Tensions between Bangladeshi and Rohingya occasionally flair. But discussions on everyday topics among women show promise.

Throughout the year, the Rohingya people who live in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh make it a point to celebrate their traditional holidays. In August, that includes Eid Al-Adha, and sprinkled across the months, there are weddings. Despite the vastness of the camp – the world’s largest, where around a million Rohingya live, many of whom fled ethnic and religious persecution in neighboring Myanmar in 2017 – and the hopelessness of many, celebrations remain important. 

But women, though they participate, don't typically plan the festivities, by custom. Recently, some wondered why this is so. 

"We can't dance in public," said Shura Khartoum, who is 23, a mother of a three-year-old girl and a resident at the refugee camp. "Grandmothers sing traditional songs, and young people also sing. But the men plan the events." 

This was also curious to Nusrat Jahan Urmi, a Bangladeshi neighbor to the camp. And familiar. For in her culture, too, men take the lead.  

DW Akademie’s Women Dialogues project, which is facilitated by the local project partner YPSA, brings Bangladeshi and Rohingya women together in conversation. In general, these women would not interact or have a chance to get to know one another. At a gathering last year, the women talked about their cultural traditions, including weddings. 

"I asked Shura about their festivals," she said, including the Henna ceremonies before weddings. "She asked me about ours, too. And then we talked about what ceremonies might be like if women planned them together with the men." 

Lessening the load 

On the face of it, these chats could seem quaint, chatter over nothing of worldly importance. But Shura and Nusrat belong to distinct and sometimes tensely opposed communities. So, this simple conversation provides a new lens upon which to look at what they have in common rather than what divides them. 

Rohingya refugees cannot return to Myanmar, where a civil war rages and fierce fighting in particular has spread across Rakhine state, where the Rohingya are from. Meanwhile, observers, including Human Rights Watch, have described uneven and inadequate protection from Bangladeshi authorities within Cox’s Bazar, with increased violence and persecution. 

Shura and Nusrat met via DW Akademie’s Women Dialogues, which is facilitated by the local project partner YPSA and brings Bangladeshi and Rohingya women together in conversation. In general, there is little interaction between them and they would not have the chance to get to know one another. But this friendly contact can lessen the load of living in cramped settlements and the stress of an uncertain economic future while creating more social tolerance and cohesion among the two communities. 

Greater understanding between host communities and refugees often begins with women. DW Akademie's Women Dialogues project brings Rohingya and Bangladeshi women together for light conversation and a chance to find common ground on issues that can typically divide people.

"We find often that this bridge between two cultures starts with the women," said Mafia Mukta, DW Akademie's project officer, who both helps to organize and moderates the Women Dialogue meetings. "For one thing, both the Bangladeshi and Rohingya women are both homemakers, and most have no formal education. The idea is to simply bring them together because before this program, that really wasn’t happening." 

Light conversation and complex subjects 

Mukta noted, too, that in both communities, men and women don't mingle socially. Moreover, host communities often remain separate from displaced persons making direct exchange rare. This can breed stereotypes and prejudice, which in turn can feed rumors and misinformation.

In the Women Dialogue group, the age span of participants is vast; one common feature, however, is a high rate of early motherhood. Child rearing often forms a basis for light conversation, which often leads to more complex subjects such as hopes or fears about the future, or violence against women. 

"I was at first afraid," said Shura of the inaugural gathering in December, which included a game about planning weddings. "But as the meeting went on, I realized I was glad to be there." 

In general, she remains realistic about her situation in the refugee camp and, in talking about her life, acknowledges that her freedoms remain limited. 

"Some things just are what they are," she said. "I don't expect any quick improvements. But for now, these meetings are helpful, and I even think that friendships can grow out of them." 

Women Dialogues is part of DW Akademie's Displacement and Dialogue Asia project and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Apart from the Dialogues, regular radio programs, video reports, photo stories and other live events such as panel discussions, listener clubs and video screenings for both Rohingya and Bangladeshi audiences are run by the local project partner YPSA with the support of DW Akademie. The project focuses on social participation, civic society for freedom of expression, participation of disadvantaged groups, among other goals.