PROGRAM

*** This event has been rescheduled for February 28, 2019 ***

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority who have lived in Myanmar for centuries. The Rohingya have been targeted by the Myanmar military for decades, with a concerted and devastating “cleansing effort” taking place in August, 2017. To date, more than one million Rohingya refugees have fled across the border into Bangladesh. In this humanitarian crisis—as is so often the case in conflict settings—violations of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights are endemic. Sarah Costa, the executive director of the Women’s Refugee Commission, will discuss the findings of WRC’s advocacy and research trip to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. As the only research and advocacy NGO that focuses on the ramifications of gender-based violence and challenges to gender equality in humanitarian crises, WRC brings a unique lens to understanding how refugee women and girls are faring. Through photos, videos, commentary, and discussion, Dr. Costa will bring her firsthand experience from the camp to Roosevelt House.

The event is part of the PhenomenalWomen@RH Series, and is co-sponsored by the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter’s Women and Gender Studies Department, and the Human Rights and Public Policy programs at Roosevelt House.