The Position of Bosnian Women within a Chosen Local Community in Sweden

This thesis focuses on female immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina who have resided in Sweden since the 1990s. The aim of the thesis is to analyze their integration in Sweden and the influence of transnational practices on their integration. The analysis is based on semi- structured interviews with eight Bosnian women. The results of the interviews are confronted with scholarly literature and newspaper articles on Bosnian integration in Sweden and transnationalism. The areas of focus are: labor market, the knowledge of Swedish language, transnational practices, the specificities of being a female immigrant and finally the evaluation of why Bosnians are integrated so well in Sweden. The quality of integration was proven very high and the immigrants themselves, as well as the literature, attribute it to the European origin of Bosnians, especially in terms of cultural and educational closeness. The transnational practices were not proven to be an obstacle to integration, they do however create a new "Bosnian-Swedish" identity for younger women. Female immigrants seem to be keener on building a good perception of the Bosnian diaspora and its culture, which they present in several ways in Bosnian organizations. Bosnian women are also influenced by motherhood and they try to raise their children so..