Why single Rohingya mothers are never truly safe in the world's largest refugee camp
- Ahtaram Shin
- Dec 23, 2025
- 3 min read
Story and photos by Ayub Khan Dkl
For the single mothers in the Rohingya refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, survival is not a goal but it is a daily, exhausting battle against panic and helplessness.
In the "open prison" of the refugee settlement, a woman without a husband is often viewed as vulnerable and under the threat of exploitation. While the world sees these camps as a refuge, for these women, the "protection" promised often feels like no protection at all.
As activist Ali Jinnah Hussin once said about the camp experience: "Life here is a slow-motion struggle against being forgotten."
For Sufia Khatun, the camp fences feel less like a boundary and more like a detention. She has lived the life of a refugee for 33 years, never knowing a real home. Now, raising daughters aged 8 and 9, she faces a cruel paradox: to be safe, she is told she must give up her autonomy.
“I am being threatened to marry,” Sufia explains. “They tell me if I don’t, my daughters could be kidnapped on the way to school.”
This pressure highlights a grim reality noted of Dr. S.M. Daud, researcher Aligarh Muslim University "For a woman in the camps, the loss of a husband is not just personal grief; it is the loss of her only shield against a hostile world."
This societal pressure transforms marriage from a choice into a desperate transaction for safety, a shield against the "rumors" and nighttime threats that that scare her in dark and hidden areas of the camp.
Aqsarah (26) has chosen to resist this pressure, refusing to remarry just for the sake of "protection." The price of her independence has been high; she has become a social outcast. Neighbors spread false rumors and she faces daily harassment.
“I have been in a very poor psychological state because I am targeted for a different misuse every time,” she admits.
Her experience reflects the findings of Dr S.M Daud who describe the camp as a place where traditional safety nets have broken down. In the absence of formal security, vulnerable women must defend themselves against both outside threats and the hitting force of community judgment.
For Aqsarah, the battle begins when the sun goes down and the sound of the wind blows against the plastic tarp of her shelter becomes indistinguishable from the footsteps of a stranger.
The greatest fear for these mothers is not their own suffering, but the future of their children. Ambia Khatun (34) heads her household alone, an exhausting daily stand for food, clothes, school supplies and nutrition. She carries the heavy stress of her life to support her daughters and give protection while she herself in a vulnerable state.
Now, she confronts the threat of kidnappings, fires, and violence to ensure her surviving children safety and basic education. Like Ambia, Sufia still holds onto big dreams. She wants her children to become doctors or computer engineers.
“I worry they will grow up without education and without hope,” Sufia says. Her children are her only hope for a legacy that isn't just a refugee ID number.
As journalist Hannah Beech wrote: "The most powerful thing a refugee woman possesses is her hope for her children, it is the only thing the camp cannot fully take away."
For some, the struggle is a literal, physical weight. Fatema (30) cares for her 11-year-old son, who is unable to walk. Because the camp lacks paved roads, Fatema must carry him in her arms for miles across hilly, walk on the rough ground to get food or medicine. She is exhausted, lonely, and terrified of a future where she might be too sick to carry him. Her "daily battle" is written in the ache of her muscles and the miles of unpaved red clay under her feet.
These women are the heartbeat of the world's largest refugee settlement, yet they feel invisible. They endure the unendurable and a constant state of panic and hardship.
“We are not just numbers," Sufia says. "We are mothers, children, and families who want to live in dignity. I ask the world leaders: do not forget us.”
Whether they are searching for safety, protecting orphaned children, or simply waiting for a peaceful home, these women continue to fight for a life where they are protected and free to live simply. To make this a reality, providing sufficient resources for single mothers is not just a choice, it is an absolute must.
