Women of hope: finding strength in the struggle

Mar 8, 2022

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As we mark Women’s Day this March, I find myself reflecting on the pain and challenges women are facing during these months. I consider the local news, with two women violently murdered between January and March this year.[1] I am mindful of women fleeing their countries with little or nothing because of war, poverty, and on societies built on systems that make women vulnerable. This leads me to a deeper, personal reflection about the women who I encounter in the course of my work as a counsellor with the Jesuit Refugee Service.

In 2021, 41 women seeking asylum arrived on our shores. 205 unaccompanied children, and 43 accompanied children[2], some of whom are girls, are seeking the protection of our community in Malta. I think of their stories, which have entered my heart and will never leave me the same.

Stories of women who have fled forced-marriage, rape and female genital mutilation. Girls who have not been allowed to realise their dreams of education, simply because they are female. Women who have been sold and trafficked to become sex slaves. Women who have become vulnerable in detention centres in Libya, only to find themselves detained once again, traumatised and retraumatised by authorities responsible for their protection.

Women who have been told that what they have been through is not credible, or is not enough to qualify for protection. Women who would like to work and contribute to our society but are not able to access childcare which would allow them to learn our language and eventually find employment.

I acknowledge that the pain overwhelms and disheartens me at times, even if just for a moment. However, I am also overwhelmed by the strength, the resilience and the hope of women in search of a better future, who are actively striving to change their world. Women who carry great pain but still make it a point to laugh, to hope and to love. On this Women’s Day, let us celebrate and find inspiration in the women who continue to stand strong in hope in the face of an increasingly dark world.

Words by Sara Zingariello, Counsellor and Coordinator of the Intake Outreach and Basic Integration Services

[1] https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/malta-to-include-femicide-in-criminal-code-after-paulina-dembska.931654

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/vigil-for-murdered-rita-ellul-on-thursday-march-against-sexism-on.938262

[2] https://www.unhcr.org/mt/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2022/02/Malta-Sea-Arrivals-and-Asylum-Statistics_UNHCR_Dec2021.pdf

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