Abstract

This research aims to analyse the empowerment of Syrian refugee women after their arrival in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Relying on the theoretical framework on ‘campzenship’, this study aims to highlight the role of camps in providing protection and practical benefits to newcomers with limited resources. This study is pertinent to contribute to the narrative that women are not merely passive victims, but active agents of social and economic change. Through primary and secondary data collection, the findings from this research will provide evidence that the change in geographical and socio-political status of Syrian refugee women, has caused a shift in socio-economic status which challenges cultural norms of patriarchy and gender inequality. Furthermore, it highlights that the legal frameworks between UNHCR and the government of Jordan have been instrumental in creating this change leading to women’s empowerment. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that while camps do have negative and irreversible consequences in many cases, they can also be the grounds for instigating positive socio-economic change.

Keywords: Zaatari camp; campzenship; Syrian refugees; Jordan; empowerment

Introduction

Research Background

According to Agamben’s definition, a camp is seen as a space of immobilisation and deprivation of rights, under which certain categories of people live: ‘a capture of life in law’ (1995, 26). Agamben’s conceptualisation of camps leaves a very limited room for agencies of the people; and highly critical of Agamben’s argument, Sigona (2015) states that Agamben’s conceptualisation of the camp does not “grasp the complexity of social relations within the camp” such as the rights and membership, and argues for a different conceptualisation of camps that focuses on the function they perform with regard. Sigona (2015) proposes the concept of ‘campzenship’ which is defined as a “situated form of membership produced by the camp, responding to the call to ‘de-exceptionalise the exception,’ and to explain how nomad camps came to be ‘catalysts for newcomers.’”

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), approximately half of the refugee population accounts for women and girls. This is equivalent to around 13 million women and girls in vulnerable conditions. In this patriarchal and male-dominated society, women and girls are often disempowered and disadvantaged in their daily lives through social and cultural norms, further affecting their economic capabilities. Freedman (2007) claims that women are indeed in need of protection and are vulnerable in certain circumstances. However, he further claims that this should not be generalised and be assumed that they are merely ‘vulnerable victims.’

In recent history, the academic discourse on the identity of refugees has represented these people as victims rather than contributors to history (Krause, 2014). According to Krause (2014), “Refugeeism is understood to include forced displacement and migration as well as the life of the displaced persons which often takes place in camps and settlements and is influenced by protection and aid mechanisms.“ The need for requiring assistance and protection makes these people vulnerable and dependent on the aid they are receiving. This often leads to loss of subjectivity in individual identities and experiences. Looking at refugees as “a homogenous collective produces gender-blindness as the group is situated in the center of attention instead of its individual members” (Krause, 2014). It is undeniable that women in conflict and post-conflict scenarios are often perceived as vulnerable, weak, and docile, while men are viewed as strong, independent, and resilient. Krause (2014) believes that it is necessary for us to move beyond these “binary categories, one-dimensional analyses, and stereotyping process of relations between men and women,” and that “women must be defined as active agents instead of passive victims” to achieve potential positive aspects of their lives in refugee camps. For women’s empowerment to take place, a shift from women and girls as victims to women and girls as agents of social and economic change is necessary.

People of different gender do perceive the refugee experience in a very different manner, and this subject should be approached with awareness in different gender-experiences. Gender does not only comprise of biological components that play a role on a daily basis, but also social, cultural and political components that have changed throughout history. Hence, gender relations are strongly influenced by

the context, depending on factors such as social and cultural norms of the specific society. Across the world, women and girls face discrimination and violence due to gender inequality, and this phenomenon is often exacerbated in the context of humanitarian crisis and displacement. In the case of refugees that fled from conflicts and are displaced, the traditional manners of gender relations are often no longer in their former shape due to the changes in their environments and the expectations of the community. In other words, whereas women are often situated at home caring for children and the household in the traditional setting, many women in crisis are widowed, abandoned or divorced and left with no choice but to pursue economic activity to provide for families. This is evident in many refugee camps around the world; according to the Norwegian Refugee Council, women have been playing a huge role in the family economy and have been participating actively in the labour market over the last few years in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan (Saifi, 2017).

In understanding the changes in women’s role in the context of refugee camps, it is necessary to also address the imbalance of power between men and women because women’s empowerment is semantically anchored in ‘power given to’ women (Krause, 2014). The link between power and empowerment should be understood in approaching the empowerment of women. According to an Indian researcher and activist Srilatha Batliwala in the Women’s Empowerment in South Asia: Concepts and Practices published in 1993, empowerment is defined as “a process of transforming the power relationships between individuals and social groups” (Calvès, 2009). Moreover, for some feminists, the definition of empowerment does not refer to “holding ‘power of domination’ over someone else (‘power over’) [but rather] more of a creative power that can be used to accomplish things (‘power to’), a collective political power used by grassroots organizations (‘power with’), and also a ‘power from within,’ referring to self-confidence and the capacity to undo the effects of internalized oppression” (Calvès, 2009).

According to Krause (2014), the study of women’s empowerment in refugee camps and settlements has been largely neglected in research, and that the concept of women’s empowerment in the context of humanitarian and development aid is not yet coherently defined. To study the renegotiation of gender roles and the empowering impact on the lives of women in refugee camps, we need to focus on the biographical and not biological aspect of the individual refugee woman in camps. In this study, we seek to understand the change in gender roles in the context of refugee camps and the empowerment of refugee women in the Zaatari camp.

Research Question and Objectives

This research seeks to a) examine the empowerment of Syrian refugee women after they arrived in the Zaatari refugee camp and b) critically analyse the aspects and policies that created changes in the socio-economic status of Syrian refugee women and c) explore the challenges, limitations and potentialities of implementing social policies affecting refugee women in similar situations. Therefore, the research question, hypothesis and research sub-questions are formulated as follows:

How has living in the Zaatari camp affected the empowerment of Syrian refugee women?

We will research this by looking into the following hypothesis:

The lens of ‘campzenship’ can assist in analysing the socio-economic status of the

Syrian women living in the Zaatari camp.

It is expected that living in the Zaatari refugee camp affects the socio-economic status of Syrian refugee women. This shall be researched by comparing the current and previous situation of Syrian refugee women through the following questions: ‘’How has the socio-economic status of Syrian women living in the Zaatari refugee camp changed compared to the socio-economic status of Syrian women before the war?’’ Thereby identifying crucial standards such as employment rate, type of jobs, level of income and family composition as quantitative data, as well as investigating social aspects such as cultural background and religion as qualitative data. We will collect data on both women living in Syria before the war and Syrian women living in the Zaatari camp after the war. We will then compare and critically analyse the outcomes.

Next, we will critically analyse how social policies such as the Jordan Compact have contributed to the change in socio-economic status by researching the question: ‘’How have national and international policies on refugees affected the empowerment of Syrian refugee women in the Zaatari refugee camp?’’ First, we will identify what policies and practices are in place that impact women's participation rate on the labor market and what they aim to do. Second, we will analyse how the social policies on refugees in Jordan include and affect women. And third, we will look into factors that can be implemented in other situations to improve the socioeconomic status of refugee women.

Last, we will investigate how the Syrian refugee women have contributed to the alleged change in socioeconomic status by answering the following question: ‘’How are Syrian refugee women contributing to becoming more self-sustainable in the Zaatari camp?’’ In order to answer the question, we will analyse a) how camp management and NGOs at Zaatari camp aid women in becoming more self-sustainable through for instance education, training and vocalisation programmes, cash-based programming, creation of market spaces and accessibility to participate, b) how women themselves create opportunities to become more self-sustainable, c) how women represent themselves within the camp, and d) what the opportunities, challenges, positive and negative effects are of women empowerment in Zaatari refugee camp.