Resistance under repression. The political mobilisation of female migrant domestic workers in Lebanon

The aim of this thesis is to understand how the political mobilisation of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) employed in Lebanon started and continued. It also tries to comprehend how some of them could found a politically active collective of MDWs, the Alliance of Domestic Workers in Lebanon (Alliance), by analysing what factors enabled and restrained the open political activism of MDWs from their first steps as activists until now. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with two founding members and seven international and Lebanese organisations, the MDWs´ political mobilisation is chronologically recaptured. Extending Lahusen´s definition of political mobilisation, the thesis critically reflects on Johnston´s concept for protest to evolve in repressive states. The analysis shows that the women activists are left in a lawless position and refer to the free spaces of Lebanese and international non-profit organisations, where their activism begins. These organisations help the women to build up their protest capital, enabling them to start their own group, the Alliance. Within their own group they organise themselves not only against the injustice they experience as MDWs but also emancipate themselves from their dependency on the NGOs. The findings approve that though international and Lebanese organisations have played a crucial part in successfully mobilising the women, the MDWs´ experience of lack of influence inside these free spaces, shapes the group´s actions, collective identity and course. Their political mobilisation can be seen as a long-term, organic process, in which knowledge, collective identity, collective action and experience are tightly interwoven and are the motor behind the members´ activism.