Invandrarkvinnor och medborgarskapsbegreppet i Sverige
en studie av integration ur ett feministiskt perspektiv
The official Swedish interpretation of the concept of citizenship is based on the social-liberal concept of citizenship. According to feminist critique, this interpretation of the concept contains male norms that lead to the exclusion of several groups from full citizenship. There is also a corresponding feminist critique which holds that in the womens´ movement and gender research there are strong norms as well, especially in the form of ethnocentrism. Also, the image of immigrant women in public debate is being questioned and the critics here raise the question of the responsibility of the society for integration. Swedish research on citizenship has focused very little on the situation of immigrant women, and this essay aims at helping to fill this empirical gap. In order to do so, a number of interviews with immigrant women living in Sweden are conducted in order to study how they experience their situation as citizens. These interviews support the view that, in spite of formal rights and possibilities, the citizenship of immigrant women isn´t fully successful. A number of factors in different areas and levels are obstacles to these womens full usage of their citizenship.