International Labour Bureau report (2004) shows that exploitation of migrant workers, particularly undocumented workers and those subject to trafficking of human beings, exists in all fields of informal work all over the world. Workers are held by debts and exploited. In most cases, denunciation of abuse results in a more or less forced return of the person who denounces. Understandably, under these conditions, denunciations are rare. Even if the person is exploited, she often prefers not running the risk of being repatriated.

Towards the end of the 90s, the presence of foreign women on the sidewalks of European towns acted as an alert to the media, public opinion and political decision takers. The phenomenon is perceptible all over Europe, where the proportion of foreign women in prostitution has doubled, from 30% to roughly 60-70% depending on the towns. The question of trafficking has therefore become central.71 The image of migrant woman in public opinion switched from a maid to a prostitute. Immigrant women are accused of increasing the supply of the sex market. Sexual exploitation is the most commonly identified form of trafficking in human beings: about 80% of the cases according to the UNCD databases, economic exploitation constituting most of the remaining 20%. Menial jobs, domestic servitude, forced marriage, removal of organs, begging and adoption and illicit conscription have been reported for women, men and children victims of trafficking.72

Already in the 1980s, Asian studies referred to the demand for immigrant women in the sex business (Lim Lin Lean, 1989), while in Europe, the correlation between female immigration and prostitution dates from the 1990s. After the fall of the Berlin wall a specific form of irregular migration developed in Western Europe, particularly trafficking of women for sexual exploitation whose victims came notably from Eastern Europe. The first studies done on the phenomenon were produced by international organisations fighting the traffic, such as the IMO (International Migration Organisation).

71 Françoise Guillemaut, (Université Toulouse Le Mirail), Mobilités au féminin. Journées de rencontres internationales. “Tangiers, 16 - 19 November 2005, Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).”

72 UNDO Report 2009, p 72.

The European Commission for its part made this aspect of migration one of its major concerns and a priority, notably via the Daphne programme devoted to fighting violence and exploitation of women and children. Many scientific studies that have been published attest to the importance of the phenomenon of prostitution. In a report on a research study73 of migrant women, trafficking and prostitution done in the context of Daphne, sociologist Françoise Guillemaut 74 underlined the very close relations between migration and sex work. She emphasised the paradoxical situation experienced by women concerned: the violence they have undergone and the impact of this reality on their lives enable them to develop experience, skills, independence and empowerment. The author prefers to talk about ‘women’ rather than ‘victims’ or ‘female migrants’, and chooses to use ‘prostitute’ as a verb to underline that this term does not refer to an identity but to an activity, adding that in most cases, the women themselves do not identify themselves as prostitutes. For them, their activity is a means, usually a temporary one, to get out of poverty and earn a living. They do not consider themselves to be migrants, they think of themselves as Albanian, Ecuadorian, Ghanaian, etc.75

In the 1970s in France, migration for sex work was essentially done by transgender and transvestite workers from Latin America. Latin American women and women from Dominican Republic came a bit later into Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Their means of migration was fairly independent and similar to that of men. Algerians began arriving in the early 1990s, particularly after 1992 and the political problems in Algeria. These women were exiled in France after having been reduced to unemployment, losing their job in the administrations or shops because of violence around them. In Marseille, some of them had no choice other than prostitution in the street. The same situation was observed for young Moroccan women who came into Spain and found themselves unemployed. Africans came in two waves.

73 Daphne programme (violence against women) from 2000 to 2004, study done in Austria, Spain, Italy and France. The central idea was to study the phenomena of mobility, prostitution, trafficking of human beings from the standpoint of women’s experience, based on observation in the field, put into perspective with European public policies on these subjects.

74 Françoise Guillemaut, (Université Toulouse Le Mirail), Mobilités au féminin Journées de rencontres internationales. “Tangiers, 16 - 19 November 2005, Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).”

75 Françoise Guillemaut, (Université Toulouse Le Mirail), Mobilités au féminin Journées de rencontres internationales. “Tangiers, 16 - 19 November 2005, Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).”

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The earliest (from Cameroon or Ghana) arrived around 1995 in Italy, France or Spain and very quickly developed strategies to become regularised. More recently, women came from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. They had to leave their country in the 2000s using a smuggler as our borders tightened in Europe. They are young, between 20 and 35. Women from Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Central Europe and the former Soviet republics began to arrive in Europe in the 1990s.76

Prostitution, managed by cross-border criminal networks, took advantage of the context of political and social-economic transformations taking place in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans, on one hand, and the pressure resulting from migration from south of the Sahara to Europe, on the other. Women who arrived in Europe often had debts for the passage, that they had to reimburse. These debts varied with the country of origin, and the service purchased: visa, employment contract, passport, travel, and legal passage of borders, etc. and the type of negotiation. The question of prostitution of foreign women reflects the role assigned to immigrant women in European societies, that of ‘filling the gaps’ created by social transformations of which European women were protagonists.77 As the Italian sociologist Maurizio Ambrosini wrote: “Something analogous to what took place in broad daylight with the household work of the colf and the immigrant residential caretakers also took place in the dark in the streets with the purchase of paid sexual services. In this case too, rich Western demand seems to need to look elsewhere for services unrecognised in social relations that can no longer be proposed to European women”.78 Ambrosini does admit, however, that the analogy between household work and prostitution is not completely valid. Ethnic specialisation on the prostitution market shows in fact that this is not a dichotomy: Western women / non-Western women, since prostitutes come to a large extent from Eastern Europe and Moslem women are rarely concerned. The subject deserves a more thorough analysis that goes beyond the context of the study.

76 Françoise Guillemaut, (Université Toulouse Le Mirail), Mobilités au féminin Journées de rencontres internationales. “Tangiers, 16 - 19 November 2005, Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, Aix-en-Provence, France).”

77 Genre et migration, Giovanna Campani. “Université de Florence 20 p. Migration pdf.”78 Ambrosini, 2005, p.8.

Migrant women in sex work are considered by social and medical workers and institutional officials, to be victims with no decision taking capacity. Francoise Guillemaut challenges that representation, and even calls for a deconstruction of the very idea of trafficking: “by taking an interest in the life experience of women, one discovers a gap between the intentions set down in national laws and international texts and the reality experienced by migrant women in prostitution. These women are ‘entrepreneurs of themselves’. They apply a personal project in migration. Nevertheless they are confronted with many kinds of violence in this migration process and that violence is reinforced by the conditions they experience in the countries of destination; the laws in fact seem to act against them.” In her survey, she underlines that most women were the ones to decide to leave the country. And during their migration process they encountered violence, confinement and material impossibility to exercise any activity other than clandestine household jobs under painful conditions or prostitution (Guillemaut, 2002). However, if most of them did not want to remain in prostitution, nor did they want to be sent back to their home country, whatever the cost. This is one of the reasons that keep them forcibly in situations of domination, clandestine employment or constraint, because under current legislation, they have no other possibilities. Some have left their trade in the sex industry definitively to get married and have a family. Others have remained in the sector, working for themselves, and by and large they send money back to their families in the home country. A few have been able to acquire property or businesses in their country of origin after working for a few years in Europe. This type of activity has enabled them to finance the studies of their children and even to ensure their social mobility and that of their family. From this standpoint, sex work can be envisaged as a strategy or a tactic to emigrate, change in lifestyle or even reverse the relation of structural domination they have always known.

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Violence with regard to migrant women in an irregular situation is very present, not just for those are integrated in the sex business, but also for those living in a couple. Violence in private life can be of two kinds, in marriages arranged by the parents or by Internet, or via the threats of the migrant husband.

Article 23, paragraph 2 of the International Convention on civil and political rights states that “No marriage shall be entered in without the free and full consent of the intgending spouses”. When this consent is lacking, the marriage can be said to be forced, and consequently, it constitutes an infringement of human rights of one spouse or the other. By and large women are the ones who are subject to forced marriages, which implies recourse to violence by the husband or another member of the family. The number of women who are victims of forced marriages is still hard to estimate, because the phenomenon is relatively discrete – the marriage can only be challenged when one of the spouses feels wronged. Many migrant women were misled by criminal networks offering clandestine passage, with beautiful promises of marriage accompanied by the possibility of working in the European eldorado. Others came from the country of origin to join a husband they had never known, creating tension and disputes between the spouses, she may run away, etc. Associations that fight forced marriages observed a growing number of victims.79 These are marriages are contracted to enable the woman to emigrate or for money: the husband in a regular situation contracts marriage with a foreigner and has his bride emigrate under family grouping, in exchange for a certain amount of money or other services. Unlike unconsummated marriages, where the spouses agree to distort the purpose of the marriage, these are convenience marriages concluded when one of the two spouses is sincere and misled by the other. These are the so-called ‘grey marriages’ that have not been the subject of any special legal provisions.

79 Jane Freedman et Bahija Jamal. (2008).Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. “op cit, p 36.”

But since the law of 2003 on immigration in France, reinforced by the law of 2006 concerning the control of validity of marriages, distorting the purpose of marriage is an offense punishable by five years in prison and !15,000 fine. The new French law organises verification of the sincerity of marriage, and the reality of life together before the celebration of unions, before marriages celebrated abroad are transcribed, before the visa is issued for France, and so before any residence permit is issued. There is an annual control at the time of the renewal of a temporary residence permit, before a ten-year residence card can be obtained and before French nationality can be acquired. Discovery of fraud results in withdrawal of acquired rights. So controls are more numerous, red tape and obstacles are put in the path of binational marriages. The campaign against ‘grey marriages’ is therefore one more step backward for freedom.80

Perpetrators of violence against migrant women, often those in an irregular situation, are very often their husbands. Violence within couples can be expressed by physical aggression, rape or sexual violence, harassment, emotional or psychological pressures; violence that is the result of structural inequality between men and women,81 inequality based on social norms, social representations and political and religious discourses. Like other women, but to varying degrees, migrant women, particularly those in an irregular situation, suffer from violence in their homes at the hands of their husbands. They are powerless to cope with this violence, because they cannot react against it, nor denounce it to the police. This violence affects migrant women married to husbands from their country of origin, as well as to marriages with a European. In Spain, France and Italy, people responsible for women’s associations and for refuges have seen a sharp increase in cases of migrant women who marry someone from the host country. To gain access to economic and legal security, to enjoy a certain welfare, these women are exposed to physical and psychological violence of spouses of a different nationality.

80 Mariages gris et matins bruns Source : Le Monde.81 As the action programme of the Beijing conference recalled in 1995: “Violence with regard to

women reflects historical relations of strength that resulted in domination of women by men and discrimination”.

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Certain social workers interpret this violence against women as the result of cultural differences: European natives do not understand the ‘strong personality’ of these migrant women. They married to dispose of services and home care. Their wives, submissive and discreet, are grateful to their husbands for having had them emigrate to Europe and enabling them to benefit from regularisation. What increases the vulnerability of irregular migrant women, and subjects them to violence, is the fact that they have no status, and are dependent on their husbands in the context of family regrouping or companion who uses their clandestine situation to abuse their bodies, their labour or the financial resources they may have .

Immigrant women in an irregular situation do not have access to legal protection in dealing with violence or abuse. They will find it difficult to get help in the case of domestic violence; they hesitate to contact the competent services. They have very limited access to women’s foyers or other structures that are designed to protect women against violence. A PICUM report quotes a study done in Spain: “According to the Catalan Statistical Institute (Institut Català de les Dones), one third of women victims of sexist violence in Catalonia are immigrants. The Catalan Association of separated and divorced women affirms that only women who have a residence permit denounce aggression, and that there is a fairly large group of women living in hell, but who are unwilling to report these aggressions to the police.82

These women who do not enjoy a legal status fear arrest, often rightly so, if they file a complaint against the violent behaviour of their companion. This primacy of administrative law over the human right to protection against violence is clearly a violation of women’s rights, but it is now so widespread that women are afraid to complain of it to the police or any administrative service dealing with acts of violence. At times even, by cynicism or by violence, the husband reports his wife or his common-law wife to the police authorities as being in an irregular situation, a very convenient form of blackmail to be sure that the woman is even more obedient, passive and invisible. In France, the FNSF (fédération nationale solidarité femmes) has observed another phenomenon, which is the confiscation by husbands of the passports of their young wives in an irregular situation so that they no longer

82 Jane Freedman and Bahija Jamal. (2008),Violence à l’égard des femmes migrantes et réfugiées dans la région euro-méditerranéenne. “Op cit, p. 34-35.”

have any possibility to run away. The annual report of the FNSF refers to a growing number of women who are victims of violence and have no access to a legal status, nor any aid enabling them to obtain one. These are generally women married in their country of origin who are victims of violence several months after their arrival in France and whose husbands are unwilling to undertake the steps needed to obtain a residence permit. The number of married women sequestrated after their arrival in France or young women who are victims of fraudulent promises of marriage on Internet for purposes of exploitation is rising.83 Violence has a negative effect on women’s health, and when exercised in a situation of irregular residence, this makes migrant women even more vulnerable.

As concerns health, a distinction must be made between the health of migrant women residing legally in European countries and those in an irregular situation. Although both categories are entitled to healthcare according to international conventions and European legislation, irregular residents cannot claim it because they are not aware of the existence of legislation that protects them, and their clandestine situation does not allow them to demand care, even if they are informed of it. Data on health problems of women from MEDA countries in an irregular situation are not available. Only surveys on small samples or life stories give us an idea on the question.

Because they are young, migrant women in irregular situations are generally in good physical condition. Because they have all resisted problems of displacement, fear, shortages during that trip and mistreatment by smugglers, these women are generally physically and mentally sturdy. The study Santé des nouvelles migrantes 84 (Health of the migrants), done in France in 2006 on a sample of 120,000 people who had obtained their first residence permit less than a year earlier, showed that 54% of the people regularised are women, half of them under 30, and the vast majority live in a couple (75%). The majority of them migrated to accompany or join a spouse or other members of their family. 50% of them lived in Africa, distributed almost equally between the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) and Africa south of the Sahara.

83 61 Fondation Nationale Solidarité Femmes (2007), Des femmes issues de l’immigration. Bilan 2006. “Paris: FNSF, p.15.”

84 L’enquête Parcours et profils des migrants récemment arrivés ou régularisés en France : Santé et précarité (2006). In Santé des nouvelles migrantes 72. DREES.

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17% lived in Asia and 11% in Europe (European Union and the Community of Independent States). They arrived more recently than the new migrant men and express themselves less well in French than the men do. Three-quarters of them have no professional activity. This study confirms that women who got their papers in 2006 consider themselves to be in good health: 87% say they are in excellent health, very good or good health and 11% declared that their health is neither good nor bad.

Their answers are close to those of all women residing in metropolitan France: 85% of migrant women from 20 to 49, versus 82% of women in the general population say that they are in good, very good or excellent health. As for newly migrated men, they have a more positive perception of their health than women, as is true in the general population. Similarly, the probability that a newly migrated woman declares that she is generally in poor health increases with age. But the check-up that is one of the last stages before obtaining a residence permit showed a more marked prevalence of certain pathologies such as obesity, diabetes or tuberculosis. New migrants who arrived during the year of the survey declared that they were in better health than the ones who had arrived previously. This observation has already been noted in other countries like Canada. The geographic origin is also a determinant element in the perception of migrant women’s health. Women originating from Africa more particularly from the Maghreb declare that they are in better health than other migrants. On the other end of the scale, migrant women coming from Asia give the most negative perception: 33% declared that they are in average, poor or very poor health. The feeling of isolation that these women undergo, can give a negative perception of their state of health. As for reimbursement of health care, nine migrant women out of ten declare they benefit from it. Women who came to join their French spouses are the ones who most often declare that they benefit from reimbursement, followed by those who came to join an immigrant spouse, respectively 95% and 80%. 15 months after their arrival, only 2% of women have no social cover, but 5% declared that they had had to give up certain kinds of health care.85

85 Santé et précarité. Santé des nouvelles migrantes 72 Organisme Responsable De La Fiche DREES.

Despite this positive aspect, it goes without saying that irregular migrant women who generally occupy the least qualified jobs, and in sectors of activity subject to strong pressure and strong pollution on the job, are more exposed to risks of certain diseases. When they are not working, they are particularly subject to malnutrition and certain shortages that are dangerous to their health. But they are most vulnerable when it comes to protection of reproductive health. If they monitor their pregnancies, the care is of poorer quality than that given to legal migrants or Europeans. Inequalities of treatment as concerns perinatal events is flagrant. Administrative and financial obstacles, difficulties in communication make it harder to have access to care for this part of the population. Fear and anxiety about confronting the authorities haunt these woman and prevent them from benefiting from various health services to which they are entitled. The role of NGOs remains important – they are the ones that provide emergency care to women in distress, women who are ill or pregnant.

The AIDS epidemic has come to the fore in the relation between population movements and health. Migrants and particularly migrant women are particularly exposed to this infection, more so than persons who do not travel. Women are also the most vulnerable due to the many situations of physical violence and sexual abuse that they must face, and all cases where sex is used as a means of transaction or survival.86 Data on AIDS at our disposal do not concern migrant women in an irregular situation specifically – they try to show the amplitude of the disease with migrant women in general. Foreigners in France make up 6% of the population but represent 18% of seropositive people (Lert and Obadia, 2004). Nearly one seropositive woman out of three is a foreigner. The breakdown of cases of AIDS by gender is different between the French and immigrants. Women represent 23% of cases of AIDS among people born in France, but 51% of cases among those born in the Maghreb and 60% of cases of those born in Africa south of the Sahara. In addition, social-economic data that make a distinction by nationality indicate that foreign women are more systematically unemployed and/or living in conditions of social precariousness.87

86 Jennifer Klot, VIH/SIDA, Genre et sécurité, social. Lettre du Centre Régional d’Information et de Prévention du Sida N°74. “CRISPS March 2005.”

87 Migrant women and HIV/AIDS in the world: an Anthropological Approach. Acts of the Round Table organised on 20 November 2004 in UNESCO – Paris. Studies and reports, special series No. 22. Cultural policies and intercultural dialogue department. “UNESCO, 2005. http://unesdoc.unesco.org p 48.”

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Two round tables organised in 2003 and 2005 88 on the subject “Migrant women and HIV/AIDS in the world: an anthropological approach” stressed that throughout the world, women who are infected are a growing proportion since the beginning of the epidemic. They now represent half of the people living with HIV/AIDS. In Africa south of the Sahara, 57% of people living with HIV/AIDS are women, and the proportion is still higher for young women. Biological, economic, social and cultural vulnerability combine to explain the situation of exacerbated risk with regard to the pandemic. “Migrant women, in addition to the difficulties associated with the condition of women, are at a higher risk due to the fact of their special living conditions: change in lifestyle, new encounters, modified sexual practices, man/woman relations brought into question”.89 With regard to ‘modes of contamination’, the surveys done in France attest that heterosexual contamination predominates now for women of North African ‘nationality’ (83% of cases diagnosed in 1997, whereas the use of drugs concerned only 17% of cases diagnosed). This confirms the hypothesis that contamination by the spouse, inside the couple is prevalent particularly for women from the Maghreb for whom submission to male orders and control continues, despite the tokens of liberation that these women may show in their migration situation.

As concerns the use of drugs, migrant women, and particularly those from the Maghreb seem to be essentially spared. The use of heroin particularly affected young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the 1980s where it took hold in the context of failure in school and professional discrimination, etc. Visibility of the epidemic is greater in developments in the suburbs where immigrants originating from the Maghreb are segregated to large extent. In response to this deficit, the first association of Maghreb ‘Mums’ was created in Marseille in the mid-1980s. The objective was to “bring down taboos about injection of drugs”.90 They were first able to express themselves on the question of AIDS based on their social status as ‘mothers’ and the risks that their children, particularly their sons, could run.

88 Migrant women and HIV/AIDS in the world: an Anthropological Approach. Acts of the Round Table organised on 20 November 2004 in UNESCO – Paris. Studies and reports, special series No. 22. Cultural policies and intercultural dialogue department. “UNESCO, 2005. http://unesdoc.unesco.org”

89 Katerina Stenou, Lettre du Centre Régional d’Information et de Prévention du Sida N ° 74. “CRISPS March 2005. www.lecrips-idf.net/lettre-info/lettre74.pdf”

90 Femmes migrantes et VIH/sida dans le monde : une approche anthropologique. “Op cit, p 51.”

There are few drug addicts and seropositive women among the immigrants from MEDA countries. Hospital doctors, social workers or close relations of seropositive persons encountered for the research project undertaken by UNESDOC and UNESCO on the subject underline the particular social condition of women drug addicts. The response of the founder of the movement ‘mothers of disaster’ bears witness to this voluntary invisibility of seropositive drug addict women. (In families, it’s as if they were dead -- no one talks about them; often they leave on their own. Finally, it’s true that there aren’t a lot of girls in these circumstances; in the neighbourhood you might find one who’s going through the housing development, but just one, or none at all. We have no cases of girls who were treated by our association.”

The situation analysed shows the complexity of the processess to be set up to protect migrant women, and the challenges involved in behaviours that could have a real impact on reducing the violence perpetrated against migrant women.

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Irregular migration is a ‘total social phenomenon’ with many ramifications from the social, economic and political standpoint. In many ways it constitutes a human tragedy. Throughout the entire process (recruitment, travel, arrests, detention and repatriation, residence with irregular status), human rights generally are not respected and women who are involved in the process are subjected to exploitation in several ways; they are persecuted and mistreated before their regularisation by the host country.

European legislation is part of a broader context of international law whose objective is to protect human rights. No doubt, the Charter of the United Nations encourages universal, effective respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. It also proclaims that everyone has the right to recognition of his legal personality in all places, that all human beings are equal before the law, and can invoke equal protection of the law without distinction.

The fight against clandestine entry and trafficking of persons is also among the first priorities on the agenda of the European Union and other European bodies, including the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Migration Organisation, the Interparliamentary Union, and several specialised institutions. These instruments tend to preserve human rights of migrants in a regular or irregular situation.

Despite progress in legislation, the real situation of migrants, particularly migrant women in irregular situations, is vulnerable and very precarious. The world policy of repression of migration – particularly irregular migration – increases inequalities, thus serving the interests of neoliberalism by providing a helpless, docile, inexpensive labour force that can be dismissed at will. It also introduces disparities in the ranks of migrant women, and between migrant women and local women, thus reinforcing the international division of female labour which is an obstacle to female solidarity and jeopardises the basic principles of feminism in the common struggle against domination and patriarchy.

Migrant women in an irregular situation from MEDA countries generally arrived in Europe by legal means, particularly family grouping. With the help of the residence of their spouse, they think they can easily be regularised. But illegal residence exposes them to many forms of exploitation and abuse by the spouse, the companion, employers, plus fear of being arrested and repatriated. Work for irregular migrants who arrived alone for economic reasons is generally precarious, and even risky and poorly paid, such as housework, the sex industry or prostitution.

Closely related to migration flows, trafficking and smuggling human of beings also concern women to a large extent, most of whom come from Eastern European countries and a very small proportion of migrant women from MEDA countries; the number subject to smuggling and trafficking of human beings, and the number of those who emigrate undercover, are still very small. Women fight to obtain a visa, go into debt to pay for the air ticket or the sea crossing and organise their reception in the country of destination.

The vulnerability of migrant women in dealing with violence, exploitation and discrimination represents one of the key problems that the states in the North and South of the Mediterranean must face today, particularly since immigration policies in the countries of destination plan to grant more rights and opportunities for regularisation of workers in male sectors of activity than in sectors that traditionally provide female employment. Migrant women in an irregular situation will continue to live in a situation characterised by vulnerability and precariousness; they will continue to be exploited economically and physically and sexually abused. These victims of trafficking human beings are particularly exposed to this type of violence given that they are completely dependent on the traffickers who supply them with counterfeit papers and force them to work in the sex industry. They are exposed to the risk of infectious diseases, about which they are not sufficiently informed, particularly sexually transmittable diseases and AIDS. In any case, many women can also contract these diseases in the context of their marital relations.

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Women, more often than men, undergo the negative effects of migration, whether in the region of origin when their men leave, in travelling when they emigrate clandestinely, and in the country of destination where they have great difficulty getting their papers and being integrated on the labour market. Measures should be taken to save the lives of women by offering better access to information about specific risks with associated clandestine migration, the problems they generally encounter when they fall into an irregular situation, and the rights that protect them.

No doubt, migration schemes differ when they apply to men or to women, but it is important to realise that the impact is often radically different, and that migrant women on the whole are more vulnerable. However, women can also contribute to changing modern migration in a positive way. This is why the countries of origin, transit and host countries should take gender into consideration in their migrant policies, so that an analysis of the respective effects of migration on men and on women can be done, before any decision is taken, in order to take advantage of the specific skills of women and to protect them from abuse.

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Introduction ....................................................................................... 379

1. Conclusions .................................................................................... 380

1.1. Growing concern for female migration ..............................................380

1.2. Multi-dimensional process of female migration to Europe .............382

1.3. The need for a gender approach to European policies ....................385

1.4. Impact of migration on gender equality ................................................385

2. Recommendations .......................................................................... 386

2.1. Understand and act on factors that prompt women to emigrate .............................................................................................386

2.2. Reactivate the synergies between female migration and develop ............................................................................................387

2.3. Respect gender equality rights in migration ......................................388

2.4. Develop studies and statistics .............................................................388

2.5. Maintain an ongoing dialogue between the countries of origin and of destination ...................................................................... 388

To cross the history of women in general in the Euro-Mediterranean region with that of migrant women is to embark on an immense field and engage in an essential debate on the condition of women in the region, but also on their place in society and their role in the social transformation process in the countries of the region.

As shown in this study, the situation of migrant women has certain specific features precisely where patriarchal practices, which are reflected in family legislation, maintain huge gender inequality, and where various forms of violence are committed against women (excision, honour crimes, etc.) in the name of tradition. In spite of this obvious burden of the patriarchal tradition brought to bear on the condition of women, most migration policies and rules do not always include the gender dimension.

In recent years, such policies throughout the world and in Europe have focused particularly on the migration flows and border controls within a framework of security and the fight against terrorism, as well as the de facto condition of migrant women. Statistics nonetheless show that women henceforth represent more than 50% of the migrant population in the European Union. Moreover, more and more scholarly studies have revealed the impact of the patriarchal tradition on their movements, their substantial contribution to the social and economic development of the Member States and the countries of origin, and the fact that they are maintained in a rather marginal socio-economic position in these societies. All these elements consequently plead for integrating the gender dimension in the approach to migration policies and analyses of international migration.

This study on female migration from MEDA countries to Europe is based on a wealth of existing documentation. Without any claims to being exhaustive, it has endeavoured to gauge the economic, social, political and cultural conditions that drive more and more women to migrate to Europe and the conditions they encounter in the immigration countries. In spite of the diverse situations in MEDA and EU countries discussed in this study, we have identified some common traits and certain convergences of the causes of female migration and migration policy trends regarding women.

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We have reached four main conclusions: the growing concern for female migration, its multi-dimensional nature, the gender approach in European and MEDA policies, and the impact of migration on equality between men and women.

In a subsequent step, we shall outline a number of policy recommendations to draw the attention of decision-makers to the need to focus on the situation of women, and to include the gender dimension in the approach to international migration and in the recommended measures. The purpose of these recommendations is moreover to promote the condition of women within the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

Migration from MEDA countries to the European Union cannot be understood without the historical context of the region and the relations between the States, and without gauging the policies for managing the successive migration flows in recent decades.

The characteristic feature of the region is the constant concern and even anxiety of the States on both sides of the Mediterranean about the uncontrolled population movements. On the one side, the European States are coping with migration flows by developing a global, common approach to migration. Circular and temporary migration is emerging as an alternative which would address the cyclical demand for labour according to needs and qualification, whilst putting an end to populating migration that requires States to adopt integration policies that are difficult to implement. On the other side, in the MEDA countries, which have now become transit and immigration lands, the States are concerned about maintaining the colossal remittances from migrant workers and about consolidating the ties with their diaspora. Their policies tend to enact a legislative framework for the entry, stay and access of foreign nationals to the labour market, and the fight against illegal migration.

The migration of women from MEDA countries to Europe, as the destination of choice, particularly because of the geographic proximity, is an irreversible process.

More educated, better informed about the economic situation of their countries, and of the benefits that they can enjoy in Europe, in particular as regards gender equality, these women opt to emigrate without breaking the ties with the countries of origin. Such migration is likely to continue for as long as the wealth and development gap between countries on opposite sides of the Mediterranean and the gender inequality in the MEDA countries persist, and as long as the democratisation process of societies stammers and precarious governance prevails.

Furthermore, world developments in the supply and demand of labour and the increasingly high consumer aspirations are factors that contribute to heighten the need of gainful employment of women, because households can no longer make do with one salary only. This has led husbands, fathers and brothers to reconsider the employment of women as an honourable means of getting their family out of poverty, going as far as accepting, and evening encouraging the mobility of women and of admitting their freedom to move.1

Nowadays, women come across as the necessary buffers to the underdevelopment and the economic crisis that is rampant in different countries. They provide real support to the family economy, and are compelled to embark fully on the labour market, to work in different sectors, and to emigrate in order to find a better paying job.

In future, such migration risks increasing because of climate change which will have a direct effect on migration from Sub-Saharan Africa and Maghreb. More specifically, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, the MENA region will not be spared, and Morocco will suffer serious droughts and sea level rises.

1 This remark can be applied to all MNCs. The Arab Human Development Report 2002 is unequivocal on this issue.

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The most pessimistic scenario foresees frequent flooding causing the deterioration of coastal infrastructure, the loss of arable land, poverty, and consequently, even more sizeable population movements.2

Women have always been very present in the migration process of the Mediterranean, although they have been glossed over in studies on the subject because labour migration and the sectors concerned fell essentially under the male purview.

The definitive establishment of migrant families pushed women to the foreground and raised new social questions such as the education of the children, access to housing, successful school performance, and the integration of migrant women in the labour market. The migration of more skilled women, seasonal women workers and illegal women migrants has been in vogue since the 1980s.

Migrant women from MEDA countries to Europe come, in various proportions, from all the countries of the region. They have followed nearly similar migration routes and their stories tend to converge inasmuch as they stem from Arab, predominantly Muslim countries. Their experiences vary depending on their legal status (migrant women joining their partners under family reunification programmes, studies, independent economic migrant women or undocumented migrant women). Migrant women from Maghreb in Europe account for the highest and oldest proportion. France is the preferred country of destination, followed by Spain and Italy, where Moroccans constitute the first community. Female migration from Mashreq seems more recent and less important compared to the number of women from Maghreb. Economic migration by women on their own is still very limited from this region.

2 Economic and Social Council Communication presented by Mrs Claude Azéma, on behalf of the Department of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. Office session of 20 September 2005.

Upon arriving in the European Union, migrant women are usually faced with various difficulties, the most important one being that of language and lack of knowledge of the legislation and institutions of the host countries. They also run into all sorts of discrimination in terms of pay, working conditions (arduous and poorly paid jobs), the equivalence of diplomas and drop in status, by taking up low-skilled and low paying jobs in the service sector (catering, industrial cleaning, care provision, etc.).

For their part, women from a migrant background and often European citizens are often faced with discrimination and many stereotypes about their Arab or Muslim origin. Racism and xenophobia can cause all sorts of discrimination. In spite of such difficult and complex situations, migrant women from MEDA countries are valuable resources for the countries of destination and of origin alike. There are many positive aspects that ensue from the migration of women, that can be summarised as four forms of capital: economic, political, social and symbolic.

The neo-liberal globalisation has brought about a global transformation of the labour market. The employment of women in countries in the South is closely related to what is happening in the countries of the North and the new needs of the labour market.

Migrants constitute a real workforce committed to the economic and social development of their country of residence and their country of origin through the remittances, donations, and aid that they send to their families. The remittances by the first generation of migrants were rather limited because of the lack or low level of income. The younger generations continue to send funds to their families. The last poll organised by the Council of the Moroccan Community abroad (known by the French initials CCME) attests that in spite of their young age, 43% of those interviewed stated that they provided financial support for a member of their family in Morocco.

Furthermore, women migrants invest as much as the men in personal projects, in the purchases of a home or land, and participate in essential economic and social projects.

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Working migrant women, and in particular highly skilled women, participate in the transfer of technologies to their countries of origin. They get involved in the training of young people, for instance, especially young girls and women, and participate in research, consulting and technical assistance networks.

They also support the networks of developers and investors between the countries of residence and of origin. This social capital is strengthened by the creation of trans-national and regional associations that develop production cooperatives involving women from certain villages and initiate them in business management.

The engagement of migrant women in the political parties in the countries of residence, and their assumption of political responsibilities at local, national or governmental level are confirmed increasingly, all the more so as their aspirations to promote democracy and respect for human rights in their countries of origin continue to gain momentum. These women are politically motivated to get their countries of origin out of the political centralisation and oligarchic power that continue to be rampant, to support women to access decision-making positions, and give impetus for the implementation of international conventions, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The feminisation of migration has had major repercussions on the life of migrant women in terms of social and cultural changes, both in the regions of origin and in the countries of residence of such women. Migration contributes to profound changes, particularly in the occupational life and in the intra-family relations of migrant women through the integration and constant redefinition of standards, values and social behaviour.

The EU is a major player in charting migration policies that do not focus solely on opening the internal borders and on the protection of external borders. The Union shares a common concern with MEDA countries for a better management of migration flows and for optimising the effects of migration on their societies.

The global approach to migration adopted in the last ten years reaffirms the conviction that a harmonised and efficient migration management is needed.

It consists of organising legal migration whilst combating illegal migration, and of endeavouring to create synergies geared to connecting migration and development. Such an approach can assume its true significance only through a close partnership between the countries of origin, transit and destination, the effective integration of the gender dimension in European migration policies, and the respect for international law.

Europe is distinguished throughout the world today by the interest it shows and actions it takes for gender equality and its unwavering concern to achieve parity between men and women in all sectors of the economy and in politics. This situation is the result of a long struggle by European women, of what has been at times a turbulent history against the patriarchal tradition which still lives on in social and political practices and institutions.

For migrant women, Europe often represents a world of freedom, independence, equality and individual rights. This aspiration for freedom and equality is thwarted by the status reserved for them in immigration societies. As underscored in this study, most migrant women are concentrated at the bottom of the employment ladder in the tertiary sector, where they are employed in odd jobs, part time or temporarily, under what are often arduous conditions and below average wages.

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Furthermore, in northern or southern Mediterranean, women tend to assume domestic and family responsibilities. Two-thirds of European men, for instance, continue to rely entirely on women (their mother, sister, wife or companion) for all day-to-day tasks. This unequal distribution of domestic labour obviously has repercussions on the respective availability of men and women in the occupational sphere. Thus, ‘the new man’ touted in the media in recent years turns out to be fiction.3

Migrant women from MEDA countries represent a pool of often unused labour and skills for Europe. To capitalise on the economic and social potential of migrant women for the development of the countries of residence and of origin, it is necessary, and even urgent, to introduce a number of measures in order to support migrant women with this task.

People migrate to the European Union for all sorts of economic, social and political reasons. The economic motives seem to predominate nonetheless. Population movements are generated by the vicious circle brought about by poverty and political repression. Migration is geared to the nearest region, which is Europe, all the more so as the countries in the Gulf are closing their doors to the Arab population, preferring a more docile and undemanding workforce from Asia (Thailand, the Philippines, etc.).

As indicated in the study, the economic and social situation in the countries on opposite sides of the Mediterranean is characterised by major economic, social and cultural inequalities. This generates a very strong migration trend

3 The salient characteristics of the help offered by men for domestic work in Europe consist of avoiding the most constraining tasks and preferring those that occur outside the boundaries of the domestic and family space. Thus, nearly 60% of European men who help with domestic tasks do the shopping (which moreover enables them to keep direct control of the ‘family’s purse strings’), whereas only 30% participate full-time in housekeeping and cooking. The contribution of men to domestic work is limited to ‘occasional help’ for women who thus remain responsible for the proper running of the household, and the coordinators of ‘aid’ that different family members and domestic staff may provide from time to time. M. Kempeneers et E. Lelièvre, Famille et emploi dans l’Europe des douze, Eurobarometre 34: Mode de vie dans la Communauté européenne.

from low-income countries to the rich countries of Europe. The migration of women from MEDA countries to Europe follows the same trend.

The best way to control the migration flows in the region is to support the economic development of emigration countries. This entails not only encouraging circular migration and facilitating remittances by migrants to their country of origin, but also of increasing appropriate development programmes (only Sweden and Norway devote to development the equivalent of what was decided by the United Nations, i.e. 0.7% of GNP).

For their part, MEDA countries must develop their economies, create more decent jobs and a political and democratic climate conducive to keeping people in their country of origin. The EU Member States must support the development efforts of these countries.

The education and training of women from MEDA countries constitute essential factors for integration in development and aid projects geared to freeing women from the family yoke. The support for such measures should help them decide about their own lot and to choose the social networks on which they wish to rely (family or non-family) for their plans for life.

The role that migrant women play for the development of their country of origin and the eradication of poverty is becoming increasingly more important.

Remittances by economic migrant women in particular are constituting an increasing share of the family and state budget and make a major contribution to supporting and improving the living conditions of the families that have stayed behind. In certain cases, they constitute a pillar for the education of the girls. This attests to the intensive contribution of the diaspora to the development of the countries of origin. The female diaspora should be encouraged to promote and contribute to the development of the country of origin by sending funds and be investing in development projects. This requires the pertinent and adapted strategies from the countries of origin, and the introduction of measures to facilitate and reduce the cost of sending remittances in the countries of residence.

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It is time for migrant women to benefit from European legislation and policies on gender equality. In the Euro-Mediterranean policy, the EU should impose clauses relating to gender equality as a criterion for obtaining funding for projects. Gender mainstreaming should be generalised.

Combating violence against migrant women must be an integral part of European policy. To be sure, violence against women is a structural phenomenon, but tolerance of and silence about all forms of violence perpetrated by men against migrant women must be denounced.

The lack or shortfall of reliable data on migrant women has been widely reported. Making up this shortfall is becoming urgent in the countries on both sides of the Mediterranean. Statistical tools must be developed to count with precision the real numbers and flows of women migrants so as to help chart a policy to manage the migration flows taking national and regional specific features into account.

Managing female migration is a complex process that requires a regional and global approach, taking into consideration the interests of migrants, countries of origin, of transit and of destination. The bilateral approach has shown its limits. Policymakers must appreciate the fact that human mobility is a component inherent to economic, cultural and political development, and that migration contributes to development, thereby requiring greater opening, exchange and transparency in the treatment of migration questions.

It has been universally recognised that the movements of people across borders tend to strengthen the inter-dependence between countries and communities and to contribute to ethnic and cultural diversity. Beyond the transfers of qualifications, skills and knowledge, they stimulate economic growth and development and create new prospects and future projects for the populations.

The creation of a Euro-Mediterranean area tends to reinforce interactions between the two sides of the Mediterranean. The development of this area is inconceivable without participatory democracy and without real Mediterranean citizenship, and participation, empowerment and dialogue between the populations. At stake is the credibility of the very foundations of the EU and of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, which must be pursued for the benefit of the people, to promote development, protect the fundamental rights and individual freedoms, and establish real gender equality as a condition sine qua non for participatory democracy.

The Mediterranean cannot be turned into an area of peace and stability by men alone or by the countries of one side of the sea only. The Mediterranean needs all its stakeholders to bridge the gap between North and South and to reduce social inequalities. Men and women must commit themselves to move forward together, engage in solidarity to secure the dignity of men and women in the region and to maintain justice, peace and security.

The construction of the Mediterranean of tomorrow must take into consideration migrant men and women as a factor for progress, development, and freedom, by proceeding to an effective implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women signed and ratified by all the States of the Mediterranean, and by signing the Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families.