On Volunteering and the Ethical Trajectory The Impact of Social Expectations and Religious Commitments on the Volunteering Practices of Muslim Belgian Women

Abstract

Organizations established by Turkish-Belgians have traditionally been male-dominated. The reasons for this goes back to labor migration when most workers arriving in Europe were men and the organizations were established to meet their needs. In this context the experiences of female volunteers have gone largely unnoticed. This paper critically investigates how Muslim women in Belgium take up volunteering as a way to enhance their pious ethical self and become active citizens. It interrogates modern liberal conceptions of volunteering as short-lived projects aimed to be coherent, effective, and well-managed. The findings of this research were obtained through the participant observation of activities organized by female volunteers in five associations in Belgium. Participant observation was complemented with in-depth interviews with association members. The main assertion of the paper is that the religious inspiration that motivates volunteering and the social expectation of Muslim women to demonstrate their value to society turns volunteering into a life-long, continuous, but less coherent commitment.