The issue of housing and migrants. The role of women in social movements for housing rights, from stereotypes to social activism

In Italy, the leading role of migrant women seems to be substantially ignored. The stereotype of the migrant as a young male Muslim worker with no family in tow and driven by economic motives has obscured a very different reality, namely that of women, of various age groups, often married and with children, of different geographical origins, mainly of Christian religion, and who participate robustly in social life, changing the face of our cities (Colella, Gianturco, 2020). In the belief that migrant women have been able to carve out a new space for themselves in Italy’s public and urban environment, we will briefly focus on the housing issue, since the urban environment is a key setting for studying the role of migrant women in their daily interactions in contemporary social movements and conflicts (Colella, Gianturco, Nocenzi, 2017). With this aim in mind, a broad and complex scenario demands to be considered, with its various issues relating to the changed sense of living in the contemporary cities. Numerous changes have occurred in this sense, especially in terms of the variety of housing demand, which is increasingly composite as a result, among other things, of sociodemographic dynamics and economic and cultural changes.