Are Issues of Gender Important in Processes of Flight and Forced Displacement - Essay Example

To what extent are issues of gender important in processes of flight and forced displacement? Introduction Issues of gender seem to have been aroundfor as long as anyone can remember. It is a phenomenon which has managed to pervade almost every aspect of our lives – from our sociocultural relationships to our work settings. It has also managed affect almost all corners of the globe – from the most progressive to the least developed nations and societies. In instances of civil unrest, the issue of gender seems to affect women more than men. In general the world total of international migrants grew from 100 million in 1960 to 175 million in 2000 and a large percentage of these refugees are women and children (UNHCR, 2006). These women become especially vulnerable to flight and forced displacement when civil unrest and wars are fought by their mother countries or by their ethnic communities. These issues of gender impact differently on the processes of flight and forced displacement; in some instances, it may bear a heavier or much more significant impact as compared to other issues. This paper shall assess the extent to which the issues of gender bear importance in processes of flight and displacement. It shall use particular cases in order to present a clear explanation of the issues set forth in this paper. Discussion The extent to which issues of gender are important in processes of flight and forced displacement may be considered based on several points which relate to the impact that displacement can bring to a person’s life. Women are especially vulnerable because many of them are often subjected to rape, involuntary servitude and violence (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). These are abuses which are often successfully perpetrated on women because they are physically weaker and may not be able to fend off the violent and forceful advances of strong and powerful men. Nevertheless, “displaced and refugee women and girls are often resilient survivors, courageous protectors and untiring caregivers” (Buscher & McKenna, 2006, p. 1). However, these women must first face dangers unique to their gender like rape, gender-based violence and even forced labor. They are also in danger during various stages of displacement from their flight to their displacement and on to their return (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). They, along with their children, face these risks and dangers, even as they face the daily challenge of trying to survive with hardly any food, clothing, or shelter. In the case of the Afghan women, children and girls, they faced and they are still facing most of the dangers as previously mentioned above. Gender issues are important in the processes of flight and displacement because women tend to suffer more abuses and face more problems than their male counterparts. Many Afghan women in Pakistan camps have fallen pregnant; and many of these pregnancies were due to sexual abuses or rape (BBC News, 2001). And with deplorable conditions in these camps, many of these women die from childbirth – creating one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Most of these women hardly know anything about sexually transmitted diseases and many of them are even reluctant to participate in AIDS/sexually transmitted examinations. Moreover, there is limited staff to care for their needs (BBC News, 2001). Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan also face harsh winters and it is difficult to deliver supplies to these IDPs as many of them disperse over a large urban population or a vast geographical region. Aid workers can barely keep track of them and face difficulties in delivering supplies to these people (BBC News, 2001). These displaced people also face harsh realities in their own country (Afghanistan) because their country is preoccupied in fighting a war that never seems to end. Gender issues are important in processes of flight and displacement because, most of the time, it is the women which suffer displacement. Displaced young girls are even more vulnerable because their immaturity makes them easy to manipulate into sexual relations and other forms of subjugation. They may see men as protectors and providers, but they do not fully understand the risks involved in being under these men’s ‘protection.’ “As such, displaced girls may be susceptible to engaging in sexual relationships in return for money, food or a job” (Buscher & McKenna, 2006, p. 1). More often than not, they would not have received proper schooling. They hardly know anything about pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. They would likely not think twice about engaging in sexual relations with their so-called protectors because they are not aware of the dangers that come with every sexual encounter. These women are also often abducted or sometimes recruited by armed groups where they are forced to be sex slaves, combatants; they are also forced to cook, clean, and wash for the men (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). In many societies, especially those which are rife with civil and military unrest, women and girls are often burdened with caring for their families on the domestic front. Consequently, many of them have not attended school and other activities which would have made them capable of earning a living and surviving on their own. They are not knowledgeable of any skills which would have secured them a source of income or a means of supporting themselves without having to depend on other people, especially men. An article by Elass (2007) writes about the case of Iraqi women refugees who are often kidnapped, raped and abused by civil combatants. These gender-based abuses are important issues in the flight and displacement processes because these abuses make it difficult for displaced women and families to rebuild their lives. Elass (2007) sets forth an example of Noura, a refugee Iraqi woman who was raped in Iraq. She was later able to escape to Beirut where she was able to rebuild her life with her husband and children. However, the family was not completely able to shrug the incident easily off of their shoulders. Noura narrates how her husband now hits her for no apparent reason. He did not do so before the incident (Elass, 2007). Noura’s brothers also blame the husband for his inability to protect her from harm. Moreover, Noura seems to have developed sexual impotence since the attack (Elass, 2007). It is important to consider these gender-based issues because there seems to be a veil of silence among victims of rape. Women are afraid to talk about it because of the shame the act has brought upon them. Even aid workers are reluctant to talk about these acts with victims and even with perpetrators because of the cultural sensitivity which accompanies the issue (Elass, 2007). And yet, as this veil of silence remains over this issue, a firm resolution cannot be implemented. Women will continue to suffer from and it and these gender issues will continue to impact on the flight and displacement processes of refugees. The gender-based issue is also important to consider because men also tend to suffer gender-specific problems as refugees. In the case of Sudan, the UNHCR reports that young men who are of fighting age are often singled out for detention and interrogation (International Refugee Rights Initiative, 2006). They are regarded with suspicion as combatants in the civil conflict. In the process, they are often tortured and eventually forced to take up arms very like their adult counterparts. A report by Block (1987) describes how refugee men in Somalia, who were later able to gain asylum in Canada, were tortured in detention cells in their home country. They were considered IDPs. As IDPs, they were detained for reasons like staging protests against the government, hurling verbal criticism of the government, and for being suspected of writing anti-government graffiti (Block, 1987). These men however, were never formally charged for their alleged transgressions and none of them were ever brought to trial. These detainees were kept in small cells along with 10 to 20 other prisoners and given some rice or bread and tea once a day (Block, 1987). They faced deplorable conditions during their incarceration and they were made to endure beatings, burns from cigarettes, electric shocks, cuts from knives or bayonets (Block, 1987). The refugees remember how many of their fellow inmates did not survive the imprisonment and torture. Those who did survive were not unaffected by the events because they also bore the physical, as well as the emotional scars of their incarceration. Many men are also forced to bear arms in support of causes they are not even fully aware of. In Kenya, young men and boys from the Dadaab refugee camps were recruited as combatants. Many of them agreed to fight because they were promised money and support from the United States and even the United Nations (Tayler & Albin-Lackey, 2009). However, their actual pay often turns out to be only a pittance compared to what they were actually promised. As soon as the young combatants find out that they were tricked, many of them are sent into the frontlines with their cell phones and identity papers confiscated (Tayler & Albin-Lackey, 2009). And before they can even escape from their forced servitude, they are usually killed in battle. The pattern for many male refugees is similar in different countries under civil unrest. Men are plucked from their homes, kidnapped even, and forced or tempted to take up guns in support of rebel causes. And like women, their gender can also be used as a weapon of war, as a means of imposing physical superiority over other people. In the case of Burundi society, the gender issue is crucial to the flight and displacement process because it is a society which has traditional ideas about the role of men and women in the family. The father is considered the breadwinner and hence, he is authorized to give orders in the household, and is allowed to treat the members of his household badly (Turner, 1999). The Burundi wife and child are also obligated to respect and obey the breadwinner of the family. With the entry of the United Nations Human Rights Commission which mandates that the rights of men and women should be equal, it has also given the women the right to give the orders in the household (Turner, 1999). This is against the traditions in Burundi society. Going against the traditions in a society is a complicated and tenuous process because it endangers the stability of the society. Eventually, this also contributes to the disintegration of gender relations (Turner, 1999). Many of the Burundi natives are also now starting to realize that they have become overly dependent on the UNHCR and they liken themselves to babies in the UNHCR’s arms. And many men find themselves losing their masculinity and authority in their own household because the UNHCR has largely taken over their roles as breadwinner and provider in their household (Turner, 1999). In the process, because of the different and traditional outlook of men and women in Burundi society, the effectiveness of the UNHCR programs seems to have been undermined (Turner, 1999). Many displaced women and girls in the cities face dangers because they are given limited, if at all, assistance from government authorities. Since most of these refugees also belong to the urban poor, many aid workers find it hard to identify and support these displaced persons in urban areas as compared to those found in refugee camps (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). These refugees may often be found in communities which do not have adequate access to humanitarian aid and assistance. Such was the case in Somalia where those who wanted to escape the violence and insecurities within their borders were forced to seek refuge in temporary camps. These camps were inaccessible to humanitarian agencies for security reasons or because access was denied by those controlling the region (Walters, 2010). These IDPs carry the most risk because by fleeing their tribes and the violence surrounding their tribes, they also give up protection from their tribes. Consequently, they now expose themselves to the risks of suffering and human rights abuses from other tribes (Walters, 2010). These abuses include: forced eviction, child labor, sexual and gender-based violence, and rape. They are also subjected to human right abuses like deplorable living conditions, limited supply of food and drinking water and the appurtenant health issues which come from improper hygiene, unclean water, sanitation, and exposure to various vectors of diseases (Walters, 2010). Gender-based issues are crucial to the flight and displacement processes because many of those who flee violence and civil unrest are women and children. The men often join the fighting, leaving their homes and families vulnerable to violence and attack from other tribes and less scrupulous men. “In a refugee camp in Somalia in 1987, 60 women died within seven months from complications during childbirth directly related to anaemia” (Walker, 1996). These women do not only face the dangers of childbirth, but they also carry the burden of raising healthy babies. However, in the light of limited access to adequate and nutritious food, they are often confronted with malnutrition problems. Their children too, end up having insufficient nutrients in order to survive (Walker, 1996). The issue of food distribution is also a complicated and even tradition-laden exercise. International aid organizations assisting these refugees often set-up food distribution activities in refugee camps. For some ethnic groupings, women are not allowed at these distribution centers; they are obliged to wait for the men to bring their food (Walker, 1996). In Burundi, it is difficult for women to compete with men in the food distribution process and many of them often end up with limited supplies, barely enough to feed themselves and their children (Emmot, 1994). Gender-based issues are crucial to the flight and displacement processes because it is important for international agencies to implement measures to address these issues. The adjustments to protect the vulnerable population must be implemented with the eye to reducing gender-based abuse and violence (Walker, 1996). An article by Okio (2008) discusses the plight of the Ugandan refugees who escaped the outbreak of violence in 1986. Many residents were displaced by the outbreak of violence, especially women and children. Many of them were also “forced to commute between their homes and trading and urban centers on a daily basis” (Okio, 2008). Women and children were forced to leave their homes in order to survive. And in the commute, many of them were exposed to the dangers of rape and sexual defilement. Many of them were kidnapped and given to older men as ‘wives,’ soon to be discarded when they get pregnant (Okio, 2008). In Uganda, many parents were separated from their children. They all became vulnerable to cross fire and many of them were killed or maimed by the war (Okio, 2008). “As a result, the problems of orphans, disability and trauma have emerged in the region” (Okio, 2008, p. 1). The Ugandan peace crisis is called one of the worse humanitarian crises because of the astronomical levels of human rights abuse in the region. And again, it is important to note how women have suffered the most from this 22-year conflict. They suffered on the physiological front and also the psychological front as they became subject to the whims and caprices of the men as sexual objects, slaves, and even as troops trained to fill in combat numbers (Okio, 2008). Many of these women have lost their lives fighting a cause which was never theirs, but which they were forced to fight for fear of their lives. And many of them would still lose their lives in the process. Even if they were lucky enough to survive the battles, they still faced the danger of being captured by the opposing troops and again being vulnerable to the decisions of the men (Okio, 2008). Women refugees seeking advice from health facilities find these health facilities to be overstretched. Hence, most of the users in these facilities are men. In 1984, a refugee camp in Sudan registered 28,000 refugees with about 75% being women and children. However, noticeably, the 26 inpatients, and most of the outpatients treated at the hospital near the camp were all men (Murphy, 1989). These women also find it hard to avail of the services of these facilities because the times when the clinics are open coincide with their time to do their chores and line-up for their food and water rations (Walker, 1996). The services in these facilities also do not coincide with what the services which the women seek. In the case of Rwandan refugees, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children sets forth that many of the women who are about to give birth do not do so in the hospitals and clinics. Most Rwandan women prefer to give birth in the squatting position; this ‘style’ of giving birth does not coincide with hospital practices because these hospitals make women lie down during the birthing process (Wulf, 1994). Engaging displaced refugees in establishing leadership structures is also a complicated task to implement in these displaced communities. Consequently, displaced women become even more vulnerable to abuse by landlords and even employers who abuse their questionable legal status and absent support systems (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). Reports also reveal that internally displaced persons (IDPs) get less attention and lesser access to services as compared to refugees. These IDPs hardly have any legal protection because they do not fall under the mandates of any international law (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). Although the Guiding Principles of Internal Displacement are widely accepted as the mandates applicable to IDPs, it is still not as easy to implement these mandates because they often contradict the sovereignty of involved states (Newman & van Selm, 2003). Indeed, in some cases, it is well within the rights of the state to refuse assistance for these IDPs by claiming state sovereignty. In most instances, for IDPs, the presence of donor governments and international staff is limited. As a result, hardly any funding or support ever actually reaches the IDPs. The fact that many of these refugees are women and girls often serves to exacerbate their dire situation (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). We also note in the study by Sideris (2003), where she analyzed the premise that the psychological impact of war-related violence on women relies largely on the concepts which develop in research on male combatants. The author’s research covered post-traumatic stress disorder and various combinations of symptoms which are main effects of war-related events for women (Sideris, 2006). Her study focused mainly on the war in Mozambique during the 1970s and 1980s which typically illustrated how women have become a vital part of the war (Sideris, 2003). Research on African women and testimony of Mozambican women settling in South Africa were used in order to establish how gender is related to the psychological and the social outcomes of heavy fighting. The study shows that indeed, wars and massive violence affects women physiologically and psychologically as they are vulnerable to suffer the many atrocities of war with hardly any protection or relief (Sideris, 2003). The protection of the IDPs is, in most cases, not prioritized as a concern over basic survival needs. This has consequently made the rape and abuse of women girls a common occurrence. This was demonstrated in the case of Darfur when women and girls were raped. One of the Darfur survivors narrate that in the Kalma IDP camp where she stayed for three years, routine violence against women and girls was perpetrated (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). They also hardly had any food or protection, and so they lived in both hunger and fear. And many of them were exposed to violence and rape while they gathered wood for their families. “Every day, for example, millions of displaced and refugee women and girls in conflict areas must collect and sell firewood in dangerous conditions, and are at risk of rape, assault, abduction, theft and even death” (Busher & McKenna, 2006, p. 2). They exposed themselves to such risks because they hardly had any choice; they needed the income and the firewood in order to survive. It is important for the United Nations to recognize the dire needs of refugees, especially the women and girls, in order to focus on these needs and render much needed assistance. If these refugees do not have to leave their communities in search of food, they would minimize the risks of being exposed to risk like rape and violence (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). These international agencies can also help focus their concerns to the simple needs of these people – firewood and other fuel sources – in order to prevent these families from leaving the protection of the camps. Some experts also suggest that designated collection points for firewood must be set, routinely patrolled and guarded to ensure the protection of gatherers (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). Moreover, income generating-activities must also be provided for these refugees in order to make them productive, even independent of international aid. The most important reform which can be implemented in order to eliminate and minimize violence against refugees, especially the displaced women and girls, is to change the attitude of perpetrators and to punish them for their actions. “The international community can do a lot to mitigate these and other protection risks, with input from refugee women and girls themselves” (Busher & McKenna, 2006, p. 2). These women are very much willing to participate and cooperate in the implementation of measures which would protect and provide assistance for them, and the move must come from the international community to render assistance to them (Buscher & McKenna, 2006). Conclusion This paper illustrates how gender-based issues affect flight and displacement processes. The study was able to point out that women and girls are especially vulnerable to the effects of civil unrest because they are often subject to sexual abuses from men. Because they are easily overpowered by men, they are also physically abused and forced to serve men as slaves and as sexual objects. They are also forced to submit to the will of men in the food distribution line. With limited food and shelter, they are served last in the food chain. Along with their children, they suffer more than just the physical atrocities of war; they also suffer its psychological trauma. International aid offered to these women is also entangled with the principles of sovereignty prevalent in many nations. In the process, women, girls and other children suffer poverty, malnutrition, diseases, and all manners of abuse as displaced persons. Men also suffer their fair share of gender-based problems as refugees because they are often kidnapped and detained as combatants. Many of them are trained as soldiers and eventually sent off to fight to the frontlines while their captors are safely in the background. Their potential for physical strength is used as a weapon of war. However, as soon as violence breaks out, they are often the first to be killed. These refugees are forced to endure all sorts of hardships because of their gender – women as the weaker sex are violated physically and sexually; and men as the physically stronger sex are made to fight as soldiers. In the general sense of war, they are both casualties. 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