Social Integration of Urban Refugee Women

While the experiences of encamped refugee women have been relatively researched very few studies have focused on the experiences of urban refugee women. Apart from the majority of encamped refugees living in designated refugee camps an increasing number of refugees live in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The level of social integration particularly for refugees coming from the Great Lakes Region is lower compared to those compatriots from neighboring countries. Women make up quite significant numbers among this profile. They witness cultural and linguistic barriers in their effort to socially integrate and establish better livelihoods. They are confronted not only with inadequate humanitarian assistance but also with skyrocketing living expenses and protracted stay with no immediate solution. With a better understanding of the experience of this profile of refugees the humanitarian and development community can support the government in enhancing their self-reliance. This book brings a fresh and new insight into the lives of this group of refugees providing empirical data of a particular socio-economic profile in a very different socio-cultural setting.