Experiences of noncustodial mothers in Lebanon

Abstract

This thesis explores the narratives of noncustodial mothers in Lebanon and seeks to address the effects of noncustodial mothering on the relation between mothers and their children and the effects on women’s selfhood. I also explore forms of resistance and agency towards noncustodial mothering and in doing so, I use Bourdieu’s notion of habitus and Merton’s anomie theory. Mostly, however, my results and conclusions are based on the analysis of the narratives of the women I have interviewed. My results consider the questions: How is the relation between a mother and her child(ren) shaped when it is distorted by separation? How do noncustodial mothers feel about themselves as mothers? How do noncustodial mothers cope with their lives when facing discrepancies between personalized, desired identities of mothering and actual mothering? Methodology for this work includes documentation, semi-structured interviews with two family lawyers and topical life history interviews with six Sunni noncustodial mothers in Lebanon. Through the interviews with these women I attempt to portray their experiences as noncustodial mothers and the effects of noncustodial mothering, as well and the importance of mothering within the larger structures of their lives and their future perspectives. Last, I elaborate on a form of resistance and agency through social and civil networks in which some of the participants are involved.