Reorganizing Life: A Study on Socio-Cultural Adaptation Strategies of Bangladeshi Married Women Immigrants of Oslo, Norway

Abstract

Let us take a minute; look at our society. We will find a group of people who share different nationalities. We define them as immigrants. This is an ethnographic study of Bangladeshi women immigrants in Oslo, Norway. It investigates the socio-cultural adaptation strategies of Bangladeshi married women. The socio-cultural context of the two countries is far different from one another. If the host country (migrated country) is under the developed category, it extends that difference even more. There are notable facts that force them to migrate. A sudden change in the socio-cultural environment has some significant aftermaths as well. Anthropologists have been studying those for a long time. However, how are they overcoming those aftermaths? It was predicted and evident in different studies that globalization merges cultural boundaries. It is also evident in this study. This research aimed at how Bangladeshi women integrate and separate two cultures’ components. It also indicates their morals and values while filtering or adapting different cultural components. Prioritization and negotiation between native and foreign cultures signify their surviving skills. Moreover, it is creating cultural hybridity. This study also elucidates their motives and positionality against their adapting strategies. Nevertheless, this thesis scrutinized the role of the Bangladeshi Community Organization. Bangladeshi community organization provides an extraordinary service to newcomers. This organization is a constructive way to connect people with its root. They aim to create an influential community to provide non-monetary (e.g., psychological support) support to newcomers to survive while facing the harsh reality. Lastly, it is a bootstrapper for Bengalis to rejuvenate themselves with their folklore knowledge to uphold their country’s image.