As many as 26,000 Rohingya families sheltering in the 12 refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar are being led by women, the United Nations refugee agency has calculated.
There are also 5,000 Rohingya children who are running their families in the camps, according to the figures revealed by Senior Emergency Coordinator Louise Aubin of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“We have initially estimated that there are about 746,482 Rohingya from 172,356 Rohingya families – comprising of old and new Rohingyas – living in Cox’s Bazar,” Aubin said during a view exchange meeting with journalists at Motel Probal on Wednesday night.
“Of the families, 15% are being led by Rohingya women.”
The meeting was also attended by UNHCR’s Senior Regional Public Information Officer Mohammed Abu Asaker, and Public Information Officers Mitra Salima Suryono and Joseph Surja Tripura.
UNHCR found that while most of the Rohingya have managed to set up their own shelters and makeshift latrines, significant efforts are needed to address “life-threatening gaps in accessing services and life-saving assistance.”
The agency said many Rohingya women feel insecure without having any male family members around, and have taken the responsibility for their entire families.
According to a UNHCR report published last week, Rohingya households with small children, pregnant women, and the elderly are more vulnerable. However, they face the most difficulties in getting assistance.
The report read: “Women and girls are limiting their movement because of not only the fear of being harassed, kidnapped or trafficked but also because of their lack of appropriate clothing and sanitary napkins. The absence of light is another obstacle to movement at night, including going to the bathroom.
“Overall, women and girls do not feel safe in sanitation facilities, because toilets are not segregated, [and are] unclean and far away for their shelter. Some reported harassment when using latrines and bathing facilities.
“Main obstacles to access life-saving assistance include limited information on where to get support, long distance to distribution points with unsteady bridges and muddy pathways, long queues without protection from the sun or rain.”
The report urges the government and aid providers to work towards removing such problems.
Aubin praised the role of Bangladesh in providing assistance on humanitarian grounds over the past three months.
“The Rohingya crisis is now an international issue. Bangladesh is not alone in this, the global community is with the country (and) we hope the crisis will be resolved with international efforts,” she said.
According to the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, more than 631,500 displaced Rohingya entered Bangladesh between August 25 and November 24 following the recent spate of violence in northern Rakhine state.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is expecting hundreds more to arrive in the coming weeks – bringing the total Rohingya population to over one million – only exacerbating the current humanitarian crisis.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
