Women in transition: Being versus becoming or being and becoming

Women are at the center of all life transitions whether the transitions are within the family, such as maturation, or because of national modernization or a move to an urban center, or because of relocation to another nation. Ironically, women's roles in these transitions are ignored at best and misrepresented at worst. What we need is a raising of consciousness, an awareness of these women among us who are struggling with the being‐versus‐becoming dilemma of living in a new culture, and who would like to solve it by integrating being true to the values of their country of origin and becoming a valued citizen of the host country both for themselves and for their family.