A Rohingya instructor said that when Rohingya girls become 10 to 12 years old, “the
parents don’t allow them to come to learning centers, as they feel like after that age the
girls need to be in the house, and also don’t feel safe to send their daughters outside
when they turn 10 years old.” Six girls in her class had stopped attending for this reason,
she said.23° Another instructor said he had lost 20 girls from her learning center because
“their families told them to stop coming to school. Parents tell me, ‘My daughter’s period
started, so she has to stay home’.” 23: Some
girls were able to continue studying with
private teachers at home, he said, but some were unable to find Rohingya women qualified
to teach them. In a positive step, teachers and education program administrators at
another NGO described efforts to have Rohingya religious leaders and ma/his encourage
parents to continue to send their daughters to school after the onset of puberty. 232
A group of humanitarian organizations working against gender-based violence plans to
create complaints mechanisms and improve referrals for victims of sexual violence in the
camps, including through coordination with Bangladesh ministries such as social welfare
and justice.233 However, as of November 2018,
only 43% of minimum service coverage has been achieved for urgently
required GBV [gender-based violence] case management and psychosocial
support for children and adults. ... Additionally, accessibility of these
services remains limited due to movement restrictions as well as fear of
women and girls to move outside of their shelter.234
As of the first quarter of 2019, there were widespread reports of rape and sexual assault in
the camps, but only 16 percent of rape cases were reported to medical staff within 72
hours.?35 Girls and women had been “pulled backward and raped in latrines at night,” an
230 Human Rights Watch interview, Toslima, Balukhali 2 camp learning center, Cox’s Bazar, February 7, 2019.
231 Human Rights Watch interview, Mohamed Anis, Cox’s Bazar, February 15, 2019.
232 Human Rights Watch interviews with COAST instructors and administrators, Cox’s Bazar, February 16, 2019.
233 2019 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Emergency, January-December, p. 19.
234 Ibid., pp. 29-31.
235 Gender Based Violence Information Management System, “Quarterly Factsheet 2019 (January - March), p.2,
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11_idFiV-G2844XTYagLYRgH3gjNO9gY_H (accessed June 12, 2019).
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2019