In Cox’s Bazar, refugee women are building infrastructure and resilience for the community
In Cox’s Bazar, refugee women are building infrastructure and resilience for the community
Rohingya women mixing sand and cement as a base for a new walking path.
Under the burning sun, a group of women stand in a narrow alleyway in the world's largest refugee camp. Two hold a sturdy jute bag while a third pours in a mix of sand and cement. Others stand nearby, ready to grab the full bags and move them to the next group, who place them neatly in rows of two on the ground. The last woman in the group repeatedly strikes the bags with a large wooden bat until they flatten into smooth, durable tiles.
Dozens of sandbags later, a solid footpath takes shape, covering the sandy path running between shelters. "We used to be afraid of hoes, saws and spades, but now we can handle them even better than men," says 34-year-old Momena, who leads the all-female crew. “I know how to do drain construction, build walls, work on roads, and construct shelters."
Every day, the team identifies a new stretch of the camp for improvement. Often, they build pathways that make it easier for residents to move around, particularly during the monsoon season when muddy roads and alleys become almost impossible to navigate. At other times, they help construct drains or retaining walls.
In the fragile refugee camps, bamboo infrastructure and shelters are constantly exposed to heavy monsoon rains and intense dry-season heat. Community-based initiatives like this one, supported through the Bangladesh Humanitarian Fund, are vital for sustainable, much-needed upkeep. They can be life-changing for people with reduced mobility, including people with disabilities and older people, for whom roads are dangerously slippery and difficult to navigate.
Young girls watch on as the all-women team constructs a sturdy new walking path in the refugee camp.
Community members often thank the women or offer prayers for the work Momena's team does. "People told me their children would come home covered in dirt, and now everyone can walk comfortably because we paved this path," Momena says. "Before, it was so sad seeing everyone struggle in the mud."
For the women on Momena's team, the modest stipend they receive for their work helps strengthen their resilience and self-reliance in a place where most families depend heavily on humanitarian assistance.
"We no longer worry constantly, because we work hard and earn our own food, and I don't need to ask others for loans or financial help when my child gets sick," she says. "We can now buy food and manage our expenses with our own earnings, just like men do."
Momena came to the refugee camps from Myanmar nearly a decade ago, along with hundreds of thousands of others fleeing violence and persecution. In Teknaf, in the southernmost part of the camps and only a few kilometres from Myanmar border, she survived for years on humanitarian aid that barely covered basic needs. When a representative from NGO Forum, which manages the community-based construction project on the ground, came looking for volunteers, she didn’t hesitate, even though women taking on physical work outside their households is still unusual in the conservative Rohingya community.
"We no longer worry constantly, because we work hard and earn our own food"
Momena beats the bags of sand with a large piece of wood to make a flat surface.
The hard work Momena and her colleagues do for their independence is etched on their faces. Clothed in modest attire despite the heat, they spend long days carrying, lefting, mixing and shaping construction materials. Yet when Momena speaks about her work, her pride is unmistakable.
"Some people ask why women are doing men's work. We tell them we need to do this work to eat, learn skills, and support our children," Momena says. "I tell them I do it for my own good and yours. I endure this hard labour to feed myself, and therefore you don't need to look after me. It helps both you and me."
By now, the crew is well known and respected in the community. Men and women pass by as the team pours, mixes, and shapes the sandbags; no one raises an eyebrow. Only a group of young girls stops to watch the group of women of all ages build a new footpath and support their community, building greater independence for themselves and their families, one sandbag at a time.
The women-led crew is appreciated in the camps for their initiatives.
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