About the project
What brings Thais overseas and do they thrive in Europe? Thailand exports great number of females to Western countries since the late seventies, among many, to the Nordics.
Published research on Thai transnational lifestyle predominantly focuses on marriage migration, labor market integration, assimilation strategies and gender imbalances between the European-Thai couple. Scholars investigate about the drivers of migration, legal aspects of Thai immigration (family reunification), remittances, masculinity and the degree of female agency in cross-border intimate mobility.
Since Thai migration in Norway is greatly feminised, I am interested to reveal more about the scope of gender inequality, patriarchy in the cross-border migration (Straiton et al., 2018; Statham et al., 2020; Kanchanachitra & Chuenglertsiri, 2020). In addition to the existing research areas mentioned before, I would like to concentrate on female agency and the complex motives defining Thai migrant women's transnational reality. In my research project, Thai migrant women’s social roles, social norms and agency will be examined in the light of gender, family, values, culture and rituals.
Using exploratory, qualitative research design, the study aims to discover about the social roles, social norms and transnational family lives of Thai immigrant women.
The research project has a qualitative approach, semi-structured biographical interviews complemented with ethnographic fieldwork within the Thai community.
Szonja's main interests are family structures and values, intercultural psychology, migration, religion and spiritual practices.
Background
Master in Social Integration, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University, June 2021
Master in Community Development and Social Innovation, Faculty of Theology, Diaconia and Leadership Studies, VID Specialized University, January 2022
Research group
MIGREL Migration, Religion and Transnational Relation