Is This World Safe for Refugee Women?

This article is focused on the following UN Sustainable Development Goal:

Did you know that 26 million people out of 79.5 million people in the world who have been forced to flee their homes are women and girls? These refugee women face discrimination and violence on daily basis due to their gender. It was mentioned in a recent UN article that “An ordinary task like collecting water or going to the toilet can put a refugee women at risk of rape or abuse” (UNHCR). Despite the fact that the United Nations and many other organisations have made safe camps for refugees to keep them protected and take care of them, the question is that are these camps actually taking care of them and keeping them safe?

I chose Sustainable Development Goal 5 as it ensures safeguarding of refugee women and here are some specific goals I am trying to reach through this article:

• 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

• 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.

• 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.

Being a refugee, in the first place, is not easy as there exists a life-long fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Moreover, it is not possible for them to return to their native land. Even though refugees have all these problems and fears throughout their lives, the refugee women face gender-specific challenges in day to day life. Some common challenges which are faced by the women refugees are: access to healthcare, physical abuse, discrimination, sexual violence and human trafficking. However, even if the women aren’t victims of the actions mentioned above, they often face abuse and disregard for their specific needs and experiences, which leads to severe consequences such as demoralization, stigmatization, and mental and physical health.

At refugee camps, refugee women are treated as minorities and are provided with insufficient resources and healthcare which results in several health concerns and complexities. Some of the common issues which they face are: dehydration, urinary tract infection (UTI), diarrhea, and malaria. The leading causes of death of women refugees are malnutrition, diarrhea, respiratory infections, and reproductive complications. In a recent interview conducted by the women for refugee women stated that “among 78 refugee women interviewed, 75% struggled to obtain period pads or tampons while destitute, forcing them to overuse a period product, improvise period wear or beg for money to buy a pad. Those women who never struggled were either consistently given period products by charities or no longer had periods due to their age or health issues.” (Women for Refugee Women). This shows how refugee women are facing period poverty in the camps and they have to reuse old sanitary products multiple times.

Here are some ways I believe you and your community can contribute in order to keep the refugee women safe from facing discrimination, violence, and to keep them provided with basic resources and sanitary products:

1. Conduct Fundraisers at your school or at any other community and donate the money to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), where the money you donate will be used to build separate and safer camps for refugee women.

2. Conduct basic needs, medicines or sanitary product drives at your school and send all the collected products to the UNHCR for female refugees through mail; all the donated products will be given to the women refugees.

3. Sign petitions on change.org and other organizations pertaining to the refugee women crisis.

4. Educate yourself about the refugee women crisis and then raise awareness about the refugee women crisis by:

a. Hosting educational events,

b. Hosting social events,

c. Organizing service projects,

d. Social media.

To summarize, refugee womens are facing discrimination and violence which is not ethical in any way and they are also not provided with the basic needs, which the camps are responsible for. Therefore, by following these solutions mentioned above, not only will it let us contribute to the safeguarding of these refugee women, but also it will help reach Sustainable Development Goal 5 which focuses on gender equality. Be the reason someone smiles today and remember, change starts with you.

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External Resources

Click on the links below to educate yourself more about the refugee women crisis:

1. Aljazeera Article

2. Article by United Nations University

3. UN Women

4. Article by Women for Women

5. PDF by UNHCR

Here are some movies you can watch on Netflix to learn more about refugee crisis:

1. First They Killed My Father (2017)

2. Human Flow (2017)

3. Born in Syria (2016)

4. Refugee (2016)

5. Beasts of No Nation (2015)

Here are some certified websites where you can donate:

1. Global Fund for Women

2. Women for Refugee

3. Women's Refugee Commission

4. The UN Refugee Agency

5. Refugee Women's Centre

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Work Cited

1. “Women for Refugee Women Looks at Effects of ‘Period Poverty’ among Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Women.” Women for Refugee Women Looks at Effects of "Period Poverty" among Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Women | Electronic Immigration Network, www.ein.org.uk/news/women-refugee-women-looks-effects-period-poverty-among-refugee-and-asylum-seeking-women.

2. Reidy, Eric. “One Year after Deportations, Sudanese Left in Niger See No Way Out.” The New Humanitarian, 5 Mar. 2020, www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2019/05/07/deportations-sudanese-left-niger-see-no-way-out-migration.

3. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Women.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/women.html.

4. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Figures at a Glance.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html.

5. “What Is a Refugee? Definition and Meaning: USA for UNHCR.” Definition and Meaning | USA for UNHCR, www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/.

6. “In Focus: Women Refugees and Migrants.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-refugees-and-migrants.

7. Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio, et al. “Refugee Women's Network: Sustainable Skills, Education and Integration.” MissionBox, 14 July 2020, www.missionbox.com/article/714.

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