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20 URBAN DISPLACEMENT
FMR 34
The future of displacement is clearly
urban – and clearly fraught with
challenges. The Women’s Refugee
Commission (WRC) has recently
undertaken research into the
risks and challenges confronting
refugee women in urban areas –
as well as the opportunities they
gain – as they seek to provide
for themselves and their families
in seings where international
assistance is minimal. The research
included urban eld assessments
covering the plight of Burmese
refugee women in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, and of Iraqi, Somali,
Sudanese, Eritrean and Ethiopian
refugee women in Cairo, Egypt.
Unsafe at home or at work
in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia is host to a large number of
migrant workers and an estimated
100,000 refugees and asylum
seekers, most of whom are from
persecuted Burmese ethnic groups.
Forty thousand are registered
as refugees with UNHCR.1
As Malaysia has not signed the
1951 Refugee Convention, refugees
have no legal status and no
right to work or legal residency.
In the eyes of the government,
there is no dierence between
an undocumented worker and a
refugee. The Malaysian government
initiated a widespread campaign
to crack down on undocumented
migrants in 2004 and has since
reported an “intention to deport more
than one million undocumented
migrants”2 through mass arrests.
This initiative has led, on average,
to the arrest of 700-800 UNHCR-
recognised refugees each month.3
The safety of Burmese
refugee women living
in Kuala Lumpur is
greatly compromised
by their aempts
to make a living.
Whereas in many
contexts access to
livelihoods brings
greater protection
against sexual
harassment, abuse
and exploitation, for
a refugee woman
in Kuala Lumpur
having a job increases
her vulnerability
to gender-based
violence, arrest,
detention and
extortion.4
Without status and
the right to work in
Malaysia, there are
few viable economic
opportunities open
to refugees. However, because they
desperately need work, refugee
women oen nd employment in the
informal and less regulated sectors of
the economy, such as in restaurants
as waitresses and dishwashers.
Without the protection that legal
status and documentation provide,
refugee women are at the mercy
of their employers, who frequently
withhold pay or sexually harass and
exploit them. If the women were to
report the crimes, they would risk
arrest and deportation. The Women’s
Refugee Commission, in fact, found
that the women risk arrest every
time they leave the house. This
impedes their movement, further
narrows their work choices, and
limits their social and economic
interactions. Burmese refugee
women report a cycle of repeated
arrests, frequent deportations and
the recurring payment of bribes
to be either released from custody
or to re-enter the country.
“We are afraid. Women are getting
attacked and arrested coming
home late from work. We have
problems not getting paid at work.
We are afraid of the police. We are
constantly hiding. Our children go
hungry when we are not paid.”
(Focus group with refugee
women, 21 May 2008)
Because of the risks they face
leaving their apartments, some
refugee women stay home and
work cooking and cleaning for
male household members, who are
generally not related to them but
come from the same ethnic group.
As many as 25 workers reside in a
single apartment and collectively
cover the rent for a refugee woman
who agrees to tend to their domestic
needs. While this protects the
women from the potential arrest
and deportation she might face
while going out, it puts her at risk of
sexual exploitation from unrelated
male household members who share
overcrowded living quarters.
While the international community is still working out how
to identify and best serve them, refugees and IDPs in urban
settings are making their own way – often placing themselves
at considerable risk.
Desperate lives: urban refugee
women in Malaysia and Egypt
Dale Buscher and Lauren Heller
Burmese re fugee in Malay sia who was sexually haras sed at
work and lef t her job and who is now afraid to seek further
employment for fear of sexual harrassment and/or arrest.
Women’s Refugee Commission/Lauren Heller
URBAN DISPLACEMENT 21
FMR 34
While some small NGO projects
support home-based handicra
production as a means of reducing
vulnerability, the projects oer
limited skills training, are not
market-driven and hence provide
lile opportunity for sustainable
income. Quality and market access
are major impediments to scaling
up this projects. At present, most
buyers are from the NGO and
expatriate volunteer community.
Working risks in Cairo
Cairo hosts a highly diverse
refugee population that is
struggling to survive in a very
dicult urban environment with
limited assistance. High national
unemployment rates and a huge
population of unemployed youth
plague the local labour market
and impede refugee access.
WRC’s eld assessment trip to
Cairo found many of the same
challenges and risks that confront
refugee women in Kuala Lumpur.
While Egypt allows refugees to
obtain work permits, securing
a work permit is an expensive,
lengthy and complicated process
that requires an employer sponsor
and no competition from a similarly
qualied Egyptian candidate. As
a result, refugees are forced into
unregulated work sectors and
occupations with few protections.
The majority of refugee women who
work do so as domestic workers
in Egyptian households. As this
sector is not regulated by Egyptian
labour law, a work permit is not
required and there is a constant
market demand for such labour.
However, the lack of regulation
creates a risky work environment.
Inside the connes of these private
homes, refugee women face potential
harassment, physical abuse, sexual
exploitation and the non-payment
of wages. Of the refugee women
who cannot nd domestic work,
some reportedly turn to commercial
sex work.5 Despite frequent reports
of gender-based violence, WRC
found few established support
services for survivors in Cairo.
Protective elements
The eld assessments conducted by
WRC did, however, nd examples
of how refugee women’s protection
can be enhanced – even in urban
areas where there is no legal right
to work. Protective elements can be
built into economic programmes –
elements such as accompaniment,
requiring codes of conduct for
employers, sensitisation campaigns,
creating linkages with local
women’s leadership and political
groups, and engaging men – both
from the refugee community and
also from the host community.
One organisation in Cairo, for
example, that trains and places
refugee women in Egyptian homes
as domestic workers accompanies
them on their rst day. The NGO
records the name and contact details
of the employer as well as the agreed
payment rate, thereby leing the
employer know that the woman has a
backup support system and the NGO
knows how and where to nd the
employer should there be problems.
Other successful models includes
a private sector initiative, the
Malaika Linen Factory, that hires
both Egyptian and refugee women
to do highly skilled embroidery.
The factory oers a 40-day
training programme that includes
transportation and meal costs for
women participants and is one
of the only examples of a private
sector company actively recruiting
refugee women and integrating them
with Egyptian female employees.
Building in these protective elements,
though, requires thoughtful
planning, understanding the
risks faced, assessing the means
of reducing risks, and integrating
components into the livelihoods
intervention to reduce vulnerability.
Advocating for and securing
legal status for refugees in these
environments and their legal right to
work would oer the most protection.
Dale Buscher (DaleB@wrcommission.
org) is Director of Protection
and Lauren Heller (LaurenH@
wrcommission.org) is Program
Ofcer with the Women’s Refugee
Commission (http://www.
womensrefugeecommission.org).
1. Interview with UNHCR, 26 May 2008.
2. Joint NGO Memorandum concerning the crackdown
on undocumented migrants, 29 January 2005.
3. See article Nah pp31-3.
4. ‘Desperate Lives: Burmese Women Struggle to Make a
Living in Malaysia’, Women’s Refugee Commission, May
2008: hp://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/docs/
mys_rep.pdf
5. Interview with Refugee Egypt medical sta, 24 July
2008.
Refugee women working in the Malaika Linen Factory, Cairo.
Women’s Refugee Commission/Lauren Heller