She believed she could, and she did

According to the UNHCR, displaced women and girls are still facing discrimination and violence in their everyday life. Their gender plays a crucial role in feeding these acts of inhumanity, which impact their ability to live a dignified, decent and free life. According to the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre (IDMC), more that 55 million people are internally displaced since the end of 2020.  Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of internally displaced women and girls, accounting for 8.2 million or 40% of the global figure.

Evidence from academia over the years has shown that sport can be used as a tool for development, positive influence on public health, socialization of individuals, social inclusion of the disadvantaged, to contribute to the economic development of regions and states, and fostering intercultural exchange and conflict resolution (Hayhurts & Frisby, 2010; Kidd 2008; Lyras & Peachey, 2011; MacIntosh, et al.,  2015; MacIntosh et al., 2018).

The evidence, however, is not just from academia. Global organizations such as the United Nations and its agencies (including UNESCO and UNHCR) support the use of sport as a larger developmental tool, and have included sports in their agendas as a mechanism for achieving development and peace.

When the conversation comes to specific groups of people and how sports can be used in order to further support these groups, then organizations, sports programming and management around sports might face great challenges (Darnell, 2012; Hartmann & Kwauk, 2011).

Challenges

This high number of displaced women and girls is a reality that we should not ignore. As mentioned above, sport can be used to support women and girls. However, while approaching displaced women and girls, organizations and programs can face multiple challenges and must take special consideration into supporting them. These challenges could include cultural characteristics, ideas and beliefs according to which women might not be open to participating in sport programs. In such cases, programmers should find ways to limit these cultural obstacles so that women and girls can be more open to the idea of practicing sports. Another challenge that programmers must keep in mind is trauma and its after effects, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on internally displaced women and girls.

Furthermore, sports program managers must acknowledge the issues related to infrastructure, hygiene and sanitation at the spaces which internally displaced women and girls live in. Many internally displaced people live in camps where hygiene conditions are less than satisfactory, which, combined with a lack of access to clean water, can lead to an increased chance of contracting diseases. Hence, it is important to take these factors into consideration while designing a program, to ensure that the environment for these women and girls is safe and clean.

Finally, programmers need to overcome the major financial challenges that often occur while working with displaced women and girls. During these difficult times of a global pandemic, it may be even more difficult to raise funds to support sport for development programs.

But what about the opportunities? 

Displaced women and girls are often deprived from accessing sport and sport as a tool for development is very important to further develop their physical and cognitive skills, as well as their socioeconomic characteristics. This is a subject that has been explored by academic for many years.

It is widely supported that sports can increase social interactions, support the mental, physical and social development of individuals, boost creativity and happiness, as well as help people integrate more easily into society, teaching them the importance of morality and following rules. Hence, sports has the power to help in the process of democratization and can boost the self-esteem of individuals to create responsible citizens.

Many sports-focused organizations are positioned to help women and girls, and today more than ever, it is important that these organizations taken on the role as leaders. Such organizations should further address issues that need to be resolved with regards to displaced women and girls, taking into consideration the environment from which they are coming and the help they need to overcome their particular difficulties. Sport has the power to boost their self-esteem and remind them that their power is derived from within themselves.

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Ioanna Maria Kantartzi is a Ph.D. Candidate at the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Her research interests include topics on sport management, sport for development, sport policy, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) within sport organizations.

^{sportanddev published this content as part of our partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. For more information on using sport in work with refugees please visit the UNHCR website.}