[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

[Saif]

Rohingyas need the world’s support

PM’s proposed roadmap can guide the international community

www.thedailystar.net

Rohingyas need the world’s support

PM’s proposed roadmap can guide the international community

VISUAL: STAR

We welcome Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposal of five distinct measures to resolve the Rohingya crisis at a high-level side event of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 23. Last month marked the ninth year of the 2017 mass exodus of Rohingya people to Bangladesh, when some 7,00,000 refugees fled targeted military violence in Rakhine State. Currently, more than 1.2 million refugees reside in camps across Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. Their prolonged displacement is felt more keenly as the years have gone by without sufficient cooperation from Myanmar to facilitate the Rohingyas’ dignified and sustainable repatriation. As such, the PM’s proposed steps should be considered and implemented by the international community.


The proposals include establishing a clear and credible roadmap for the early, safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar; ending violence against civilians in Myanmar (including the Rohingya) and guaranteeing their fundamental rights and security; ensuring adequate and predictable humanitarian support for refugees and host communities in Bangladesh; strengthening justice and accountability; and stepping up regional and international cooperation to combat the narco-economy, human trafficking, digital scams, illegal arms, and other transboundary crimes.

Disappointingly little progress has been made over the years in ensuring voluntary and safe Rohingya repatriation. Meanwhile, the ethnic community’s situation in Myanmar has worsened, as they are caught up between the ruling military forces and the Arakan Army, being subjected to extrajudicial executions, torture, forced labour and recruitment, and large-scale arson. This has made the possibility of safe Rohingya refugee repatriation seem even dimmer. Additionally, “competing conflicts” elsewhere in the world and a historic decline in development aid since 2025 have worsened the Rohingya crisis, an emergency now being viewed as a case of prolonged displacement. The US alone drove three-quarters of the recent aid decline, with its official development assistance falling by 56.9 percent compared to 2024. In 2025, donors met only 46 percent of the $934.5 million appeal for aid under the 2025-26 Joint Response Plan. As a result, in 2026, the appeal was reduced to $710.5 million to cover only the minimum required to sustain lifesaving assistance.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues to accommodate a growing refugee population. But the suffering of the Rohingya has only worsened since 2017. Children born nine years ago are unfamiliar with their homeland and are being raised in uncertainty, with little access to the most basic necessities. Most young people remain excluded from education and skills training, and their future is shadowed by increasing uncertainty.

We therefore urge the international community to stand by the Rohingya population and support Bangladesh in pushing for their dignified repatriation and appropriate rehabilitation. No one can make up for the years Rohingya refugees have lost to forced displacement. But the world must realise that the crisis is still there, and worsening each day, and that the multifaceted plight of the Rohingya is no less urgent than any other ongoing humanitarian crisis.​

 

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The everyday resistance of Rohingya women the world rarely sees

For Rohingya women, resistance takes many forms, from caregiving and education to work, advocacy and community action amid displacement.

www.thedailystar.net

The everyday resistance of Rohingya women the world rarely sees

Sabekun Naher

When people talk about resistance, they often imagine protests, political movements, or people standing in the streets demanding change. But resistance can take many forms.

For Rohingya women, resistance is often quiet. It can be a mother caring for her children after losing her home, a girl continuing her education despite social pressure, a woman learning sewing to support her family, a female teacher educating children, or a community member speaking about the rights and needs of her people.

Since the mass displacement from Myanmar in 2017, Rohingya women and girls have faced displacement, poverty, insecurity, restrictions on movement, limited access to education and limited opportunities to earn an income. These challenges are made harder by social expectations and risks such as early marriage and gender-based violence.

Yet Rohingya women are not only victims of the crisis. They are also caregivers, educators, workers, organisers, advocates and decision-makers.

Their everyday actions show a form of resistance: the determination to protect their families, preserve their identity, educate the next generation and have a voice in their own future.

The following fictional accounts portray six Rohingya women from different backgrounds and the different forms resistance can take in their everyday lives. While the characters and their stories are imagined, they reflect experiences and challenges that warrant deeper exploration through interviews with Rohingya women themselves.

Amina Begum, 32, is a Rohingya mother and community volunteer. She spends most of her day caring for her three children and helping women in her neighbourhood connect with community services.

For Amina, resistance begins at home. “My first responsibility is my children. When they are sick, hungry or afraid, I cannot give up. I have to stay strong even when I am tired.”

Life in a refugee camp can place enormous responsibilities on women who care for children, elderly relatives and other family members.

Amina says women often support one another during difficult situations. “When one family has a problem, other women try to help. Sometimes we share food. Sometimes we take care of someone’s children. Sometimes we simply listen.” She believes this everyday support is rarely recognised as a form of resistance.

Rohingya girls at the Kutupalong refugee camp. Amid the uncertainties of displacement, access to education, opportunities to develop skills and greater participation in community life can help girls imagine and shape futures beyond the confines of the refugee camps. Photo: Anisur Rahman

Rahima, 19, is a Rohingya student who wants to continue her education and eventually work as a teacher. She says education has become one of the most important parts of her life.

“When I study, I feel that I am building something for my future. I don’t want my life to be decided only by the situation around me.” But continuing education is not always easy for Rohingya girls.

Family responsibilities, social expectations, financial difficulties, safety concerns and early marriage can all affect girls’ education. Rahima says she has sometimes faced pressure to think about marriage instead of education.

“Some people ask why a girl needs so much education. I want to answer them by showing what an educated woman can do.”

“If one girl becomes educated, she can teach her children. Then her children can teach another generation. Education can continue even when we lose many other things,” she added.

Hasina, 35, is a Rohingya female teacher who works with children in a community learning centre. For her, teaching is more than a job.

“When I enter the classroom, I feel that I am doing something for the future of my community.” Hasina says girls need women teachers who understand their experiences.

“Some girls are shy about talking about their problems. When they see a woman teacher, they sometimes feel more comfortable.” She also sees education as a form of protection.

“A girl who stays in education has more possibilities. She can dream about becoming a teacher, health worker or something else. Without education, many doors close very early.”

Fatema, 28, is a Rohingya woman who learned sewing through vocational training and now makes clothes and other items for people in her community.

Life in a refugee camp can place enormous responsibilities on women who care for children, elderly relatives and other family members. Amina says women often support one another during difficult situations. “When one family has a problem, other women try to help. Sometimes we share food. Sometimes we take care of someone’s children. Sometimes we simply listen.” She believes this everyday support is rarely recognised as a form of resistance.

She says learning a skill changed how she viewed herself. “Before learning sewing, I often thought about what I could not do. After learning the skill, I started thinking about what I could do.”

But turning a skill into a stable income remains difficult. Women may face limited access to markets, transportation, customers, capital and safe working spaces.

Fatema says these challenges can be discouraging. “Learning the skill is not enough. We need a way to use the skill. If I can make something but cannot sell it, how can I support my family?” Still, she continues. “I want to earn with my own hands. Even if the income is small, it gives me confidence.”

Mariam, 24, is a Rohingya community volunteer who participates in women’s discussions and awareness activities. She says speaking publicly was difficult when she first became involved.

“I was afraid people would criticise me. I thought they might say that a woman should not speak in front of others.” But she continued participating. Her work involves listening to women and sharing their concerns in community discussions. “Women talk about problems that men may not always see. We talk about safety, children’s education, health and family problems.”

Mariam believes women must be part of decisions that affect them. “If a decision affects women, women should be in the room when that decision is made.”

Not every woman has the freedom to speak, study or work. Salma, 41, a Rohingya community elder, says women continue to face several restrictions.

“Many women have ideas, but they are afraid to express them.” She identifies social pressure as one major barrier. “A woman may want to study or work, but she may worry about what relatives or neighbours will say.” Early marriage can create another barrier.

When girls leave education early and become responsible for their own households and children, their opportunities can become much more limited. Salma says security concerns also affect women. “If a woman does not feel safe moving around, how can she attend training, work or community meetings?”

She believes communities must create an environment where women can participate without fear. “We should not tell women to be strong while giving them no safe place to use their strength,” she added.

A Rohingya woman carries a child, with a chicken resting on her shoulder. For Rohingya women, resistance is often rooted in the everyday work of caring for families, sustaining livelihoods and rebuilding lives amid displacement and uncertainty. Photo: Rajib Raihan

Although these six fictional women have different lives, their ideas come together around one point: resistance does not have only one face.

For Amina, resistance means caring for her children. For Rahima, it means continuing her education. For Hasina, it means teaching the next generation. For Fatema, it means developing a skill and trying to earn an income. For Mariam, it means speaking when women are not being heard, and for Salma, it means challenging the barriers that keep women from participating.

Their stories suggest that resistance can exist in ordinary moments. A woman does not have to stand on a stage to demonstrate courage. She can show courage by sending her daughter to school. She can show courage by learning a skill. She can show courage by becoming a teacher. She can show courage by supporting another woman. She can show courage by saying, “I have something to say.”

Rohingya women are often described through the language of crisis: refugees, survivors, displaced people, mothers and victims. Those realities are important, but they are not the whole story. Rohingya women are also caregivers, students, teachers, workers, entrepreneurs, volunteers, advocates and community leaders.

The future of the Rohingya community cannot be built without women. Women should not only be protected from harm. They should be given meaningful opportunities to learn, work, speak, lead and make decisions, because Rohingya women are not simply waiting for their future to be decided. They are already helping to build it.

Sabekun Naher is a Rohingya woman human rights defender, community trainer, teacher, researcher, interpreter and motivational speaker. She serves as the Director of Women Affairs at RYAN (Rohingya Youth Action Network).​