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Afghanistan, migrants and women. What to do?

Afghanistan, migrants and women. What to do?

Are we actually determined to tackle the issue of women and minors with an urgent procedure for Italians, minors and those who look to our country with the hope of concrete help? Alessandra Servidori's post

The tragedy in Afghanistan has sparked a rush to the declarations of political representatives to offer, more or less, the protection of our country to women and children terrified by the Taliban barbarians.

The videos of the requests for help are distressing, and the Government through Draghi is organizing a response that is as concrete and real as possible, through the commitment of the European Union, in particular Merkel and Von der Leyen.

We will see if in the next few hours it will be possible to involve the States credibly and actively, also because we remember with no little concern that the famous G20 of women will take place in Italy on 26 August, which must return a concrete commitment on initiatives regarding empowerment. (moreover discussed at the table for months), and the precipitated Afghan question which cannot but be considered among the initiatives to be developed here (needless to say let's help them there in the invaded country) and therefore also the resources that must be put in place.

The European Agency for Fundamental Rights has already given us a picture of the challenges that EU states still have to face in order to prevent an entire generation of young women and children from being left without any real prospect of inclusion. And we well know that those who have entered the territory of the Union, have applied for asylum, have undertaken integration paths in very different member states. Many of them have traumatic experiences behind them, violence they survived in their countries of origin and during the journey and therefore need specific protection and support. Furthermore, each of them is the bearer of ambitions and aspirations; of a more or less extensive cultural background acquired before departure or of illusions that have been falsely promised to her; of a diversity that deserves to be adequately valued.

But are we in a position not to welcome them and put them in overcrowded lodgings treated with dignity? According to some estimates released by the International Labor Organization (Oil), the crisis deriving from the epidemiological emergency from Codiv-19, which led to a significant contraction in employment, however, is destined to strike again and with greater force on some groups of workers, particularly disadvantaged, including migrants, even more so if they are women. And in any case, the question of social integration and work and the defense of minors is not just a question that concerns the immigrant population, as we well know.

The data of some reports are not at all encouraging: in general, female migrant workers are more qualified than male ones but continue to carry out tasks that are lower than the qualifications and skills acquired. The same is true for the Italian women. Again, the spread of part-time employment is confirmed but part-time is, more and more frequently, involuntary, that is, imposed and not the result of a choice by the worker. Finally, a pathological relationship between family condition and employment condition is strengthened: that is to say, for example, that the inactive are mainly mothers, as are the unemployed, albeit to a slightly lesser extent.

Basically, there is a deplorable phenomenon of "double discrimination", so that the situation that the worker experiences as a migrant is added, with a multiplier effect, to all the criticalities that accompany female work. And here too the similarity with us is dramatically evident.

So we ask ourselves strongly: be careful not to deceive either Italian women or women fleeing wars if we do not have a clear and concrete way of organizing ourselves. What integration measures have been introduced and do we need to implement immediately? What is working and what challenges remain to be addressed, with asylum seekers and holders of protection status, as well as with public institutions competent in immigration and integration policies and with civil society organizations.

Among these: the importance of reducing the duration of the asylum procedure and providing a certain legal status in a short time, limiting the bureaucracy necessary to obtain family reunification, providing adequate accommodation, improving psychological assistance and support measures for those who have been victims of violence and trauma, guarantee access to the compulsory education system for minors and promote vocational training and education as a primary means of integration.

And it is legitimate to ask: but are we capable? Are we actually determined to tackle the issue of women and minors with an urgent procedure for Italians, minors and those who look to our country with the hope of concrete help? Here you don't have to wait for the G20 catwalks; here it is now necessary to decide immediately whether Europe is credible if we are credible and not just the country of the sun (which shines a little less but burns more).


This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/migranti-afghanistan-donne/ on Thu, 19 Aug 2021 09:21:47 +0000.