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‘Washing men's feet’: gender, care and migration in Albania during and after communism

‘Washing men's feet’: gender, care and migration in Albania during and after communism
‘Washing men's feet’: gender, care and migration in Albania during and after communism
This article compares the interrelationships between gender, family structures and intra-family care arrangements during two markedly different periods of Albania's recent history. The first of these, the communist era, was dominated by the autocratic state-socialist regime of Enver Hoxha. In contrast, the post-communist period that followed was characterised by a kind of reactive free-for-all capitalism and high rates of both internal and international migration, the latter mostly to Greece and Italy. Families have been torn apart by this mass emigration, resulting in husbands separated from their wives and children, and older generations left behind by their migrant children. All this contrasts with family, residential and care arrangements during the communist period when not only were families generally living in close proximity, but also state welfare was available to support vulnerable and isolated individuals. Across these periods, however, the burden of care responsibilities fell almost wholly on women, despite the egalitarian ideology of the socialist era and the potentially modernising and empowering effects of post-socialist migration on the agency of women. The article provides a valuable lesson in historicising regimes of gender, family and care across dramatically contrasting social models.
Albania, socialism, post-socialist Eastern Europe, migration, gender, care
0966-369X
198-215
Vullnetari, Julie
463db806-c809-43d6-9795-1104e3a5788b
King, Russell
eb0786dc-2889-4690-8f54-a62b47541731
Vullnetari, Julie
463db806-c809-43d6-9795-1104e3a5788b
King, Russell
eb0786dc-2889-4690-8f54-a62b47541731

Vullnetari, Julie and King, Russell (2016) ‘Washing men's feet’: gender, care and migration in Albania during and after communism. Gender, Place & Culture, 23 (2), 198-215. (doi:10.1080/0966369X.2015.1013447).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This article compares the interrelationships between gender, family structures and intra-family care arrangements during two markedly different periods of Albania's recent history. The first of these, the communist era, was dominated by the autocratic state-socialist regime of Enver Hoxha. In contrast, the post-communist period that followed was characterised by a kind of reactive free-for-all capitalism and high rates of both internal and international migration, the latter mostly to Greece and Italy. Families have been torn apart by this mass emigration, resulting in husbands separated from their wives and children, and older generations left behind by their migrant children. All this contrasts with family, residential and care arrangements during the communist period when not only were families generally living in close proximity, but also state welfare was available to support vulnerable and isolated individuals. Across these periods, however, the burden of care responsibilities fell almost wholly on women, despite the egalitarian ideology of the socialist era and the potentially modernising and empowering effects of post-socialist migration on the agency of women. The article provides a valuable lesson in historicising regimes of gender, family and care across dramatically contrasting social models.

Text
Vullnetari & King (2016) Washing men's feet_CGPC_accepted manuscript Oct14.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 6 October 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 March 2015
Published date: 21 July 2016
Keywords: Albania, socialism, post-socialist Eastern Europe, migration, gender, care
Organisations: Economy, Governance & Culture

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 377053
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377053
ISSN: 0966-369X
PURE UUID: 4d1db54b-6d94-4b57-81bd-4ad0e72b4327
ORCID for Julie Vullnetari: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1578-8622

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Date deposited: 14 May 2015 10:34
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:50

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Author: Russell King

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