Fractured Barriers: Somali Bantu Women Redefining Cultural Norms in Their Pursuit of Higher Education

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Sixteen
  In Roundtable Session: Global Education, Culture, and Learner-Centered Practices (Table 15)

Abstract

Somali Bantu women navigate both their cultural heritage and American culture to pursue their college degrees. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this paper explores how 12 Somali Bantu women, current and former college students, renegotiate cultural norms and practices while also pursuing a college degree. A race-gender framework is used to understand the racialized and gendered experiences of these women (Lopez, 2002). The study presents a theoretical conceptualization of the drivers of change and negotiation: privileged-bystander (fathers and brothers), supporter (husbands), stimulator (mothers), and engine (daughters). This study finds that these women’s roles as cultural brokers and their educational pursuit play a vital role in creating a space of negotiation to redefine cultural norms, such as gender roles and early marriage.

Author

• Isnino Iftin, University at Buffalo - SUNY
  Presenting Author