Gender and Migration in Italy

Elisa Olivito is Associate Professor of Institutions of Public Law at the University of Rome ’La Sapienza’ Faculty of Law, Italy, where she teaches Constitutional Justice. She received her PhD in Public Law from the University of Perugia. She has been visiting researcher at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (2004), at the Harvard Law School (2006) and at the Universidad del Cuyo of Mendoza, Argentina (2007). Former editor-in-chief of the Italian Constitutional Association web-review ’www.rivistaic.it’, Professor Olivito is member of the editorial staff of ’Democrazia e diritto’ and of the online review ’www.costituzionalismo.it’. She has written widely on affirmative action policy and gender issues, migration and multiculturalism, secularism and religious symbols, legal fictions, environmental rights and participatory democracy.

"Elisa Olivito's book is a multidimensional contribution to the constantly growing literature on gender and migration. It explores the complexities and controversies of the Italian migration context and policies of 'Open houses versus closed borders', where immigrant women, these 'forerunners' of Italian immigration, remain confined to domestic work." - Mirjana Morokvasic, ISP-CNRS-Université Paris Ouest, France "An amazing collection which sheds light on a multifaceted social reality that Italian observers too often ignore or approach with a gender-neutral gaze. Feminism, history, law and semiotics all contribute to unveil the universe of migrant women in Italy, at the same time offering an extraordinary picture of Italian society and institutional settings . A must-read!" - Maria Rosaria Marella, University of Perugia, Italy "This stimulating and multi-voiced collection is an indispensable reader for scholars and students alike, in discursive fields as diverse as law, social sciences and gender studies. Passionately committed to uncovering and reinventing the themes of gender and migration, the authors measure the complex interplay between citizenship, access to power and resources and fundamental rights in the Italian context. This rich and multidisciplinary journey takes the reader to unfamiliar territories, using a whole range of directions to approach the subject. Be prepared to lose your way and find a new path to get back home!" - Pascale Fournier, University of Ottawa, Canada

• Introduction: fortress Europe v. compliant Italy? The ambiguous Italian policy towards migrant women, Elisa Olivito. Part I Migrant Women and Social Mobility in a Historical Perspective: The ‘worker nuns of Nigrizia’: the pious mothers of Nigrizia between Italy and Africa during the imperial age (1872-1950), Francesca Di Pasquale and Chiara Giorgi; Open houses versus closed borders: migrant domestic workers in Italy. A gendered perspective (1950s-2010s), Raffaella Sarti. Part II Self-Determination, Family and Welfare: The third movement: family life for a fee, Silvia Niccolai; Autonomy and self-realization of migrant women: constitutional aspects, Laura Ronchetti; The case of healthcare and social services for migrant women: between anti-discrimination and anti-subordination, Anna Lorenzetti; Migration and (legal) irritants: Italian family law and gender equality, Elisa Olivito. Part III Culture, Patriarchy and Religion: Gender and culturally motivated crimes: the Italian perspective, Valentina Masarone; From culture to patriarchy: recent changes in judicial reasoning and in normative classifications of multicultural conflicts, Ilenia Ruggiu; Gender and religious symbols in the European public sphere: unveiling the paradoxes of Italian toleration, Susanna Mancini. Part IV Citizenship and Second-Generation Migrant Women: Second-generation migrant women and the acquisition of Italian citizenship, Elena Paparella; Translating cultural identities, permeating boundaries: autobiographical and testimonial narratives of second-generation immigrant women, Cristina Greco. Index.