The migration and womanhood experiences of refugee women in Turkey: Afghan refugee women in Eskişehir

In international migration, Afghanistan is the 10th country in the world with 7 million immigrants. Various countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, and Turkey host Afghan migration. Afghans in Turkey are the second largest foreign national group after Syrians with 118,079 people and are settled in satellite cities as refugees. Eskişehir is a satellite city where more than 8,000 Afghan refugees live. The migration experience of Afghan women with different identities, who make up half of the Afghan migration, is addressed in the context of gender, ethnicity and class relations. A total of 20 Afghan refugee women, including Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara, were interviewed. In the study, where the qualitative research method was adopted, Crenshaw's different intersectionality model was used as the basis for the creation of themes and categories. For female participants from all ethnic and different income groups, being a woman and getting married at an early age is the preconception of traditional female identity. In the context of women's migration, Tajik women, as the subjects of migration, are distinguished from others by their decision-making positions in independent participation. While Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara women who construct femininity under patriarchal domination look critically at their own local and ethnic identities, Uzbek women are generally more conservative and accepting in traditional female roles and division of labor. In terms of their public sphere experiences, the cultural changes of Shia Hazara women increase their participation in education and employment in particular, and increase their resistance to traditional roles and pressures. Although Afghan refugee women can be partially critical of local traditional sexist codes, sexist codes continue to be surrounded by ethnic, traditional and cultural patriarchal values. As the duration of stay in Turkey in the uncertainty of refugee status increases, gender-based pressures and class intersections, along with poor living conditions, seem to increase the patriarchal pressures and future concerns on all participating Afghan women on different levels. Key Words: Afghan Migration, Afghan Women, Refugees, Intersectionality Approach, Crenshaw Model, Türkiye, Eskişehir.