Bangladesh – Rohingya women in refugee camps share stories of loss and hopes of recovery

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. March 2018. Bangladesh has been hosting Rohingya refugees from Myanmar for nearly 30 years. Since August 2017, some 693,000 RohingyaÕs have made their way to CoxÕs Bazar in desperate conditions. Of them, 51 per cent are women. The refugee population in Bangladeshi settlements has more than doubled; camps are overcrowded, needs are immediate and enormous, and resources are stretched. Pictured: A toilet in the Balukhali camp on 5 March 2018. To avoid open bathing and defecation, many women and girls use make-shift toilets inside their sheds, reduce their food and water intake, and restrict their movements during menstruation. As of January 2018, UN Women has set up the first Multi-Purpose Women Centre in the Balukhali refugee camp in CoxÕs Bazar, in partnership with Action Aid and with support from UN Women National Committee Australia. The Centre provides a safe space for Rohingya women and adolescent girls, where they can build a social network, access information and referral services for gender-based violence, and seek psycho-social counselling. The centre also offers skills training in literacy, livelihood options, leadership and disaster preparedness, and raises awareness about gender issues and risks. Women have bathing space and clothes washing facility at the Women's CentreÑan important service in an area where safe and private spaces for women and girls is scarce. It also provides women and girls who are otherwise confined and isolated in their homes, a safe space to relax, learn new skills and socialize with other women. Photo: UN Women/Allison Joyce Read More: http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/multimedia/2018/5/photo-rohingya-women-refugees