The "Bogus Woman": Feminism and Asylum Theatre

Abstract

At the start of the twenty-first century the number of people at risk from persecution, fleeing their homes, and seeking asylum in another country continues to ri se. Under the United Nations Convention on Refugees that reinforces the international protection promised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all people have the right to asylum from war or persecution. While the Declaration promises the "right to freedom of movement'" European countries such as Britain, Germany, and France are also trying to initiate border control, especially as the threat of international terrorism increases. Hence there is a conflict of interest between those people who are displaced and in need of refuge, and those of whom they ask help who are looking for ways to tighten rather than to relax borders. All of this fuels an image of the asylum seeker as unwelcome suppliant and encourages racist and nationalist thinking so that seekers are viewed as "bogus" rather than genuine, despite evidence to the contrary.