Refugee Women Will Be Heard

Illustrations by Jasmine Thompson for RWOB

Refugee women in Greece have been speaking out about the gross mistreatment they have received and been subjected to upon arrival in Greece, along with their perilous experience getting there. After a grueling journey; they are kept camps as poorly run as they are poorly built. Some were shut down after labeled "uninhabitable", only to be reopened when numbers increased. The restrooms and showers in these Greek refugee camps do not have any locking mechanisms; leaving women extremely vulnerable to assault and violence that they were fleeing from in the first place. And if they are not let in, they become the victims of smugglers. These women, seen as "illegals", will not be helped by European police.

An Iraqi refugee currently placed in a Greek camp near Athens told Amnesty International that “we feel totally forgotten. Some of us have been in the camp for two years and nothing is changing…I can hardly communicate about my problems because no one speaks our language.”

Variations of all of the nightmarish conditions detailed here happen all across the globe-- and when they most need it, women's voices are stripped away.

Women outside of the Moira camp in Lesbos, Greece, to register for asylum. Overcrowding at the Moria camp forces many women to sleep in the midst of large numbers of men.
Photos by Marie Doriginy

Migrant and Refugee women deserve humanity. This is something only villains could possibly argue against. Yet, where is it? Why do these women have to be forced to live in these places? Why are women not believed when they raise concerns?

Women who are fleeing from their country deserve basic human rights. If your home country was in the midst of a civil war or dictatorial political regime or something that else that had you fearing for you life, wouldn't you want to be able to hop the border to safety? Of course you would. Yet, many governments (like that of Greece) do not extend the level of hospitality needed in order to house battered and hurting women. Yet women face continuous discrimination as refugees that men do not experience.

Working to change that could change the lives of thousands of refugee women.

Under the Geneva Convention Statutes for refugees, refugee status is granted for “persons outside their country of nationality who have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” (Mertus, 2000). Gender based violence is excluded from this narrative, so a woman trying to escape from a gender-violent situation are given very little opportunity to do so.

In addition to this, women also have an incredibly hard time achieving refugee status without listing themselves as someones dependent. Essentially, this adds to the complication of fleeing a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Canada was the first to make gender-based violence a valid reason to seek asylum, with other countries like the United States following suit. However, this has not done much to help women seeking asylum without men-- women face continuous discrimination on this issue, as well as elsewhere in their lives as refugees.

Madleen Kullab pictured on the shores of the Gaza strip.

Discrimination is also shown in the way of reactional violence by men on women. Gaza refugee Madleen Kullab, at only 21 years old, is the sole fisherwoman of the Gaza strip amongst all men. “The sea is my life, my job, my hobby, and the place where I can find myself", she states when asked why she continues with her perilous occupation. It is not uncommon for the Israeli navy to shoot down fisher boats, leading to injury and death. Despite being in a male-dominated line of work, alone she continues.

Palestinian women like Kullab have had to become breadwinners in the face of an eight-year blockade and a destroyed economy. They challenge traditional cultural gender roles in the face of this adversity, which is often met with male violence. Why is it that women are always the ones blamed by men for misfortunes, and yet are the ones expected to step it up and become breadwinners and the face of adversity. Then, they are blamed again for stepping outside of traditional roles. Apparently, women cannot win.

However, this discrimination and violence is not without hope-- refugee women are banding together to make their voices heard, and find solutions for themselves.

Illustration by Jasmine Thompson for RWOB

For Syrian refugees, a topic close to home for me living 40 minutes away from a large Syrian refugee camp here in the U.S., gendered violence has been cited as one of the top causes for forced migration among Syrian women. The Refugee Women of Bristol (RWOB) is "the only multi-ethnic, multi-faith charity that is directly governed by refugee women", a group that through self governance helps other refugees navigate life in a new place and overcome obstacles in front of them. They are stronger together, and while discrimination and inhumanity is still a huge problem, refugee women persist.

In the case of the women in Greece, they are setting up initiatives to create safe spaces for women to gain access to medical care, learn new skills to help themselves and their families, and build connections with one another. This, like RWOB, is incredibly important and inspiring. These women are working towards making their voices heard, and changing these abuses they have faced.

It should not be solely on their shoulders.

In this era of Trump and ISIS and detainment centers, refugee women's rights and discriminations against them are blatantly lacking, with women being denied basic health care and subject to horrific abuse. Women are assaulted and their attackers are confirmed to the Supreme Court. Refugee women are denied asylum because their fears are not valid enough, or because a man is not there give validation.

 Often, the argument is that men suffer just as much as a victim of forced migration. This is not true when the man raises his fists or corners a woman taking a shower.

Now, more than ever, women across all borders need to come together to end this injustice.


It is international women's day, and on this day we honor all women for what they have that is special and unique to them.

Women deserve to be treated with as much respect is men.

This includes refugee women.

They will be heard.

Mural by Joel Artista for Syrian refugees to contribute at Zaatari camp.

Works Cited:

“Gaza Refugee Women: a Life of Many Faces.” UNRWA, 1 Apr. 2015, www.unrwa.org/newsroom/photos/gaza-refugee-women-life-many-faces.

“Greece: Refugee Women Speak out against Violence, Dangerous Conditions and Official Neglect.” Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/10/refugee-women-in-greece-speak-out-against-violence-dangerous-conditions-and-official-neglect/.

Torres , Anastasia B. FMO Thematic Guide: Gender and Forced Migration.