Voices that Deserve to Be Heard
By NGO Working Group on Women, International Peace and Security

Photo/Diane Johnson

“Do not think that because women wear a veil we do not have a voice”, says Jamila, a refugee from Afghanistan. “When the UN is looking for leaders, look to us. Tap our networks that reach and assist women and their families. Women must be included in any peace-building to ensure peace and lasting security.”

The story is the same around the globe. As Guatemalan Maria Guadalupe Garcia explains, women refugees are not given an education or allowed to learn of their rights. Consequently, they are perceived as ill-educated, traumatized victims, and not as potential leaders with valid ideas and proposals. “We realized that women did not participate, that they knew nothing about their rights”, she explained. “They were not leaders. They were illiterate. They were almost invisible.”

Xuan Sutter, an exile from Viet Nam who founded the Refugee Women’s Network in the United States, said: “I realized that until women like me, survivors of the refugee experience, decided to speak up and take action, little would change. We need more refugees who can go beyond the bigger picture … to go beyond those borders and spread our fighting spirit to other refugee women.”

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council passed an historic resolution on women, peace and security that aimed to protect women in times of war while ensuring their participation in peace talks. For the first time, this world body was recognizing the contribution women could make to peace-building during and after times of crisis and conflict. Refugee women need to be represented at the peace table in order to ensure that the voices of ordinary people stricken by war are heard by politicians, generals and diplomats, but they also need mechanisms like the Security Council resolutions to protect them from violence and abuse.

Wherever there is a refugee crisis, more than 50 per cent of those refugees will be women. In Bosnia, men were conscripted, imprisoned or killed, leaving many women to escape into exile alone. Refugee women put themselves at extreme physical risk to flee conflict or persecution. Many are raped or abused on their journey. But the dangers do not necessarily end at the gates of the refugee camp. Women are still targeted for physical abuse, simply because the camps are not designed to meet women’s specific needs. In the Sherkole camp on the Ethiopian border, Sudanese women refugees spend up to two to three hours a day gathering firewood from land surrounding the camp. There are no other alternative forms of fuel available in the camp. As the supply of wood diminishes, Ethiopians who live nearby are becoming more reluctant to allow the refugee women to gather firewood on their land. Some women are being attacked and injured.

It was precisely to address this kind of abuse that ten years ago the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) produced a set of guidelines aimed at educating field workers into considering the needs and rights of women when designing programmes and sites for refugees. These encourage field workers to involve women in all areas of planning and programming, whilst ensuring their physical protection and providing adequate health care, education and equal access to food and water supplies. “Refugee women and girls have special protection need that reflect their gender”, the guidelines state, “for example, protection against manipulation, sexual and physical abuse, and exploitation, and against sexual discrimination in the delivery of goods and services.” Over the last decade, UNHCR has made significant strides in appointing more women to senior level positions and has ensured that its staff receives comprehensive gender-sensitive training. In some countries like Turkey, it has also provided training to government officials responsible for refugees and advised police, border guards and military personnel on refugee and humanitarian law, including women-friendly practices.

The past decade has also seen the establishment of women’s initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda and Kosovo, which looked specifically at the needs of women and girls when conflict is over, recognizing the contribution they could make to rebuilding societies devastated by war and promoting the involvement of women’s groups in emerging civil societies. “The Kosova Women’s Initiative has demonstrated a positive change in the women’s lives”, said Pranvera Reqica, from the OXFAM/Kosova Women’s Initiative, UNHCR Executive Committee. “Women’s organizations are showing tremendous advancement and progress. Newly established NGOs are gaining skills and ... are representing the voices of women.”

But a true gender perspective would not be complete without the inclusion of men and boys. In refugee camps of Pakistan, Afghan women who run schools for girls hear constant requests from young boys wanting to join their education programmes. Without an education, these boys may grow up to oppress and abuse women, and may have no alternative but to join the military and commit acts of violence. They need special attention too.

Millions of women refugees play an essential role in sustaining communities during and after conflict. They work quietly for peace and reconciliation, and take responsibility for the safety of their children. Their voices deserve to be heard.

Links:
Brief overview of the NGO Working Group on Women, International Peace and Security

The NGO Working Group on Women, International Peace and Security includes: Amnesty International, the Hague Appeal for Peace, International Alert, the International Women’s Tribune Center, the Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.