Women and Displacement: Bearing the Burden
Women bear the brunt of the burden of displacement,
having to strike a delicate balance between the risks they run in often hostile
environments and the imperative to provide for the immediate needs of the
family. This gallery provides a glimpse of contexts from around the world in
which the ICRC is active and in which courageous women come together in their
struggle to survive in sometimes impossibly difficult environments.
© ICRC / B. Heger / sd-e-00668 |
A woman and her family in a makeshift shelter in the
camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Gereida in Darfur,
Sudan. Nearly two million people have been forced to leave their homes
as a result of the fighting in Sudan's western province. They survive in
camps for the internally displaced or in refugee camps across the border
in Chad. Women displaced by the conflict face daily problems of providing
for their families: gathering firewood, finding food, and fetching water
that may have to be carried over long distances. To support these
displaced women, the ICRC tries to meet their daily health, food and water
needs, such as building or improving water supply points close to where
they live.
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