This paper demonstrates how the social construction of gender shapes women's migration choices and post‐migration experience using the example of Ugandan women migrants in Istanbul, Türkiye. Building on an ethnographic case study, we reveal how Ugandan women negotiate and find agency within oppressive structures that force them into debt, into “illegality”, and limit their opportunities for safe and dignified work. Our discussion critiques international regulations – the Palermo Protocol – and local structures including the Istanbul Police and Turkish policy on migration and prostitution. We show the complexity of relationships that impact women's lives and show how institutions fail to protect women leaving them vulnerable to harassment and sexual violence. We reflect on the experience of women of colour in Istanbul, simultaneously visible on the street yet invisible in voice and agency. Our work highlights the importance of an intersectional lens in the study of migration, il/legality, workplace abuse and trafficking into prostitution. It has broad implications for understanding how gender, class and racialization define migrants' options for mobility and self‐determination.

中文翻译：

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伊斯坦布尔的乌干达妇女和性交易


本文以土耳其伊斯坦布尔的乌干达女性移民为例，展示了性别的社会建构如何影响女性的移民选择和移民后经历。在民族志案例研究的基础上，我们揭示了乌干达妇女如何在压迫性结构中进行谈判并找到代理机构，这些结构迫使她们负债累累，进入“非法”状态，并限制了她们获得安全和有尊严的工作的机会。我们的讨论批评了国际法规——《巴勒莫议定书》——以及当地机构，包括伊斯坦布尔警察局和土耳其关于移民和卖淫的政策。我们展示了影响女性生活的关系的复杂性，并展示了机构如何未能保护女性，从而使她们容易受到骚扰和性暴力。我们反思伊斯坦布尔有色人种女性的经历，她们同时在街上可见，但在声音和代理中却看不见。我们的工作强调了交叉视角在移民、非法/合法、工作场所虐待和贩卖卖淫研究中的重要性。它对于理解性别、阶级和种族如何定义移民的流动性和自决选择具有广泛的意义。