Migrant Women Opposing Governmental Performative Politics and the Hostile Environment

The increasingly restrictive and punitive hostile environment policies reinforce the Conservative Government stance of being ‘tough on immigration’. In public debates the government continues to champion lesser rights for racialised migrants through three key aspects of ‘performative politics’: the creation of social realities, social identities, and social relationships. We illustrate how the policy of No Recourse to Public Funding (NRPF) is an example of this performative politics, and explore how migrant mothers challenge this performative politics through a critical oppositional politics in their everyday lives and through a theatre-based project. The article reflects on how the mothers and researchers draw on Participatory Action Research (PAR) and forum theatre-based approaches to articulate a critical understanding of how the lived experiences of hostile environment policies is underpinned by race, gender, class, migration intersectional identities. Collaborating through PAR allowed the research team and participants to oppose prevailing hegemonic discourses concerning migrants by offering a creative space, platform, and tools for racialised migrants to try out oppositional representations and develop collective strategies, to publicly resist and speak out against the demeaning impact of hostile environment policies and facilitate their communities to do the same. PAR also creates a liminal space for oppositional politics, where participants can creatively explore and express their experiences and resistance to the NRPF policy in a supportive atmosphere. This space fosters dialogue that is not only affirming but also indicative of the potential for collective action, reinforcing the notion that participants are not alone in their struggles.