After an early morning on Thursday, Global One were prepared to attend the “Save Their Boat” conference held by the Union of Relief and Development Associations, in Istanbul. The conference had hosted a large number of Middle Eastern and Islamic charities, all of which understood the need for an untied consensus to work towards aiding refugees.
As an organisation focused on the progression of women, and Muslim women, we believe that the issues affecting refugee women should be central to International NGOs focus. In 2014 António Guterres High Commissioner for Refugees stated: “The key question for the world to be able to become more peaceful, to be more effective, with more solidarity and with better capacity for humanitarians to deliver [aid] in accordance with our principles… is the involvement of women”. A year on the specificity of women’s needs and their role in building futures are still not met by some of the biggest international organisations. And, although many organisation coordinate gender into their responses, such assessments rarely translate into programs which take the specificity of women’s needs into consideration effectively.
Global One’s attendance at the conference in Istanbul was the first step in engaging other organisations into consolidating a framework for refugee women’s empowerment. Our CEO Dr Husna Ahmad’s speech at the conference, highlighted these specific issues affecting women and the need for a unified effort to rectify them. The speech illustrated the issues of Gender Based Violence, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and maternal health affecting women across camps in Jordan and Lebanon.
Dr Husna’s speech was met with much interest and support, with many attendees highlighting the importance of the issues which she raised, and their own lack of knowledge on the subject. After the speech we were met by people from Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait and Sudan. This culmination of various Muslim majority states coming together to find a solution was both empowering and uplifting. The concluding event at the conference only further solidified these emotions more when Global One was presented with an award by URDA.
For Global One this award represents the positivity of international organisations to a woman centred approach. In all our project we strive to ensure that women are engaged and empowered, and we do not see why refugee women should not achieve the same. After all, female refugees make up over half the refugee population, so without activating this half how do we hope to improve the lives of these displaced persons? Building upon our understanding of women’s equal importance, we understand the need to activate refugee women. By understanding their specific needs and ambitions and elevating these women, we provide communities with the foundations and skills necessary to regrow their societies and communities from the trauma they have endured.
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