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<DIV>FYI--</DIV>
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<DIV>Rosa</DIV>
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From: resource@lists.awid.org<BR>Reply-to: contribute@awid.org<BR>To:
resource@lists.awid.org<BR>Sent: 4/25/2008 5:20:50 A.M. Central Daylight
Time<BR>Subj: AWID Friday File: The Situation of Refugee Women in the Arab
Region<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Courier
color=#000000 size=2><PRE>AWID Friday File: The Situation of Refugee Women in the Arab Region
Friday April 25, 2008
1) The Situation of Refugee Women in the Arab Region
A review of 'The Dream of Return, the Fear of Trafficking and
Discriminatory Laws' a report by the Karama Movement in the Arab Region.
By Kathambi Kinoti
_____________________________________________________________________
1) The Situation of Refugee Women in the Arab Region
A review of 'The Dream of Return, the Fear of Trafficking and
Discriminatory Laws' a report by the Karama Movement in the Arab Region.
By Kathambi Kinoti
The Arab region is host to some of the largest populations of refugees in
the world. Conflicts in Iraq, Sudan and Somalia, as well as occupation in
the Palestinian territories, have internally and externally displaced
millions of people. Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt have had to take in
the refugees that these wars have created.
Displacement affects refugees in complex ways that touch on their human
rights, economic, social and legal status, and their mental and physical
health. The Karama Movement in the Arab Region has compiled a report on
'The Dream of Return, the Fear of Trafficking and Discriminatory Laws' to
highlight the situation of refugee and stateless women across the region.
Although there are a number of international conventions that provide for
the protection of the rights of refugees, their practical application is
limited in several ways. Of the 21 member states of the Arab League, only
nine are party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Jordan and Lebanon, which
host huge numbers of refugees, are not party to the Convention.
Displacement has in many cases caused a change in traditional gender roles.
According to the report, sixty five per cent of Iraqi women and eighty per
cent of married Iraqi women of reproductive age have become widows since
the war began. Many of these women have subsequently become the primary
breadwinners of their families and most have limited livelihood options. In
Syria, those who engage in sex work, which is illegal, are subject to
exploitation and abuse and have no legal protection. They also risk forced
repatriation to their country. Jordan does not recognize Iraqis as refugees
and therefore most are in the country illegally, cannot work, and face the
risk of deportation. Iraqi women and girls both inside and outside Iraq are
particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking.
At the beginning of the occupation of Palestine sixty years ago, there were
few jobs for Palestinian women refugees in Syria. They were mostly confined
to domestic labour and fruit picking. However over time women's
opportunities for education increased and many were able to become
professionals in fields such as engineering and medicine.
Palestinian women and Syrian women have equal access to jobs in the private
and public sector. The only restriction for Palestinian women is that they
cannot hold elected office. On the other hand, there is a high rate of
unemployment in Syria and with the influx of two million Iraqi refugees in
Syria, the opportunities for Palestinians have become more limited.
For about three decades there have been Sudanese refugees in Egypt,
displaced by the civil war in their country.
Before 1995 they had virtually the same rights as Egyptian citizens, but
following the deterioration of political ties between Egypt and Sudan,
their status has worsened. There are now restrictions on access to
employment and housing. The Egyptian government and media scapegoat the
refugees for the deteriorating economy and there has been a rise in
xenophobia. The low level of literacy amongst Sudanese women refugees
heightens their inability to access jobs and most of them therefore work in
low paying and exploitative positions. These women are often the primary
breadwinners of their families and this empowers them within the household
which is one positive aspect of their otherwise bleak situation.
Somalia has been without a central government for almost twenty years and
millions of Somalis have fled their country or been internally displaced.
Women's mobility has been restricted by rising fundamentalism as well as
insecurity including the ever present threat of rape. The Union of Islamic
Courts during its short lived governance of Somalia imposed strict dress
codes and forbade women to leave their houses without the accompaniment of
a male relative. Even after the Union was overthrown, many women still
comply with the dress code to avoid danger, and this restricts their
ability to do work in agriculture, slaughterhouses and fisheries, where
previously they had been employed in large numbers.
The Report makes it clear that there has been an abdication of
responsibility by international community and the states directly affected
by conflict to cater for refugees. Host countries need to formally
recognize people fleeing into their territories as refugees and accord them
their rights under international law. The rights to basic services and to
work need to be secured. There needs to be greater effort to find political
solutions to the conflicts in Iraq, Sudan, Palestine and Somalia and to
prioritize reconstruction in Southern Sudan so that refugees can return.
Above all there is the need to prevent conflict in the first place.
__________________
Notes:
1. The full report is available for download at
http://elkarama.org/En/Portals/0/Refugee%20report%20EN-FINAL%20draft.pdf
2. Open Democracy has reviewed the report. The review is available at
http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/jane_gabriel/we_live_like_the_dead
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