The Role of Cultural Memory in Contemporary Migrant Activism: Staging Gender in a Transforming Welfare State

Contemporary scientific and media debates about cultural conflict and gender relations have consolidated stereotypical categorisations of female migrants as passive victims of traditional cultural values. This risks veiling agency against ethnic, gender and other kinds of discrimination inherent in contemporary transformation of Swedish welfare state. In the light of a critical review of the current debate on gender and culture, the authors discuss an alternative understanding of past memories in contemporary activism for gender equality and social inclusion. They illustrate how civic agency echoes a dynamic interplay between the past and the present