Rohingya girls, women vulnerable to abuse, rape, violence in refugee camps

Young mother Senoura is trying the best she can to make sure her baby is not malnourished. But with hardly any money, depending only on food rations, she is worried for her young one. Photos: AZHAR MAHFOF/The StarAZHAR MAHFOF/The StarAZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

Every morning, 20-year-old Gulbahar rushes to finish her housework and cook for her family so she can spend more time at the Safe Space for Women and Girls, a women-only space supported by Unicef at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

The safe space, she says, is more than just a respite from the harsh conditions in the camp (and the tiny shelter she lives in). In that female-only space, Gulbahar is being empowered and equipped with vocational skills that she never thought she'd have the chance to acquire.