The intersection of gender and religion in Fijian female Muslims’ kinship tourism experiences

This constructivist grounded theory study examined kinship tourism experiences of female Muslims. The intersectionality theoretical underpinning revealed touristic experiences that were subjective to females and Muslims simultaneously, and thus not essentialised to gendered and religion representations but of their amplifications on each other. In particular, female Muslims’ kinship tourism experiences were directed by the huqooq-ul-Ibaad cultural norms, representing as collective culture of Islam, silaturrahim practice of providing care and maintaining harmonious relations with kins as well as the virtue ethics of akhlaaq. However, these cultural practices were gendered through influences from the qawamum practice of males socialising females into familial caretakers that extended in kinship tourism spaces and virtue ethics of akhlaaq transforming into feminist ethics of care. Resultant influences concerned tourism experiences of reunion, relational well-being and relationship enhancement. However this study highlights negative kinship tourism experiences of over-dependence, debt of gratitude, lacked autonomy and monotonous experience, particularly associated with distant relations and generational differences as well as close interactions with them (e.g. hosting). The Fijian context highlighted Muslim-minority subjective perceptions of kinship tourism.