Invisible Intersections of Inequalities: Gender, Migration and the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

This panel deals with the blind spot of intersectional inequalities of gender in the context of migration, as exacerbated by the global pandemic. So far, the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified structural inequality. At the same time, it has also amplified the cohabitation of our hope and despair regarding inequality. Many scholarly works show us how women and minorities are the most affected by the pandemic (Bhopal 2020; Dodds et al. 2020; Guadagno 2020; Hu 2020). However, while the single issue-based focus on gender and migration receive attention in policy and scholarly discourse, their intersection often remains invisible. On the other hand, it is evident that most nations, in Europe and other parts of the world, took drastic measures to handle the pandemic by dismantling most people’s daily habitual life. It proves that if states acknowledge the severity of any crisis, they can take actions that seem ‘impossible’ otherwise. This panel with four papers aims to draw attention to the fact that, despite many global pandemic efforts, the most marginalised subjects remain unprioritized and in the periphery of these policies. The gendered migrants, as one of the most marginalised subjects, live in the intersection of vulnerabilities caused by gender, sexuality, race, class and immigration statuses. With these papers, we aim to focus on their intersection and highlight feminist perspectives on examining forms of structural inequality. Furthermore, this panel also aims to emphasise that the flexibility that has been forced on our stringent social world by the pandemic is one of the lights at the end of the tunnel towards building a more inclusive society with an emphasis on empathy and sustainable co-existence with nature.

Title	Details
Syrian Migrant Women in Turkey and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Assessment of Risks and Vulnerabilities, Pathways to Resilience.	View Paper Details
The violence of illness: Palestinian and Syrian refugee women in Lebanon face the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.	View Paper Details
Feminist Foreign Policy and the Pandemic: challenges and seizing opportunities	View Paper Details
When staying home is a safety risk: Intersectional vulnerability of pandemic, gender-based violence and migration	View Paper Details