Female Migrants and Refugees Leaving a Positive Mark within their Communities
Over the past 60 years, there has been an increase in the number of females migrants migrating for work, education, and as the heads of the households (1). Currently, 47.9%, around 130 million of the international migrant stock are females (1). In Africa, 48% of migrants are females, with male migrants experiencing more growth in the recent years. Many news stories have warned about the possibilities of female migrants facing stronger discrimination, often having to face double discrimination as a migrant and female, as well as an overall increase in vulnerability toward mistreatment (1). Despite, a recurring negative tone surrounding female migrants in media, females have made waves in cementing themselves as important figures in the development of their countries.
Lacing media with a positive tone on female migration can take on many forms of delivery. In Beirut, female run bilingual biannual magazine Journal Safar, dedicated their latest and fifth issue “Migrations” to humanizing the women who work under Kafala (2). 23 million domestic workers, many of which are from Asian and African countries are trapped under the Kafala system, which is an employment scheme offered to many migrants in the hope of higher pay. The reality is that the women are often they are met with low paying jobs that binds them to the employer (2). This edition is published at a time where many activists have renewed calls to abolish Kafala and hopes to share different voices on migration and displacement, while simultaneously challenging the singular pre-existing discourse on migration by asserting a more humanising one. Another method of delivery is through storytelling, Syrian born athlete Yursa Mardini first made her Olympic debut in Rio 2016 as part of the Refugee Olympic Team (3). Since then, she has released a book detailing her journey in 2018, participated in numerous talks in the hope that others can find strength in her story (3).
For many refugees in refugee camps the options are limited and the process of waiting on a visa can be hopeless and tiring. Love Welcomes is a charity organisation teaching Syrian women in a refugee camp outside Athens how to weave on a simple loom (4). The recycled yarn and thread is derived from life vests and blankets that are discarded once the refugees disembark from boats. The products from the women are sold online and at markets across the world. The organisation has seen major expansion after the artist Banksy created a new doormat design for the charity that sells for £500 apiece. The profits from the sales helped expand the workforce from nine to 40 women and all are paid fair wages (4). Further, the organization has kickstarted a micro economy at the camp, where the profits from the sales fund buses into Athens, where the camp residents can shop for clothes and supplies. It has also helped start businesses at the camp, such as a restaurant and a coffee bar (4). The business model has proved so successful that it Love Welcomes co-founder Abi Hewitt, has been asked to open workshops in 14 other camps. For more information and to shop visit https://www.lovewelcomes.org/.
Migration can also have an impact on the community left behind, and often with male migration increasing females are left to take care of the household. In Senegal, in Sinthiou Diam Dior village, all families have at least one person migrate out of their communities, with the majority being the male (5). Thus, the women are often forced to leave their studies and take care of the land and children. Five years ago, a sliver of hope appeared in the form of renewable energy. The women of the villages joined forces with the support from the NGO Green Cross to launch the Project Energy to Stay, which installs new technologies in the villages to draw water from the river and irrigate the fields (5). This eliminates the use of expensive gasoline to pump water and replaces it with solar panels that power a water collection system. This system also irrigates the fields using pipelines buried in the soil to deliver water over time. This system has helped produce enough fruit and vegetables to feed more than 900 people (5).
During the current COVID-19 pandemic migrant and refugee women in Melbourne and Bangladesh have stepped up to make face masks during lockdown (6,7). In Melbourne, a not-for-profit social enterprise SisterWorks has allowed for 30 women to work from home and produce between 7,000 to 10,000 masks per week (6). The organisation shifted from producing ethnically made homewares, handmade body care, toys, and jewellery to making masks for the Australian public. In Bangladesh, the Cooperating Partners BRAC and Action Aid have made a total of 92,000 masks in eight skills development centres with 95 refugee women at the helm (7).
The IOM programme "Migrant Women for Development in Africa" (WMIDA) is engaging West African women migrants residing in Italy in the development of their countries. The programme will support West African women migrants interested in using their remittances to establish small or medium enterprises in their countries of origin through joint ventures with Italian partners and host communities (8). Up to 37 projects were collected in response to the Call for Proposals from Senegalese, Ghanaian, Burkinabe, Ivorian, Cameroonian, Cape Verdean, Malian, Nigerian, Sierra Leonian and Togolese women (8).
The hope of this blog post is to highlight the positive contribution that migrant and refugee women have made in the last years. From making masks to meet the demands of the current climate, to building long term solar energy systems in border regions that allow for irrigation of the fields, these stories serve as a positive narration among news stories that highlight the dangers and vulnerabilities of female refugees and migrants.
James Chapman and Felipa Schmidt
SIHMA SIHMA
Project Manager Research and Communication Intern
Sources:
- https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/gender-and-migration
- https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/4ay77j/this-beirut-based-zine-uplifts-lebanons-domestic-workers
- https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/news/detail/yusra-mardini-exclusive-refugees-tokyo/
- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/01/were-giving-people-a-reason-to-wake-up-crafting-a-new-life-for-refugees-around-the-world
- https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/senegal-village-of-women/index.html
- https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/migrant-refugee-women-melbourne-masks/
- https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/wfp-bangladesh-rohingya-refugee-response-situation-report-39-june-2020
- https://www.iom.int/engaging-migrant-women-development-africa
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