WOMEN’S MOBILITY IN THE CAMPS Figure 24. Changes in women’s mobility Households in which women went out of the home in Myanmar The study also examined mobility within the immediate camp environment particularly in regard to gender, to determine how displacement has affected the lives of women in the community. 36% 7% Women more regularly leave the house in the camps than they did in Myanmar. Forty-three percent of households report that women go out of the shelter in the camps for other reasons than basic hygiene and other necessities, compared to only 36 percent of households when they were still in Myanmar (figure 24). Women from 61 percent of registered refugee households regularly leave the shelter, a much higher percentage than women from newly arrived households (43 percent). Net increase in women’s mobility since arriving to camp 43% Households in which women go out of the shelter Figure 25. Reasons why women go out in the camps more oft en than in Myanmar To collect rations Women from 37 percent of households report going out more often than they did in Myanmar, and women’s reasons for going out have changed. These reasons include necessities such as collecting rations and going to work, and social purposes. Only 11 percent of households find it safer for women to go out in the camps than in Myanmar and they described this as one reason for women’s increased mobility (figure 25). It is not readily apparent from the data whether and how families’ concerns for women’s safety differ from the concerns they held in Myanmar. 96% To work Fewer restrictions on movement For social and recreational purposes Because it is safer here 42% 18% 15% 11% n= 603, multiple response Marriage and mobility in Myanmar Marriage is a traditional reason for Rohingya women to relocate. The Rohingya custom of patrilocality dictates that a woman move to her husband’s village once she marries and becomes a member of his gusshi (a Rohingya term referring to a family clan).­29 Family separation due to marriage can lead to widely divergent life outcomes amongst siblings. In 24 percent of camp households with an immediate family member who remained in Myanmar, that person stayed due to marrying into a family that did not flee. Prior to displacement, it was already common for women to go long periods without seeing their own families. Reunions were easiest when marriages occurred close to home or within the same gusshi. Marriage sometimes also affects a Rohingya person’s citizenship status, which may vary within the same family. Due to the irregular application of immigration laws, some women are able to acquire Myanmar citizenship after marriage. Citizenship status can vary amongst siblings. A 60-year-old mother of ten who lives in the refugee megacamp explained how marriage enabled her sister to acquire Myanmar citizenship, creating the disparities between the two women’s present lives. “Citizenship status varies widely in my family…My sister and her in-laws paid off the immigration officials with 500 kyat [around USD 70.00 in the 1980s]. Their whole village bribed the officials at once. This was the village my sister moved to for her marriage. As a result, all three of my nephews have had Myanmar citizenship their whole lives. But the chairman in my village was stricter. This led to the difference in our fates. My sister’s family had a different destiny.” 25