Page 27 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 27
Sexual and Reproductive Health as an Indicator of Social Integration
men have jobs, their children go to school, they live in a house, etc. However,
by taking a closer look at the power relations between men and women and
the socio-economic integration of women, in many families the woman can-
not speak the language of the host country, has no personal independence,
and in particular cannot decide on her own reproductive health, is subject to
her husband’s or husband’s family decisions in terms of contraception, num-
ber of children to be had, types of health treatment, and is sexually unhealthy.
Regarding the integration processes in society, Parsons (1971) claims that
a society can be independent insofar as it can ‘count’ by and large on the
fact that its members adequately ‘contribute’ to its well-functioning. In this
respect, integration requires the degree of alienation of its members to be
reasonably low, whereas in many communities women seem to be totally on
the margins of society.
Parsons (1971) adds that the integration process of members into society
is linked with a zone of inter-penetration between the social system and the
personal system. It is a three-way relationship in that part of the cultural sys-
tem in addition to part of the social structure are interiorized by one’s per-
sonality and part of the cultural system in turn is institutionalized in society.
Unfortunately, the process of interiorization of the host country’s cultural
system may not be welcomed or accepted. The persistence of a patriarchal
model which completely permeates the homeland’s organizational structure
of society and the conceptual and value-based references of many migrants
prevent the natural permeation between cultural systems from happening
and people from being equals (Urpis, 2017). This leads to the creation of an
insurmountable barrier between men and women thus ratifying women’s in-
feriority and estrangement from a model of open society.
Loyalty to the Patriarchal Model and the diminutio
of the Female Role in Society
A patriarchal family structure is at the heart of many societies built almost
exclusively on the affirmation of values. On the contrary, in more complex
societies people are kept together through consensus on the procedures
intended to lawfully put into effect the law and to lawfully exercise power
rather than through the substantive consensus on values (Habermas, 1998).
In patriarchal societies the relationship between men and women is one
based on the rigid separation of gender, on the valorization or de-valorization
of differences between genders and on differing empowerment skills. Social
segregation is a reflection of segregation within the family (Johnson, 1997).
Examining the persistence of patriarchal models which inevitably imply
25
men have jobs, their children go to school, they live in a house, etc. However,
by taking a closer look at the power relations between men and women and
the socio-economic integration of women, in many families the woman can-
not speak the language of the host country, has no personal independence,
and in particular cannot decide on her own reproductive health, is subject to
her husband’s or husband’s family decisions in terms of contraception, num-
ber of children to be had, types of health treatment, and is sexually unhealthy.
Regarding the integration processes in society, Parsons (1971) claims that
a society can be independent insofar as it can ‘count’ by and large on the
fact that its members adequately ‘contribute’ to its well-functioning. In this
respect, integration requires the degree of alienation of its members to be
reasonably low, whereas in many communities women seem to be totally on
the margins of society.
Parsons (1971) adds that the integration process of members into society
is linked with a zone of inter-penetration between the social system and the
personal system. It is a three-way relationship in that part of the cultural sys-
tem in addition to part of the social structure are interiorized by one’s per-
sonality and part of the cultural system in turn is institutionalized in society.
Unfortunately, the process of interiorization of the host country’s cultural
system may not be welcomed or accepted. The persistence of a patriarchal
model which completely permeates the homeland’s organizational structure
of society and the conceptual and value-based references of many migrants
prevent the natural permeation between cultural systems from happening
and people from being equals (Urpis, 2017). This leads to the creation of an
insurmountable barrier between men and women thus ratifying women’s in-
feriority and estrangement from a model of open society.
Loyalty to the Patriarchal Model and the diminutio
of the Female Role in Society
A patriarchal family structure is at the heart of many societies built almost
exclusively on the affirmation of values. On the contrary, in more complex
societies people are kept together through consensus on the procedures
intended to lawfully put into effect the law and to lawfully exercise power
rather than through the substantive consensus on values (Habermas, 1998).
In patriarchal societies the relationship between men and women is one
based on the rigid separation of gender, on the valorization or de-valorization
of differences between genders and on differing empowerment skills. Social
segregation is a reflection of segregation within the family (Johnson, 1997).
Examining the persistence of patriarchal models which inevitably imply
25
