Thousands of Syrian refugee women are caught in a "spiral of hardship, isolation and anxiety," widowed or separated from their husbands and struggling to survive, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. Lack of resources has been deemed as their primary difficulty, with most struggling to pay rent and buy food, resorting to selling possessions, including wedding rings, and sending children out to work.
The plight of some 145,000 Syrian refugee women was highlighted in a new UNHCR report, stating women across the Middle East are being forced to fend for themselves and their families in dire circumstances, Agence France-Presse reported. "Forced to take sole responsibility for their families after their men were killed, captured or otherwise separated, they are caught in a spiral of hardship, isolation and anxiety," the report said.
While most are unable to work since they are the sole caregivers for their children, a third of the 135 women surveyed by UNHCR in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt also remain hungry due to lack of food. One woman interviewed in Cairo said she would not eat until her granddaughters were full. "I'm happy to eat a toasted piece of bread to make sure they get enough to eat," she said.
Although the World Food Programme is known to hand out food vouchers to a majority of the Syrian refugees, many of those interviewed said they were selling the vouchers to pay for rent or other expenses. Lack of money also forced the women to make tough choices on issues of education and healthcare, with many unable to afford to educate all their children or to pay for medications. Additionally, living without a male in the household contributed to many women being harassed, the report said.
Meanwhile, noting that one in five women have been separated from their husbands because of visa or similar issues, the report urged host governments to keep borders open and limit entry restrictions. It also called on aid groups to take into account the particular challenges of lone female refugees and make sure women are protected, as well as to make support available for host communities.
Known as the largest forced displacement crisis in the world, at least 2.8 million Syrians have fled the conflict that began in their country in March 2011, with more than a million taking refuge in tiny neighboring Lebanon. To help those fleeing the conflict, which is estimated to have killed more than 162,000 people, the UN has repeatedly appealed for more funding.
