What happens when becoming the head of a household is not a choice, but a consequence of war?

In this Refugee Archive Roundtable webinar, host Ruth Adeyeye speaks with Wasim Dia, Syrian researcher and refugee studies scholar, about his paper The Experience of Newly Formed Syrian Female-Headed Household Refugees in Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities. Drawing on interviews with Syrian refugee women living in Alexandria, Egypt, Wasim explores what happens when displacement abruptly transforms women into the primary providers, caregivers, and decision-makers for their families.

Unlike long-established female-headed households, the women in this study entered these roles suddenly—through conflict, death, separation, disappearance, and forced migration. At the same time they were coping with loss and displacement, they were also expected to navigate unfamiliar legal systems, find income, care for children, and rebuild their lives in a country they never intended to call home.

The conversation examines how displacement reshapes family structures, gender roles, employment opportunities, and social relationships. It also highlights the less visible consequences of exile: loneliness, the loss of professional identity, community stigma, and the emotional burden of carrying a family through uncertainty.

Throughout the discussion, Wasim reflects not only as a researcher, but as a Syrian refugee himself—bringing a personal understanding of the realities faced by the women whose stories form the foundation of his research.

What You'll Hear in This Webinar

00:00 Introduction — Syrian women becoming heads of households through war and displacement10:20 Sarah’s story: survival, illness, and rebuilding life in Egypt16:10 Informal work, loneliness, and the realities of refugee survival35:00 Patriarchy, motherhood, and what female-headed households reveal about displacement

Why This Research Matters

Discussions about refugees often focus on numbers: how many people crossed a border, how many families were displaced, how many remain in exile.

But statistics rarely capture what happens inside a household when conflict removes a spouse, a father, or a primary source of support.

This research shows that female-headed households are not simply economic units. They are families navigating grief, responsibility, social judgment, and institutional barriers all at once. The women interviewed in this study reveal how displacement reshapes identity, authority, caregiving, and survival itself.

Their experiences remind us that refugee policy is not only about movement across borders—it is also about the everyday realities of rebuilding life after loss.

About The Series

The Refugee Archive Roundtable is a webinar series bringing together scholars, university teams, and researchers whose work examines female-headed households and displaced single mothers worldwide to connect academic insights with real-world global impact.