Figure 1. Age range and educational attainment
9%
4%
Vocational
training
1%
University degree
2%
Figure 2. For what reasons did you leave your country?
Violence,
insecurity and
conflict
83%
Rohingya women (n=483)
Lack of rights
and freedoms
87%
Secondary or
high school
15%
Personal or
family reasons
46%
Primary school
18-25
26-30
31 and above
80%
Primary school
(religious)
Access to
services /
corruption
28%
Did not complete
any schooling
8%
0%
10%
49%
39%
Economic
reasons
20%
30%
40%
9%
Rohingya women (n=483)
Multi-select
50%
Culture
39% of the Rohingya women have children. 43% report living or traveling with children
in their care at the time of the survey, much higher than Rohingya men, 14% of whom
1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
report traveling or living with children. This implies a greater role for Rohingya women in
childcare and children’s education.
While the Myanmar political system has structurally marginalized Rohingya people,
Protection risks prior to departure
social and cultural norms also shape the experiences of Rohingya women. In the survey,
98% of Rohingya women report not making any money in the 12 months prior to their
93% of respondents started their journey from Myanmar and 7% from Bangladesh. A
departure, comparing to 81% of men, emphasizing the home-bound traditional role of
majority of Rohingya women report having left their country of departure due to violence,
Rohingya women and the general difficulty for Rohingya people to earn livelihoods in
insecurity, and conflict (83%) and a lack of rights and freedom (80%) (see Figure 2). Types
Myanmar and Bangladesh.
of violence and insecurity reported (n=399) include political unrest/riots (95%), crime and
general insecurity (95%), war/armed conflict/terrorism (87%), and sexual and gender-
Rohingya women surveyed also report that they had limited alternatives to relocating
based violence (64%). Similarly, a majority of those reporting a lack of rights and freedom
to another country. 85% of the Rohingya women said that they see no alternative to
(n=388) cite multiple protection-related issues: repressive government (96%), religious
traveling to Malaysia by irregular means. Among those who did see other options (n=74,
discrimination (96%), and sexual discrimination (65%).
more frequently among Rohingya women aged 25 years and above), most had tried to
flee to another place of safety within Myanmar or Bangladesh (64%).
2