While working with YUVA on a monitoring and evaluation system for some of their programs at the Kirikhan Community Center in Hatay, I have been thinking a lot about women-friendly spaces. One major concern for Syrian women living in host communities in Turkey is that they can become socially isolated, which can have significant negative impacts on their mental health and wellbeing. Language barriers, feelings of insecurity, and cultural expectations are just a few factors that may prevent women from leaving their homes, participating in activities or employment, and interacting with others. It is important to note that this is a concern for other refugee women as well, not just Syrians in Turkey.
Community Centers, such as the one in Kirikhan, can provide a safe place for women to gather, share, and participate in activities of their choosing. They have the potential to reduce isolation and facilitate the healing that can come from enjoying activities, relating and talking with others. However, from the perspective of an NGO interested in providing women-friendly spaces, the question remains how to reach those women who are the most isolated? What can we do to address the causes of their isolation, and make spaces that work for them?
I discussed these issues with Kristine Anderson, a researcher with the Syria Research and Evaluation Organization, who recently completed a report on the impact of displacement on Syrian women in Turkey. She pointed out that poorer Syrian women are usually more isolated, less educated, and have a more conservative cultural background than more economically advantaged Syrian women. In addition to not being able to speak Turkish, which can be a significant barrier, these women may not leave their homes because their husbands do not want them to leave. She found that middle and upper class women go to community centers, not the poorest, most needy among them. Kristine suggested that donors work with females in the community who would be willing to be ambassadors of sorts. She says efforts to reach the most isolated, often poorest women would be more successful if they were coming from women in their community who share the same economic and ideological background. This is the most important thing. These efforts could be simple at first—opening homes or places in a neighborhood where women can bring their children, have coffee and talk. Then additional programs or services can grow from there, depending on what the women want.
As a counterpoint to Kristine’s observations, the Director at the Kirikhan Community Center says that women from low socioeconomic backgrounds are attending the Center. This may be because Support to Life, YUVA’s partner organization at the Center, operates the activities at the Center alongside an e-voucher program that provides rechargeable debit cards to Syrians in Kirikhan. These vouchers can be used to buy food and hygiene items at participating markets. Support to Life uses several criteria to select voucher recipients, including economic vulnerability. The program manager for the voucher program says that operating a community center in tandem with the voucher program is, in her opinion, the only way to approach it. Providing the voucher system before establishing the community center built trust between Support to Life and the Syrian community, which is crucial.
Another reason why low-income Syrian women are visiting the Kirikhan Community Center may be because it is geographically accessible. The location of the Center was selected because there is a high concentration of voucher recipients in the surrounding area. As such, the Center is more accessible for these economically vulnerable Syrians because it is within walking distance. Of course, not all economically disadvantaged Syrians are receiving vouchers, and not all poor Syrians live within walking distance to the Community Center. Transportation, even public buses, can be an exorbitant expense, and my colleagues at the Center have been thinking about options for providing transportation from other areas in the city.
They have also made an effort to provide activities that women in the community—both Turkish and Syrian—demand. For example, the Center received many requests for a sewing class to make winter clothes. Almost all 56 women who registered attended. According to the Director of the Center, usually if 50 women register for a course, only about half will actually attend. So this sewing workshop was clearly needed. On the other hand, a quilting workshop that the staff decided to provide was not attended at all. It’s lessons such as these that are being used to inform programming. Staff are also conducting house visits to understand the community needs, inform people about the Center, and determine what else the Community Center can do.
It is clear that building trust and spending lots of time with the community to understand their needs and listening to their demands is crucial for improving accessibility of community centers for women. A community based, more informal model is also an interesting alternative, and one worth exploring.
Community Centers, such as the one in Kirikhan, can provide a safe place for women to gather, share, and participate in activities of their choosing. They have the potential to reduce isolation and facilitate the healing that can come from enjoying activities, relating and talking with others. However, from the perspective of an NGO interested in providing women-friendly spaces, the question remains how to reach those women who are the most isolated? What can we do to address the causes of their isolation, and make spaces that work for them?
I discussed these issues with Kristine Anderson, a researcher with the Syria Research and Evaluation Organization, who recently completed a report on the impact of displacement on Syrian women in Turkey. She pointed out that poorer Syrian women are usually more isolated, less educated, and have a more conservative cultural background than more economically advantaged Syrian women. In addition to not being able to speak Turkish, which can be a significant barrier, these women may not leave their homes because their husbands do not want them to leave. She found that middle and upper class women go to community centers, not the poorest, most needy among them. Kristine suggested that donors work with females in the community who would be willing to be ambassadors of sorts. She says efforts to reach the most isolated, often poorest women would be more successful if they were coming from women in their community who share the same economic and ideological background. This is the most important thing. These efforts could be simple at first—opening homes or places in a neighborhood where women can bring their children, have coffee and talk. Then additional programs or services can grow from there, depending on what the women want.
As a counterpoint to Kristine’s observations, the Director at the Kirikhan Community Center says that women from low socioeconomic backgrounds are attending the Center. This may be because Support to Life, YUVA’s partner organization at the Center, operates the activities at the Center alongside an e-voucher program that provides rechargeable debit cards to Syrians in Kirikhan. These vouchers can be used to buy food and hygiene items at participating markets. Support to Life uses several criteria to select voucher recipients, including economic vulnerability. The program manager for the voucher program says that operating a community center in tandem with the voucher program is, in her opinion, the only way to approach it. Providing the voucher system before establishing the community center built trust between Support to Life and the Syrian community, which is crucial.
Another reason why low-income Syrian women are visiting the Kirikhan Community Center may be because it is geographically accessible. The location of the Center was selected because there is a high concentration of voucher recipients in the surrounding area. As such, the Center is more accessible for these economically vulnerable Syrians because it is within walking distance. Of course, not all economically disadvantaged Syrians are receiving vouchers, and not all poor Syrians live within walking distance to the Community Center. Transportation, even public buses, can be an exorbitant expense, and my colleagues at the Center have been thinking about options for providing transportation from other areas in the city.
They have also made an effort to provide activities that women in the community—both Turkish and Syrian—demand. For example, the Center received many requests for a sewing class to make winter clothes. Almost all 56 women who registered attended. According to the Director of the Center, usually if 50 women register for a course, only about half will actually attend. So this sewing workshop was clearly needed. On the other hand, a quilting workshop that the staff decided to provide was not attended at all. It’s lessons such as these that are being used to inform programming. Staff are also conducting house visits to understand the community needs, inform people about the Center, and determine what else the Community Center can do.
It is clear that building trust and spending lots of time with the community to understand their needs and listening to their demands is crucial for improving accessibility of community centers for women. A community based, more informal model is also an interesting alternative, and one worth exploring.