Between opportunities and inequalities. A qualitative study of the lived experiences of extra-European women with study projects in Belgium

Although formally neutral, migration policies remain gender-based and have different effects on mobile women and men, particularly in the context of family reunification schemes. Indeed, while family reunion procedures account for a significant part of migrations to Belgium, the predominance of women is striking. Moreover, women benefiting from this scheme are placed in particularly vulnerable positions : first, because their right to remain in Belgium depends on the maintenance of their relationship with the person they joined and, second, because they are often confined in their role of spouse and denied any professional ambition or activity. Many of these “dependent” women return to higher education to deal with complicated situations in the host country, reflecting a desire to actively engage in their new environment and regain a certain control over their lives. However, these women can face a number of obstacles in higher education too : a limited recognition of their diplomas, a competition with their family responsibilities, a reluctance from their partner as well as a number of categorizations that – whether experienced as obstacles or opportunities – tend to reduce the singularity and complexity of their situation. Based on preliminary results gathered through an ongoing sociological fieldwork, this contribution aims to give voice to Congolese, Indian and American women who arrived in Belgium under the family reunion program and enrolled into higher education. It aims to analyse the multiple system of inequalities affecting these women’s opportunities in the host country by analysing the interplay between lived experiences and structural constraints.