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Mostly some people do not know why there are Arab women refugees, whether they are recognized as refugees or even not, and It may raise some people's questions, Because the picture drawn in people's minds about the refugee is the image of an African or Arab man who has fled his country for political, ethnic or religious reasons.
Therefore, let us explain to you in this article the reason for the flight of some Arab women from their countries. In addition to the political reasons for the flight of Arab women from their countries, there are other reasons that some may not know.
Sometimes Arab women are victims of wars or political conflicts, as is the case with refugee men, but sometimes Arab women migrate for many other reasons related to their exposure to persecution and gender-based discrimination.
Discrimination against women is “any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of sex,” which has the effect or purpose of “attenuating or thwarting the recognition by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field,” as well as “attenuating or thwarting their enjoyment.” These rights or their exercise thereof, regardless of their marital status and on the basis of equality between them and men,” in accordance with Article 1 of the (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), which was adopted by the (United Nations General) Assembly on December 18, 1979 and entered into force on 3 September 1981.
Also, most Arab countries are not considered safe countries for women, not only physical violence, but there is also sexual violence, and the crimes of underage marriage, as well as crimes of female genital mutilation, harassment and rape crimes, domestic violence and marital rape.
In some Arab countries, women are prevented from completing their studies or from traveling alone, whether for work or study.
Millions of women in Arab countries are subjected to rape, forced marriage, harassment, violence and negative discrimination, and women are also considered as second-class citizens and do not have the same rights that men obtain, and there are also great differences in the chances of obtaining work and social advancement between men and women.
A recent study conducted by the (Thomson Reuters) Foundation showed that Egypt is the worst Arab country for women to live in, and Iraq came in second place, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.
Also, the political conflicts, disasters and epidemics in the Arab regions have also caused a decline in the cultural and economic status of Arab women.
In Iraq, the (Supreme Judicial Council) announced that the courts recorded during one year (2019) about 16,861 cases of domestic violence, In this regard, Egypt monitored a total of 78 family crimes in Greater Cairo (the capital, Giza and Qalyubia), which resulted in 82 deaths in 2020, according to a census conducted by the (Egyptian Al-Ahram Gate).
Also, Saudi women recently obtained the right to drive a car, as they were not allowed to drive before.
The regional office of the United Nations Women in the Arab States, through a study on Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen, in which more than 16 thousand people of both sexes participated, with a focus on practices related to violence against women during the Corona epidemic and quarantine, revealed: Half of the women participating in the study experienced violence from their husbands during the Corona epidemic, and that less than 40 percent of them sought help or reported the crime.
With regard to the political persecution of women, In most countries in the Middle East and North Africa, there is no clear representation of women in parliament.
With regard to crimes of sexual violence, 99.3% of women and girls are subjected to sexual harassment in Egypt, and 27.2 million women and girls, or about 91% of Egyptian women, have been subjected to FGM, while only 63% of them are literate.
In Iraq, after the US war in 2003, the mass displacement of women spread, which made them vulnerable to trafficking and sexual violence.
Violations of women’s rights range from serving men in some societies, depriving them of the right to education and work, forcing them into marriage while they are under legal age and sometimes while they are still children, and subsequently divorcing them, as well as sexual abuse.
In Somalia, human rights organizations accuse the (African Union peacekeeping) forces of raping girls, in recent incidents.
In 2018, the director of the (Yemeni Women Empowerment Foundation), (Zaafaran Zayed), revealed the documentation of more than 40,000 cases of violations against Yemeni women.
In Syria, women are subjected to the most heinous human rights violations at the hands of all parties to the Syrian conflict, to the extent that women there now see death as easier than kidnapping, rape and psychological torture before physical.
Women in Syria are used as a weapon of war as they are kidnapped and raped by the government and other terrorist groups, and the regime uses these tactics to undermine peaceful demonstrations.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights published a report documenting the killing of thousands of females during the Syrian crisis, distributed as 11,889 female children, 15,337 adult females, 21,573 killed by the Syrian regime forces and 1,231 by Russian forces, while the international coalition forces killed 926 and the armed opposition factions killed about 1,301 Female, and according to the report, 922 females were killed by extremist Islamic organizations, 844 females were killed by ISIS, and 78 were killed by the Levant Front and other parties. According to the report, no less than 9906 females are still detained or forcibly disappeared at the hands of the main actors in Syria.
Not to mention the low conditions of personal freedoms and the continuous violations against Arab women, and there are no indications of a possible change in the near future.
Therefore, it is very important to spread awareness about women's issues, especially Arab women's issues. Also, we must all be aware of the situation and understand well that the issues of refugee women who came from Arab countries, their situation is completely different from that of male refugees and male asylum seekers.
Sarah Azzam
