Faith and MHPSS among displaced Muslim women

Women’s well-being 

The article explores how faith resilience and spiritual suffering influenced women’s well-being in various ways, having a profound impact on their mental health, both buffering and contributing to psychological distress.  

Responsive

For some participants their engagement with religious practices had declined as they struggled to resolve the dissonance between their experiences and their faith. For some this was resolved, for others, this decline was linked to anxiety and depression that required reassurance from sacred knowledge. Based on these findings the authors suggest that MHPSS should be responsive to persons who both so and do not wish to be engaged with faith so as not to marginalise faith but also not to over-emphasise its importance. 

Logistical barriers 

Women faced logistical barriers to practicing their faith, such as a lack of dedicated space and privacy and felt they should not talk about faith issues in formal counselling settings.  

Comment:

This article makes a significant contribution to a growing evidence base on findings from three independent, coordinated research studies on the role of faith in coping and recovery of women in forced migration and conflict contexts. 

How to Cite:

Rutledge, K., Iman Pertek, S., Abo-Hilal, M., & Fitzgibbon, A. (2021). Faith and MHPSS among displaced Muslim women. Forced Migration Review, 66. https://www.fmreview.org/issue66/rutledge-pertek-abohilal-fitzgibbon
Scroll to Top