Syrian Migrant Women in Turkey and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Assessment of Risks and Vulnerabilities, Pathways to Resilience.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the related public health emergency combined with the loss of job opportunities have exacerbated the already dire situation of Syrian migrant women (living as temporary refugees) in Turkey who have less than a bare minimum to sustain their, usually large, families. Economically, the pandemic has increased the vulnerability of the Syrian women migrants by exacerbating the food insecurity (loss or no employment), health risks (poor access to sanitation products and PPE, higher depressive symptoms, lack of proper reproductive healthcare, etc.), lack of education (insufficient information on how the virus spreads and how to protect themselves). Interviews conducted with Syrian women migrants in Istanbul, Hatay and Gaziantep as well as across various social media women’s groups (such as Syrian Women of the Diaspora and Syrian Women’s Dialogue) also attest to increased levels of risks of gender-based violence in the household and in the society in general (inter-personal violence) due to early forced marriages and other forms of psychological and physical abuse. Economic and gender inequality (and injustice) and temporary migration status (structural inequality) combined with increased health risks stemming from the pandemic have plummeted the community into desperation. However, various women’s groups and/or NGOs have expressed solidarity and helped set up special training activities to teach women about PPE, provide them with digital literacy classes (online banking), with online psychological counselling or online family planning, but also with sanitary and hygiene kits. This paper will address the multiplicity of the above-mentioned risks exacerbated by the pandemic as well as show some examples of national and international solidarity including programs and initiatives teaching women new skills which in turn empower them and help them cope with the crisis situation.