Medborgarskapet och den utrikesfödda mamman : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om moderskapets påverkan på det levda medborgarskapet bland utrikesfödda mammor i Järva

How does motherhood affect the experience of Swedish citizenship among foreign-born mothers in Järva? Using a theoretical model that combines Ruth Lister and Kallios et al.'s theories of lived citizenship, the paper aims to explore this question. Since motherhood has never been added as a dimension of lived citizenship, the paper aims to contribute to previous research on citizenship in the hope of sowing a seed for further research on the significance of motherhood. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews, eight foreign-born mothers in Järva were asked to talk about their experience of their Swedish citizenship. The study concludes that motherhood seems to have an impact on lived citizenship, as motherhood is strongly present in the mothers’ narratives of their citizenship rights and responsibilities, sense of belonging, and opportunities to participate in the society. The experience of citizenship rights and obligations is stated through the mothers’ appreciation for their extended rights. Several of the mothers express that the appreciation is sometimes projected onto the children in the form of a debt of gratitude. It also emerges that the mothers’ perception of their rights is influenced by their perceived ability to fulfill their children's rights. Furthermore, the mothers’ experience of belonging to Swedish society seems to be reflected in the mothers’ children, who are not always accepted by society, and it is also clear that the mothers think that implementing a sense of Swedish belonging is an important part of their children's upbringing. The sense of belonging can also be linked to the mothers’ feeling of being excluded from “good Swedish motherhood”, where they feel that they have more demands on them as mothers born abroad. Finally, on the one hand, motherhood seems to increase social and political participation by fostering civic qualities. On the other hand, motherhood may appear to limit participation because it means less time for the mother’s interests