The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives everywhere, but we know that it hits hardest those who have the least, including refugees and displaced persons. For them, the dangers have compounded. Half of the world’s refugees are women and girls.

Of the 71 million people forcibly displaced around the world, over 80 per cent of refugees and nearly all internally displaced people are hosted in low- and middle-income countries. They face added risks of having limited access to water, sanitation systems and health facilities. But they also bring with them skills, leadership and resilience, which we need to emerge from this crisis and build back better.

On World Refugee Day, 20 June, we’re bringing forward the voices of women refugees who have been on the front lines of the pandemic, and who know the specific needs of their community better than anyone else. From sharing information on how to prevent the virus spread in Bangladesh to sewing protective face masks in Kenya, women refugees have stepped up to protect their communities and they cannot afford to be invisible in recovery plans.

Supporting online learning in Jordan

As schools in Jordan closed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus and e-learning platforms became necessary, new challenges arose for students and families in the refugee camps. UN Women worked with partners to increase the number of teaching assistants as part of cash-for-work programme at the UN Women Oasis Centres in the Za’atari camp. The new teaching assistants, like Nahid Ali Albuhair, 31, provide remote support with the online curriculum being delivered by the Ministry of Education.

“I have realized that education is one of the most powerful tools to empower women and girls, as it can equip them with knowledge and skills, as well as with the confidence to stand up for their rights,” she says.

Nahid provides Arabic literacy lessons by using the wall of her caravan as a canvas for her video-based classes.

“As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that we adapt our teaching methods to ensure women, girls, and youth still have access to education during the lockdown. I continue to teach my students virtually, recording videos of my lessons, and sending them to their parents [so that they can] assist them with their homework,” Nahid says.

Supplying personal protective equipment in Kenya

Margaret Kaukau, 39, fled the conflict in South Sudan in 2016. After arriving at the Kakuma/Kalobeyei settlement in Kenya with her five children, she received livelihood and vocation skills training through* a *UN Women partnership with Africa Action Help International (AAHI), supported by the government of Japan. Since then, Margaret has supported her family by selling bags and beadwork.

As the risks of COVID-19 reached the Kakuma/Kalobeyei settlements, Margaret and others became worried. Social distancing and working from home were not viable options for many of the more than 200,000 refugees and host community members, living in large households with close quarters.

For Margaret, the need for fabric masks became clear and she and other women pivoted their businesses to meet the needs of the community.

“We came up with business ideas that will make our skills relevant and join the fight against the pandemic,” Margaret explains. “I saw there was need for face masks in my family following the government directives. Medical-grade masks were very expensive, but fabric ones were affordable.”

Based out of the local handcraft centre, Margaret and other programme participants have created and donated over 2,000 masks to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), to be distributed to some of the camp’s most vulnerable. They have also been able to sell masks to nearby communities to continue supporting their families.

“When I see my clients wearing face masks we produced, I feel proud,” Margaret says. “I am joining rest of the women in the world in the fight against COVID-19.”