Introduction
Much acclaimed and celebrated Afghan writer, Khalid Hosseni in one his works, the Kite Runner mentions “There are many children in Afghanistan, but little childhood” (Hosseini, 2011). A statement as such is years of honour and threat their generations had to encounter simply to flee their country to evade war. Ever since 1978, the Saur Revolution, the Soviet invasions in 1979, and the Civil War’s in 1990’s, the number of Afghans fleeing their country is only increasing (Hyman, 1989).
The constant war like situation in Afghanistan has transformed it to a land of terrorism and drug trafficking. This research paper focuses on the increasing Afghani woman crisis in India involving the struggle encountered by these woman merely to survive.
The Afghani refugees in India have often fallen prey to the games of politics by the big powers in the country. India and Afghanistan have shared a very special relation of cooperation and rivals in the past. However, with the onset of the Russian aggression, the Taliban coupled with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism many Afghani’s have fled to the national capital of India; New Delhi.
Today, both India and Afghanistan seek to improve their bilateral trade with India offering its support to the national defence and security forces of Afghanistan to curb narcotics and fight terror (Kaura, 2019). The UNHCR has 14,464 registered refuges in India in 2017 (Chauhan, 2019). The Afghani woman of India have constantly made headlines due to the various challenges they encounter in an alien land.
The society that envelopes these woman is filled with pressures limiting them to work often forcing them to carry out small scale businesses from their homes itself such as that of beauty parlours and teaching (Buscher 2011).
Problem Statement
The plight of Hindu refuges in India is comparatively better than that of the Muslim Afghani refugees perhaps due to the difference in their population density or cultural similarities. This difference has led to the lack of academic literature and study to be conducted within the field (Buscher 2011).
With the limited literature that is available, this research paper will seek to analyse the strategies adopted by the Afghani refugee woman for their survival while outlining the difference in the living standards among the Sikh and Muslim refuges
Rationale
Although, India is known for its diversity, there is an increasing intolerance levels among people who migrate from different regions (regional discrimination) often resulting in the creation of an hostile environment for a particular group. The friction in India – Pakistan relations backed by political perspectives have contributed in the creations of anti-Muslim sentiments often leading to Muslims being one of the most vulnerable groups in the country. Muslim refugee Muslims are however most vulnerable and fall prey to gender based violence and abuse.
However, these Muslim Afghani refugee Woman haven’t given up and still fight for the development of their and their society’s well-being yet, their contributions often go unrecognized. Making this an important field of study to explore in terms of the legal and cultural system of Muslim Afghani Women for the creation of an inclusive environment within a country and for better humanitarian laws for the development of us as humans.
Literature Review
Legal Aspects Involved
A. Refugee under International Law
Article 1of the 1951 UN Conventions defined refugee as a person as “owing to well – founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or owning to such fear is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country” (UNHCR--The UN Refugee Agency. Guidelines On International Protection: Cessation of Refugee Status under Article 1C(5) and (6) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the 'Ceased Circumstances' Clauses), 2003.
B. Post 1967 Protocol
The 1967 Protocol is read alongside the 1951 UN Convention as an update to the preceding Convention since they both deal with the Status of Refugees. Although, the protocol introduced the removal of temporal and geographical limitations only migrations backed by civil or political rights where included under the convention.
This has resulted in most of the refugees from the third world or developing countries to be denied the protection since they fled not only because of political or civil rights but also because of natural disasters and economic upheaval (B.Chimnney 2000,07-08).
Refugee flows and its Causes
The inflow of migrants and an increase of refugees have taken place primary due to six factors; economic, environment, political, ethnic and human rights violations and tensions.
- A. The 1951 UN Conventions recognized persecution based on the race/nationality/membership to a particular group and their religious and political belief and opinion to influence their safety within their country.
- B. Economic stability which determines the increment of the refuge is also recognized as a major reason for individual to seek refuge in areas where they have a better economic stability.
- C. Migration caused by environmental factors is the most controversial refugee migration since there are many who debate that this kind of migration is not forced where people are forcefully uprooted.
- D. There have been various disagreements among the various ethnic groups often leading to conflicts turning violent. Such ethnic tensions are often seen as the root cause for refuges today. (UNHCR--The UN Refugee Agency. Guidelines On International Protection: Cessation of Refugee Status under Article 1C(5) and (6) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the 'Ceased Circumstances' Clauses), 2003.
United Nations Humans Rights Commission
The creation of the League of Nations initiated an organized response to the refuge problem post the Cold War Era as it indicated that large scale refugee movements in European could not be controlled without government cooperation. This lead to the creation of intergovernmental committee on refugees (IGCR,1938), United Nations Relief And Rehabilitation Agency (1947, UNRRA) and International refugee organisation (IRO, 1947) were set up for refugee protection (B. Chimney 2000,210).
The fall of the of the IRO in 1951 resulted in the creation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR,1950) with an aim to lead, direct and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve their crisis around the world.
Refugee Rights
The 1951 UN Conventions outlined the civil and socio- economic rights of the refugees which are to be respected by not only fellow citizens but also by citizens in whose country they seek refuge. Although the international law makes it mandatory for states to adopt these laws laid down by the UN Convention some states have not been abiding by them.
Some of the laws that have been made for the protection of refuges are;
- a. Entry in search of refuge on instance of persecution, armed conflict or events disturbing public order.
- b. In times of armed conflict, refuges or asylum seekers should not be used as a shield/buffer where their safety is threated.
- c. National authorities should instantly inform UNHCR in case of detention of refuges or asylum seekers, allowing it to supervise their and protect them.
- d. They must be provided with employment and public assistance as part of their socio – economic rights (Harvey, 2009)
Refugee Crisis in Involved and the Legal System involved
With the coming of the 1951 UN Convention and the 1967 Protocol, India has become a home to many refugees from across the globe; it is known to house more refuges than to produce them. Although India lacks laws specifically for refuges it has been a host to many even though they are not entitled
Bibliography
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- Buscher, Dale. Bright Lights, Big City- Urban Refugees Struggle to make a living in new Delhi. Annual Report, Newyork: Women's Refugee Commision, 2011.
- Chauhan, A. (2019). No goodbyes: An account of Afghani refugee settlement in India. Delhi Post, pp.01- 02.
- Chimney, B.S. “The Legal Condition of Refugeesin India.” Journal of refugee studies, 1994: 378-8120.
- Harvey, C. (2009). Michelle Foster, International Refugee Law and Socio-Economic Rights: Refuge from Deprivation. Human Rights Law Review, 9(4), pp.696-698.
- Hosseini, K. (2011). Kite Runner, The. 1st ed. London: Bloomsbury, p.24.
- Humanrts.umn.edu. (2019). Study Guide - The Rights of Refugees. [online] Available at: http://humanrts.umn.edu/edumat/studyguides/refugees.htm [Accessed 23 May 2019].
- Hyman, A. (1989). The war in Afghanistan: an account and analysis of the country, its people, Soviet intervention and the resistance. International Affairs, 65(2), pp.376-377.
- Kaura, V. (2019). Indo-Israeli relations in the Modi era: a transformative shift. Israel Affairs, 25(2), pp.217-233.
- The Real Russia, Today (2019). The war to start all wars 30 years later, ‘Meduza’ answers key questions about the Soviet-Afghan War.
- UNHCR--The UN Refugee Agency. Guidelines On International Protection: Cessation of Refugee Status under Article 1C(5) and (6) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the 'Ceased Circumstances' Clauses). (2003). International Journal of Refugee Law, 15(2), pp.307-317.
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