AFGHAN WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE SWEDISH LABOUR MARKET

Abstract

Discrimination matters; this study addresses an old yet existing social problem in the Swedish labour market. Most refugees who came to Sweden are highly educated but face many challenges that problematized their employability, as well as facing employer’s prejudice, especially those who are Muslim. Today, some around 60 858 Afghan immigrants live in Sweden, of whom 21 024 are women and studying Afghan women’s experiences of discrimination from the Swedish labour market formulated this study’s primary concern. This was studied through 13 qualitative semi-structured interviews with Afghan immigrant women between 20-65 years old, e.g., in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Borås, Kalmar, and Trollhättan cities of Sweden. This study’s result by applying subtle discrimination and intersectionality theory revealed that different forms of discrimination, e.g., formal (job promotion, work assignment) and interpersonal (e.g., hostile attitude, insulting jokes, and verbal/non-verbal harassment) are perceived to be in the Swedish labour market. Moreover, these kinds of discrimination are associated with an intersection of Afghan women’s different identities (e.g., ethnicity, gender, religion, hijab, age, and immigrant).