Lesson plans for ages 15-18 in Civic Education: Refugee Women and Girls

Women and children form the majority of Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad's camps.

© UNHCR/E.Cue

LESSONS 2 and 3: Refugee Women - Survivors Twice

Preparation

Have ready the video Refugee Women: The Courage to Move Onward (Geneva, UNHCR, 1996), available free from the Public Information Section, UNHCR, PO Box 2500, 1211 Geneva 2, SWITZERLAND.

Procedure

Commence the lesson with the video Refugee Women: The Courage to Move Onward.

Allow the students to reassess and modify their answers to the homework questions, in the light of the video just watched. Then, go through the questions.

Distribute copies of "Refugees, Feminine Plural" to be read silently by the students. The following comprehension and discussion questions could be done verbally.

Comprehension questions

In any given refugee population, what is the proportion is made up of women and girls?
Why are many refugee families headed up by only one parent, usually the mother? What happened to the menfolk?
List the dangers which women and girls face during conflict, during their flight, and during their sojourn in a refugee camp.
Think about the situation faced by a refugee mother who has to fend for her family alone. Look back at question 4 from the homework.
Modify and expand the duties carried out by a refugee woman to ensure the survival of her family. With each duty, list the dangers which she has to face in order to carry out what she must do.

Discussion questions

In order to help the women refugees, why is it necessary to have refugee participation in UNHCR programmes?
What are some practical ways which can be employed to reduce danger to women in refugee camps?
Give some reasons why women should be included in distribution of aid materials, especially food.
How could the situation of women refugees improve if there were increased representation by women, and if there were more women administrators?
How would the inclusion of men in programmes designed to improve the situation of refugee women be of any use?