WORLD BRIDGE BLOG

The recent displacement wave in Pakistan forced up to 2 million people out of their homes in less than 6 weeks. Most of the displaced stayed out of camps but with host families. Relatives, friends and even perfect strangers who lived in the lower lands of Mardan and beyond, opened their doors to help out their fellow Pakistanis from the mountainous valleys of Swat and Buner. It is a testament to the hospitable nature of the Pashtuns, without which this humanitarian crisis could have had far greater consequences.

The international campaign of the 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence, of which Refugees International is a participant, is an opportunity to focus on the plight of women in emergencies and reflect on all the aspects violence can take. Everywhere women face particular challenges because of their gender, and too often the humanitarian programs are oblivious to their needs. In Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of women had to abandon all their belongings, leave their homes where they felt safe, to travel a long way on foot, carts or buses because of generalized or targeted violence that affected their families and communities.

But their trouble did not end there. Last October I visited the Jalozai camp for displaced Pakistani families. Jalozai is located about 40 minutes outside Peshawar, and was previously used for Afghan refugees who had since returned to their country. I spoke to a family who had arrived 3 days prior from the Khyber agency on the border with Afghanistan. The men talked about the political situation and the difficulty in getting the government to help them. The women had more pressing concerns. They were stuck under tents, unable to go out because of cultural sensitivities forbidding women to be seen by strangers. They had to wait until nightfall and be escorted by men from their family to be able to access the latrines, just 30 meters away.

All that was needed to make life a little more bearable was plastic sheeting. When I asked the government official in charge of the camp why nothing had been done to address the problem, he responded that he had more important things to do. I could only wonder if he would feel the same way if he were the one stuck in the heat of a tent, unable to use latrines or bathe.

Gender-based violence is much more than sexual or domestic violence. It is all the actions and omissions that take away from women’s dignity and ability to access all the services that seem so basic to all of us. Aid workers often forget that women’s needs are sometimes different and culturally specific. These 16 days give us a chance to reflect on this, but we should be conscious of it all year long.

TAKE ACTION: Urge Congress to re-introduce the International Violence Against Women Act.

For the next few weeks, Refugees International will be posting about the rights of women around the globe as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.