Paper short abstract:

The migration of Ivorian women to Europe involves confrontations with border mechanisms and gender-based violence. Analysing their lived experiences, I highlight how the autonomy of migration and state governance politics form a continuum in their individual migration trajectories.

Paper long abstract:

Within the context of the "European migration crisis," there has been a marked surge in Ivorian women seeking asylum in Italy. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), their numbers escalated nearly sixfold between 2015 and 2019. This study delves into the life stories of Ivorian women I have been accompanying since their arrival in Italy in 2017 as asylum seekers. Confronting semi-legal journeys, fragmented intimate and affective relationships, and the intricate labyrinth of asylum procedures, they eventually established themselves in Paris by the close of 2021. Examining the autonomous migration routes of Ivorian women across Europe, this paper analyses how spatial disruption is enacted against European borders in an interplay between formal and informal dimension of migration, thereby oscillating between visibility and invisibility to EU states. Engaging in a continuous negotiation between migrants and state governance, categories such as "asylum seekers," "refugees," and "irregular migrants" are done and undone. Through a phenomenological angle, I aim to elucidate how formal and informal dimensions constitute a continuum rather than a juxtaposition in the lived experiences of Ivorian women, where they navigate a continuous transition between these dimensions in their efforts to fulfil personal aspirations.