Celebrating young female refugees on International Day of the Girl Child, sharing inspiring stories of resilience and overcoming challenges
On International Day of the Girl Child, we celebrate the resilience and strength of female refugees around the world.
This day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges faced by young refugee girls and women, while recognising their determination to succeed in the face of hardship.
Here are seven stories of young refugee girls and women.
Farahnaz is an internally displaced Afghan girl living in Kabul. She is attending a six-month course to develop her computer skills including word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and file management.
Participating in the course has empowered and inspired Farahnaz to help other girls.
“I learned a lot from this program,” she says. “I hope to teach other girls in the future.”
In Afghanistan, millions of women and girls are unable to exercise their human rights. Most secondary schools for girls remain closed and many women have lost their jobs, pushing families deeper into poverty and young girls into early and forced marriages.
UNHCR is delivering skills training and providing livelihood opportunities to empower Afghan women and girls and help lift them out of poverty.
Eighteen-year-old Margret is a South Sudanese refugee living with her mother and two siblings in the UNHCR-supported Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
She is part of the Kakuma Kalobeyei Stars Football Club, also known as KK Stars. The team is made up of refugee and local women who play soccer together. The KK Stars also represent refugees in national tournaments.
Sport is a great opportunity for both refugee and non-refugee players to come together and forge new friendships.
“Football makes me happy; when I’m diving and catching balls, I feel free,” said Margret.
Kashindi, 14, wants to be a teacher when she grows up so she can help other refugees, just like her teachers have helped her.
"I want to be a teacher when I grow up. I really love school and if I could, I would go to school every single day.”
Kashindi and her family fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo and now live in Kakuma refugee camp in north-west Kenya, one of the world’s largest refugee camps, hosting almost 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers.
With the help of her teachers, Kashindi developed new skills to help shape her future.
“Now I can speak in English, and understand mathematics and science, which is my favourite subject,” Kashindi says.
For girls like Kashindi, education is a lifeline. It provides hope, stability and the prospect of a better future.
Thirteen-year-old Isra and her family escaped the conflict in Sudan and found safety in Chad. Now, she lives with her parents and seven siblings in Farchana refugee camp.
For Isra, attending primary school has been a lifeline. It has helped her recover from the trauma of being forced to flee and dream of a better future.
“I am happy that I can go to school again,” says Isra.
Inspired by her mother, who is a maternity nurse, Isra dreams of becoming a doctor.
“I love science and math," says Isra. "These are very important in becoming a doctor. I also love history so I can learn about what happened in the past.”
When war broke out, 18-year-old Liudmyla was forced to leave her home in Ukraine for the safety of Slovakia.
“There was no opportunity to stay in Ukraine, so I had to leave my homeland,” she says.
“But leaving there, I made a promise that I would do everything to acquire knowledge and skills that would help me and my country in the post-war period.”
Liudmyla was awarded a UNHCR scholarship to study business management while living in Slovakia.
She was inspired to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, who was a Doctor of Economic Sciences and taught at university. She enjoys a wide variety of subjects, including logistics, marketing, advertising, world economics and diplomacy.
“[It’s a] field of study that combines all my interests and provides opportunities for growth,” Liudmyla says.
Read more about how UNHCR is supporting refugee access to higher education.
At the age of five, Hala escaped the war in Syria with her family and found safety in Jordan. Since arriving, she has lived in Azraq refugee camp, which hosts 41,000 Syrian refugees.
Hala attends school in the camp and participates in other educational courses such as computer classes, textile work, drawing and handicrafts.
“I am still young, and I’m hoping for a better future,” she says.
Hala hopes to become a paediatrician one day. She is optimistic about her future and remains motivated to work hard.
“Hope is realised through work and that is what I strive for. I will achieve what I want.”
Inside a makeshift classroom in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan, 22-year-old Arezo joins a group of visually impaired students to practise Braille, basic math and using a guide cane. They also learn to carry out household chores such as cooking and washing.
“I have faced a lot of challenges being blind,” says Arezo. “While others with sight could attend school, I was left behind.”
With the help of UNHCR and its partner, the Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan, Arezo is gaining self-confidence and independence by developing new skills.
She dreams of helping other people living with disabilities and has written a portion of the Qu’ran in Braille to make it accessible to those who are blind.
“After graduation, my biggest dream is to become a teacher for other blind people,” says Arezo. “I want to open a library for the blind so they can read.”
Find out more about how you can help women and girls forced to flee.