Migrant women in Italy:invisible, exploited and discriminated against

Of foreigners residing in Italy at least half they are women;in 2021, approximately 2.6 million women with foreign citizenship were registered, a number equal to 50.9% of the entire foreign population resident in our country.Since the 1970s, women have begun to arrive in Italy with an emancipatory migration project in mind.To date, however, the well-being and rights status of foreign women in our country are seriously compromised, as illustrated bylatest report of the Idos Study and Research Center.

To understand women's rights in Italy today, an intersectional approach is necessary, that is, having to consider the multiplicity of aspects that are part of our identities and the ways in which these intertwine, creating disadvantages or privileges.Intersectionality is based on the assumption that discrimination against non-white women, LGBTQIA+ and disadvantaged class subjects is multiplying;it was the African American activists who forcefully stated that there are multiple hegemonic systems to be countered.While on the one hand migration studies continue to have a “gender blind” approach, On the other hand, the world of feminism itself often neglects this aspect, leaving the condition of foreign women in a corner, where it is difficult to clarify.Human rights, as we know them today, were conceived as universal and complementary and are only such if everyone enjoys them.

Hospitality on a human scale  

The first of the areas in which an integrated gender approach is still missing is the legal one, of reception, which indeed clashes with the increasingly stringent, oppositional and security-related European migration policies.As Francesca De Masi, vice president of the social cooperative BeFree, writes in her contribution Female migrations in Italy, paths of affirmation beyond vulnerabilities, the gender approach involves the "deep consideration of all those variables that weigh on the lives of women as such, and which bring with them stories of discrimination, stereotyped roles, violence, oppression".And in the case of migrant women it involves "multiple and simultaneous oppressions".International law, precisely because it is increasingly oriented towards the human rights based approach, must take into account the situation of extreme vulnerability that structurally characterizes the female condition.

International refugee law has also established itself in Geneva Convention of 1951 on the image of the male refugee, not taking into consideration the requests of migrant women or treating the gender issue as a "special case";it was the feminist movements of the 70s and 80s that shook international politics.During the women's rights conference Nairobi in 1985, which decreed the birth of global feminism, the voice of the activists was heard by demonstrating the need to adapt rescue, reception and assistance programs "to the specific needs of women and children", as well as the need for the application of international law of refugees “on the basis of equality among all refugees”;Furthermore, politics was faced with the need to define policies to respond to the serious difficulties and multiple discriminations that migrant women encounter on their migratory journey to the destination countries, a topic that is still open today.

Despite the feminist effort to enter the international scene, the road is still uphill.The most recent decision on women's rights and protection against systemic violence is the one contained in directtEU VAT approved on February 6, which provoked numerous criticisms from feminist circles for having emptied the meaning of the concept of consensus and rape.Furthermore, and contrary to the general enthusiasm of European leaders, it is the clear example of the lack of an intersectional gender approach.The provision, in fact, excludes migrant women from protection privilege once again the control approach over that of protection.According to documents seen by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), the final agreement does not guarantee that migrant women without documents can lodge complaints against abuse without risking deportation.This prediction is particularly significant for Italy, since it is often the country of first arrival on the Mediterranean and Balkan route, which deals with rejections or administrative detentions.

Rape and consent:the European failure on the directive against gender violence

“This is a clear message to the whole Union:we take violence against women seriously,” she said declared the Irish MEP and co-rapporteur Frances Fitzgerald.The directive was created with the aim of establishing a series of measures to protect women against forced marriages, sexist harassment online and genital mutilation.Evidently, not foreign women, who are also those most subject to this type of violence.While there is no reliable estimate of the number of undocumented women in Europe, there are tens of thousands of them, according to Picum.

In particular, the agreement it would remove a paragraph of Article 16, which was at the heart of the European Commission's initial proposal, to ensure that no personal data on victims of abuse, including resident status, would be shared by police with border authorities.This would have protected undocumented women from being detained and deported after reporting abuse.However, a non-binding formula is foreseen which invites Member States to ensure that migrant victims "are not discouraged from reporting and are treated in a non-discriminatory way".Who would report violence and abuse if they risked being locked up and expelled instead of receiving support and protection? complaint Louise Bonneau, advocacy officer at Picum.The exclusion of an entire group of women from protection and justice is in clear contradiction to the Istanbul Convention, to which the Union has been bound since October 2023, and requires its signatories to ensure that all women are treated equally, regardless of their residency status.This agreement would also contradict the EU's own rules on victims' rights (Victims' Rights Directive) and data protection (General Data Protection Regulation), both of which provide rights and protections that apply to everyone without discrimination.

Also in light of the latest legislative reforms, from the European Pact on Migration to the constant attempts to externalize borders also by Italy, it is clear that to reinvigorate the institution of international protection it appears essential to refocus public discourse on experience - also - of foreign women and the resulting awareness:There is no "safe" country for women, and for this reason they must be welcomed and guaranteed protection, applying international conventions.

Foreign women doubly penalized at work

A few days ago a was published item on the Sun 24 Hours on the state of female employment, always a sore point for gender equality in Italy, and on the judgment of Italians themselves.The picture is, without too many surprises, alarming and the overall opinion on employment rates, access to work, disproportionate domestic work and work-life balance gives a negative balance, especially according to women.Unfortunately, Italy remains one of the European countries with the lowest female employment rate;the situation of foreign women it is even more dramatic.

Underpaid, invisible, exploited:the difficult access of women to the world of work

As told by Idos, which also monitors the trend of the job market for foreign people in Italy, women and men with a migratory background have greater difficulty in finding regular and stable employment.The difference between Italian citizens and foreigners is not only in their employability, i.e. the possibility of finding a job, but it is greatly magnified if we talk about the quality of the work.According to theEurostat the overqualification rate in Italy reaches 48 percentage points, second only to Greece.This means that for a foreign person, the course of study, the desires for achievement or one's inclinations are often irrelevant.About 48% of foreign citizens are overqualified for their jobs.The political choices that Italy has made regarding immigration, according to Idos, have triggered "a strong demand in the lower strata of the employment structure, according to a process that has ended up leveling the foreign workforce downwards".

Foreign women are even more disqualified and disadvantaged. On average in the European Union there is a 16.3 percentage point difference between men of non-EU citizenship and natives, while in the case of the female population the difference rises to 21.6:with rates equal to 21.3% and 42.9% respectively.In Italy, in fact, the incidence of foreigners in the domestic care and assistance sectors is very significant, 42.7% compared to 7.3% of Italians.The home care sector, which is almost entirely in private hands, is considered the one with the highest rate of irregularities and, consequently, a very strong lack of protection.Without a regular contract there is no working hours, a reasonable salary, sickness or holidays;and everything is often added to the lack of one's own home.Another consequence of often being relegated to low-skilled fields is that foreign women earn lower incomes.According to Idos, we are talking about over 300 euros less each month (in net income) compared to Italian women;in this condition of marked inferiority, foreign women will find it difficult to leave the so-called "working poor".

Foreign women do not participate in politics

The common thread of the discrimination suffered by foreign women in many areas is their invisibility, their non-participation in public contexts, in politics at a local and national level, and the lack of attention given by the media.Being excluded from life in society means not making your voice heard;this exclusion, however, is a condition to which many foreign women are forced by the poor integration in Italy.Even in the political sphere, the starting picture, that is, of Italian women, is not comforting;in the global gender gap ranking drawn up every year by the World Economic Forum, the Global Gender Gap Index report, Italy is 63rd out of 146 countries examined, things are similar in the specific ranking dedicated to political empowerment.

Participation in democratic life is hindered first and foremost by right to vote, which is acquired only with citizenship - a process that can take years - and is precluded, for example, to all long-term residents.If we talk instead about foreign women in politics, it is enough to know that in 2022 there was only one woman of migrant origin in the Italian Parliament (out of 630 deputies and 315 senators).Although not strictly related to gender equality, a example interesting for inclusion and integration is the creation of the Migrant Council of Naples, composed and led by migrant people.Its main task is to present proposals to the City Council to improve the living conditions of migrants and influence migration policies.The idea is to fill the protection gap that exists at a legal and social level and see migrants as direct actors of change, through processes of participation and active citizenship.

It emerges that the state of health of integration, especially in Italy, is not tolerable and that foreign women experience a double disadvantage, for being women and for being foreign.It is not only politics that has to take responsibility for the enormous gender gap suffered by migrant women;it will not only be the - desirable - more welcoming and fair migration policies that will bring about integration.It is also useful to rethink the active participation of foreign women, at all levels, starting from feminist battles, which can only be truly effective when they belong to everyone.

Preview image via openmigration.org