Refugee women in the spotlight at International Women’s Day
On 8th of March, women with and without refugee background came together to discuss their rights and possibilities.
Af Marijke Grundeken
On the 8th of March, women all over the world unite for the International Women’s Day. It is a day to fight for equal rights and empower women. Refugee women are a group that is often forgotten. They are not represented by their country of origin and don’t feel entirely welcome in the country they are living in now. One of the participants in Women’s Class came up with the idea to organise a Women’s Day event in Trampoline House to speak about these issues and ensure refugee women a voice.
Some of the women participating in Trampoline House’s celebration of the International Women’s Day. Photo: Viktoria Steinhart
At the event, several women spoke about their experiences with being women as refugees or as Danish citizens. The first speaker was the woman who started the event, Shakira. Shakira is originally from DR Congo, and she spoke about her difficult journey getting to Denmark. She and many other refugees thought that this journey would be the difficult part. Once in Denmark, everything would be better, they thought.
Shakira is currently in deportation camp Sjælsmark, where she feels alone and lost. She explained that it’s difficult for her to support a child in a situation where she is feeling so unsure about her future: "I am leaving you. I don't know when, I don't know what time. I don't know when they will be knocking at my door."
Due to this uncertainty, refugee women are in a particularly high risk of developing depression. They feel judged for their skin color and for their background, but also for their present situation as a women in the camps.
Another problem that both refugee and Danish women face is sexual harassment. To give more insights into this problem, a representative from Amnesty International, Denmark gave a talk about a report that was recently published on sexual harassment in Denmark. The report showed that only 10% of the harassment cases result in a conviction. The problem is even larger when looking at minority groups such as refugee women. The women in refugee camps are often told by their aggressor that they have no rights in this country, and therefore shouldn’t waste their energy on trying to convict the aggressor.
Therefore, there is a great need for events like Women's Day, where women can find support and information about their rights and possibilities.
Support Trampoline House
Events like Women’s Day are possible thanks to donations from almost 300 individuals, who each donate between 50 and 500 kr. every month. If you, your partner or your mother is also able to support our work with a recurring donation, it would really make a great difference to our work.
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