Education can uplift refugee women in Indonesia

25 March 2020

For the last two years I have been an advocate for the refugee community in Jakarta. I have seen how women’s education is the first and most important need for women to secure their rights. Each week, I meet many refugee women who can’t speak up for their rights.

In Indonesia, refugee women are victims of trafficking, forced marriage and sexual violence. Many refugee women are unaccompanied without family or a spouse. There are high rates of violence, particularly within families.

However, many prefer to be silent because they believe they will be shamed if they talk about their problems or made into victims in their traditional cultures. As one woman explained to me, ‘Women survive by just being silent about their situation. They just suffer.’

These problems are compounded by high rates of illiteracy and no understanding of their human rights. In reality what these women need is the right for basic education.

These issues began in their home countries and continue to affect their lives because of a limited education and restrictive gender roles in their country’s society.

Within the refugee community in Indonesia, women are particularly vulnerable and often remain silent, not sharing their needs because of language barriers and the lack of chances to gain an education.

'I tried to apply to more than three local universities for a master’s degree and got the same answer: I cannot join. Despite having my undergraduate degree, there is no legal right for me to learn more. As a refugee there are no rights allowed to join university, even if you receive a scholarship.'

Though there are 4,000 refugee women and 3,700 refugee children in Indonesia (over 60 per cent of the overall refugee population), we can't pursue education, don't have access to general health or gynecological care, and face increasingly high rates of mental illness. Although women and children should have universally respected rights, they do not get enough care or support for health or livelihood necessities’ while they wait indefinitely for resettlement.

Many single mothers arrived seeking asylum from Somalia, Afghanistan and other places of conflict to find peace for their children. Many of these mothers can not read or write. How can these mothers find their way in Jakarta when there is no service to help them?

Once I was walking through one of Jakarta’s largest train stations when someone called out to me in Somali. I met a young Somali woman unable to write anything

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Education can uplift refugee women in Indonesia

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