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Introduction

While gender is an often-neglected variable in studies of migration, migration is a largely gendered phenomenon — women comprise almost half of international migrants (48%) and registered refugees (46%).[1] The experience of displacement can create gender-specific hardships or exacerbate existing gender inequalities, but it can also create new opportunities and transform gender relations. When gender is considered in the context of displacement — whether by host country governments or humanitarian organizations — there are many assumptions of how women’s experiences differ from men, with women frequently viewed as vulnerable and agentless actors. In reality, migrant women are not inherently vulnerable; it is the circumstances in which they find themselves and the policies they live under that produce precarity.[2]

To explore and understand the experiences of women migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in the context of the Middle East and North Africa, the following briefs consider how gender impacts displacement and migration, and how gender succeeds — or fails — to inform policies toward displaced individuals. Using detailed case studies of specific populations and host countries, the contributing authors — who include scholars from Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Palestine, Tunisia, and Lebanon — examine how women experience displacement differently from men. They ask whether and how gender has been integrated into humanitarian or state-led programming, and to what effect. They also consider innovative and community-based strategies that women use to ensure they have the necessary support for themselves and their families. Finally, they explore how these narratives counter stereotypes of women migrants and refugees as lacking agency, instead revealing their resiliency and self-sufficiency.

In the first brief, Dina Taha examines how Syrian women have used marriage as a self-resettlement strategy in Egypt, a practice she calls “marriage for refuge.” These marriages are often unregistered, religious, and polygamous — aspects that have led to heavy criticism from women advocacy groups. However, contrary to narratives of these marriages as exploitative, Taha finds that many women have used “marriage for refuge” as a social, economic, and legal survival tool that can offer a form of protection. Ultimately, she challenges stereotypes about the meaning and the option of marriage, reframing “marriage for refuge” as a tool for self-resettlement, self-protection, and self-empowerment.

In the Turkish context, Saniye Dedeoğlu explores how Turkish employers have benefitted from — and in some cases exploited — the labor of Syrian refugee women in the Turkish agricultural sector. After assessing the increased workload that Syrian women experience in agriculture and domestic activities in Turkey, Dedeoğlu argues that the survival of Syrian refugees relies not only on the longer hours that women work, but also on imposing stricter control by men over women and their labor. In some cases, women do not receive their wages, which are instead paid to their husbands, reinforcing patriarchal practices. Dedeoğlu argues that women refugees’ work must be formalized in order to prevent this type of exploitation.

Jasmin Lilian Diab focuses on the intersection of migration, gender, health, and economic insecurity in Lebanon during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalent and systemic gender inequalities that particularly affect refugee and migrant women in Lebanon have been exacerbated by the pandemic, translating into diminished access to resources, services, and opportunities. Women and girls continue to have insufficient access to social and legal protection, which is reflected in the sharp increases in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and child marriage in settlements across the country. Diab concludes that to combat these intersecting gender inequalities, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive approach that involves community-based organizations and local governments working together to provide these women with legal and social resources as well as health services.

Reem Ladadwa, Rula Ghandour, and Wee’am Hammoudeh explore the health challenges that refugee girl adolescents experience in Palestinian camps in Jordan and the West Bank. They examine how factors like overcrowding, lack of infrastructure, and insufficient recreational activities impact both the physical and mental health of young Palestinian refugee women. Their health is also affected by the reduced mobility caused by their social environment; as girls reach puberty, families and communities often closely monitor their movement within the camp. To address these challenges, the authors propose several solutions: creating centers that offer culturally sensitive activities for girls, working with camp families to increase awareness about the transitions that girls experience, and increasing the integration of camp residents into host communities.

With a focus on Morocco, Mohamed Khalis, Laila Acharai, Oumnia Bouaddi, Aasmaa Chaoui, Sanae Elomrani, Abdelhakim Yahyane, and Bouchra Assarag also consider the topic of health among migrant women through a survey they conducted with sub-Saharan African migrants in Rabat. Their research shows a high prevalence of SGBV, poor utilization of support services, and significant sexual and reproductive health issues. To address these issues, they recommend expanding access to information about existing protection and support services, improving research and data collection on SGBV, and developing coordination mechanisms between stakeholders focused on migrant health and protection.

Iman El-Mahdi examines Sudanese refugee and migrant women on the move in Egypt, a population that has a long history of migration to the country. While women on the move are often portrayed as helpless and voiceless victims, her research shows the opportunities that Sudanese women on the move in Egypt create for themselves through community-making. El-Mahdi argues that by creating associations, improvised schools, and monetary savings groups, Sudanese women establish networks of reciprocity and community that serve as coping mechanisms to navigate their everyday hardships in Cairo. El-Mahdi also argues that people on the move, including women, should have a leading say in how they are represented and should participate in the development of programs and policies that impact them.

Also looking at Egypt, Adam Eddouss assesses the experiences of Egyptian migrant women and questions why women have been comparatively absent from narratives and statistics on Egyptian emigration. For decades, migrant women have served as an important form of Egyptian state-building and have generated significant remittances, he writes. He argues that even if women constitute a smaller percentage of Egyptian emigrants, it is critical to include their perspectives and analyze their experiences in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of Egyptian migration and the dynamics that shape it. Ultimately, Eddouss argues that the Egyptian state can do more to raise awareness about the existing and future contributions that migrant women make to Egyptian society, and can also take greater steps to gain the confidence of migrants abroad, including women, to enhance their transnational ties to Egypt and their contributions to its development.

Finally, Merve Erdilmen examines the way in which women-refugee-led organizations in Turkey interpret gender mainstreaming, a concept that has been largely defined by international organizations. She argues that gender mainstreaming policies often rely on Western conceptions of women’s empowerment — e.g., developing economic agency — instead of focusing on the context-specific experiences of refugee communities. According to Erdilmen, a holistic approach that amplifies the voices of refugee women and takes into account other aspects of their social lives — for instance, their religious identities — is necessary to develop more sustainable and ethical gender policies within the global refugee regime.

This compilation is based on “The Intersection of Gender and Displacement in the Middle East and North Africa” workshop held in Cairo, Egypt, in October 2022. Thank you to the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at The American University in Cairo (AUC) for hosting the workshop, especially Naseem Hashim, outreach coordinator at CMRS. In addition to the authors and hosts, we would like to thank Sarah Sadek, adjunct professor at CMRS, and Gerda Heck, assistant professor of sociology at AUC’s Department of Sociology, Egyptology, and Anthropology, for participating as discussants and providing feedback at the workshop, which greatly contributed to the discussion around these critical topics. Emilia Gauch, an undergraduate student at Rice University, also provided invaluable assistance in the editing of the briefs. The workshop was funded with the generous support of the Qatar Fund for Development.
 

[1] The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), “International Migrant Stock 2020,” https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/international-migrant-stock; UNHCR, “Refugee Data Finder,” 2020, https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=pP3jV0.  

[2] Jennifer Hyndman, “Managing Displacement: Refugees and the Politics of Humanitarianism,” Borderlines 16, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000); Sara Ahmed, The Cultural Politics of Emotion, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004).
 

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