Abstract
Sahrawi women are active agents in the social dynamics of the refugee camps, in which they have developeda number of coping strategies to overcome the hardships of a deteriorating humanitarian situation. Since the outbreak of the con#ict and the forced settlement in Tindouf, Algeria, women have been responsible for the entire management of refugee camps, assuming leadership roles in many sectors of society.This paper highlights the Sahrawi women’s contribution to the process of local human development in a context of protracted refuge such as the one in the Western Sahara. In addition to the enlargement of the refugee population’s capacities in relation to material and physical assets, social and organizational abilities, and motivational strengths, one of the major achievements of Sahrawi women has been their own individual and collective process of empowerment within the camp life.
Highlights
The humanitarian situation in the Western Sahara might be defined as a protracted emergency, in which Sahrawi population in the camps of Tindouf (Argelia) remains for more than 30 years in a situation of permanent refuge
Life in refugee camps depends very much on international humanitarian aid and the willingness of donors to maintain it. Despite this dependency several experiences carried out in Sahrawi refugee camps, lead in particular by women, allow us to identify ways in which coping mechanisms implemented from the onset of the refuge are having positive impacts in terms of Human Development
The assumption here is that a Local Human Development approach that takes into account the gender variable, allow us to account for the experiences of women not exclusively as victims, but as relevant actors in theproduction of social reality
Summary
The humanitarian situation in the Western Sahara might be defined as a protracted emergency, in which Sahrawi population in the camps of Tindouf (Argelia) remains for more than 30 years in a situation of permanent refuge. The assumption here is that a Local Human Development approach that takes into account the gender variable, allow us to account for the experiences of women not exclusively as victims (victims of gender based violence, refugees with no option, widows without any resources, community workers excluded from the main decision-making organizations, and so on), but as relevant actors in the (re)production of social reality It is a framework from which women’s collective action may be underlined, especially in times of crisis or hardship, given that it is precisely in the most complex and threatening situations when women develop resources, abilities and capacities to confront them. As it will be highlighted, women’s collective action to guarantee refugee’s livelihoods and to reduce their vulnerabilities are at the centre of the promotion of self-sufficiency among Sahrawi refugee population
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