Doing right by women and girls in Cox’s Bazar: gendering perspectives on social cohesion

As the Rohingya people in Bangladesh enter their fourth year of living in Cox’s Bazar, tensions between the host and Rohingya communities have risen, along with competition over resources, livelihoods and public services. It is women and girls who bear the brunt of an already difficult situation, compounded by COVID-19 and environmental emergencies. They face gender-based violence, have limited access to security and justice, and see authorities upholding patriarchal norms rooted in both host and refugee communities. Increasingly, they face restrictions on their mobility and their participation in decision-making spaces.

This report examines the gender dynamics of rising tensions within and between host and Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar, and reveals how governance structures and humanitarian interventions are, in some cases, fuelling tensions and worsening gender inequality.

It provides recommendations for donors, governments and international bodies to ensure that the needs and voices of women and girls prioritised in donor interventions, government policy and humanitarian programming. 

Download the report ‘Doing right by women and girls in Cox’s Bazar: Gendering perspectives on social cohesion’.

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