I. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………...………..4

Research question:

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

Hypothesis:

The lens of ‘campzenship’ can assist in analysing the socio-economic status of the Syrian women living in the Zaatari camp.

Research sub-questions:

1. How has the socio-economic status of Syrian women living in the Zaatari refugee camp changed compared to the socioeconomic status of Syrian women before the war? 2. How have national and international policies on refugees affected the empowerment of

Syrian refugee women in the Zaatari refugee camp? 3. How are Syrian refugee women contributing to becoming more self-sustainable in the

Zaatari camp?

Table 1 Research Question and Hypothesis

Case Study: Zaatari Syrian Refugee Camp

Syrian Refugees

The Syrian refugee crisis is due to a violent government crackdown in Syria in March 2011. This led to more than 6.6 million Syrians fleeing their country mainly to neighboring countries such as Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Approximately 650,000 Syrians have registered with UNHCR in Jordan, where the world’s largest Syrian refugee camp is located, 10 km from the Jordanian city Al-Mafraq. The camp shelters 77,731 refugees, where 30% are female headed households according to the UNHCR factsheet on Jordan-Zaatari Refugee Camp, published in October 2020.

Over time the conflict situation in Syria did not improve and Zaatari refugee camp became the fourth largest city in Jordan, and the second largest refugee camp in the world (UNHCR, 2020). This prolonged calamity also led to a shift in the family structure and gender norms.

Photo: Ledwith, 2014.”Zaatari: The Instant City”

Not different from many other camps, the refugees at Zaatari are dependent on humanitarian aid and government assistance on basic needs such as shelter, food, energy, water and sanitation, primary health, education, and protection. Regarding the situation in a new country as a refugee living in a camp, the women worry on how to support their families mainly the children at least on basic needs following their previous lifestyle in Syria.

The Jordanian government has granted more than 100,000 work permits to Syrian refugees since 2016 and 13,773 of those work permits are from refugees at Zaatari camp with 23% of women (WFP, OXFAM).

At Zaatari camp there are several initiatives from different actors promoting training programs to provide women livelihood opportunities to ensure empowerment and financial resources to care for their families, strengthening the resilience of households, but they are still facing societal, cultural, and economic barriers.

“…under the current legal framework Syrian refugees have limited ability to independently access livelihood opportunities. This is especially true for those residing in the camp, whose options are mostly restricted to employment arranged by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Women in particular are excluded from employment opportunities and currently fill only one-third of the cash-for-work positions available.” (Almasri, 2018)

According to a report by OXFAM, there are various reasons reported by women which impede them in accessing jobs outside of camps (Almasri, 2018). Some of these are as follows:

● The distance between camp and work restrict the women to access jobs due to unsafe transportation option ● Rumours about poor worker treatment in factories ● They are concerned about missing aid distribution during the work hours.

This research is expected to investigate further into the current situation of accessibility to work of women in Zaatari camp according to the data analysis.

Refugee Policies in Jordan

In order to research the opportunities for women to find jobs and improve their socio-economic status, we will also examine multiple policies that seek to protect refugees. We will analyse both national and international frameworks, legislations and protocols.

Despite having one of the highest ratio of refugees to citizens in the world, Jordan is not a member of the 1951 Convention on Refugees or its protocol of 1967. Jordan also has not enacted legislation that addresses the status of refugees. Therefore, refugees are subject to Law No. 24 regarding Residency and Foreigners. They are not seen as a separate group, rather as someone who does not have the Jordanian nationality; a visitor or an irregular guest. These terms do not hold legal meaning (ILO, 2015).

However, a legal framework called the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Jordan and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1998. The MOU allows the UNHCR to protect, treat and process refugees in Jordan, accepts the definition of ‘’refugee’’ created by the 1951 Convention and respects the principle of nonrefoulement, which means that people seeking asylum in Jordan will not be returned to countries that are deemed unsafe for them due to their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.