( CNN ) Farah fled the civil war in Syria with her husband in the middle of the night , hitching rides on trucks until they finally crossed into Jordan . Two days later , she gave birth to a girl in a country where they hold no status . Like 70,000 other refugees from Syria , Iraq , Sudan and the Palestinian Territories , Farah ( her name and the others in this article have been changed to protect their anonymity ) now lives with her family in Zarqa , a poor Jordanian city teeming with factories and crumbling apartment blocks . Men dominate public spaces , and many women stay at home , isolated . Two years ago , Farah was a nurse and her husband a lawyer . Here , he found work tiling construction sites , but was arrested three times for working illegally . `` Now my husband stays at home , depressed and afraid of being sent to the camps , '' Farah said . She is now the family breadwinner , working at a local organization providing educational programs to Syrian and Jordanian children . Every day she navigates the dangers of Zarqa 's crime-ridden streets and ignores sexual advances from men . Yet Zarqa is also a pocket of hope . Some 384 female refugees working with the Near East Foundation have been able to re-establish savings , restore dignity , strengthen their capacity to bounce back and rebuild their lives . Many of them choose to become earners for the first time . They belong to a network of Jordanian and refugee women -- coaches , mentors and peers -- who lean on each other and offer business and social support , exchange tips and build friendships . Some 80 % of the refugees in this network have chosen to invest in building a small home-based business . Fatiya , who escaped Iraq during the 2003 invasion , was surviving on charity until six months ago . Now she runs her own leather goods home-based business , making belts , wallets and key chains for tourists from the safety of her home . These days , Fatiya is busy rebuilding her life . `` I make my own way , '' she says . Zainab , also an Iraqi refugee , is now a hairdresser in Zarqa . On the side , she teaches the art of hairdressing to young women , walking alongside them in their first steps to become economically independent . On March 8 , we celebrate International Women 's Day and the empowerment of women globally -- including the nearly 6 million refugee women and girls who , like Farah , Fatiya and Zainab , continue to adapt to life in their new surroundings with determination , creativity and skill , despite increasingly limited options . Aid agencies must match the strength of these women 's resilience . To truly assist them , we must empower them with opportunities and choices . Of the 10.5 million refugees registered with UNHCR , the UN 's refugee agency , less than 1 % are eventually resettled . The rest remain in limbo , forced to forge new lives in places where they often have no right to work . Refugees are displaced for an average of 20 years , and more than half disappear into urban sprawls where they struggle to integrate and start their lives over . Humanitarian assistance and media attention tend to fixate on `` immediate '' aid -- distribution of cash , food and subsistence items . This is unsustainable . UNHCR provides critical cash assistance to refugees in Jordan -- but this can be as little as $ 71 a month , 16 times below the country 's poverty line . Refugees need to supplement their allowances , yet they can not legally find employment , and working in the informal sector can be dangerous . Farah , Fatiya and Zainab are among hundreds of women who are finding a world of options as they build their vocational skills and financial literacy . But their increased role as earners challenges cultural norms , exposing them to heightened abuse and violence . Women 's ability to generate income does not guarantee economic independence . To help this network of women control the income they earn , the Near East Foundation facilitates discussions with male family members about their wives ' and daughters ' newfound roles . `` In the beginning , these women were tremendously shy -- they did n't talk , '' says Hamdan Eliemat , who heads the Bani Hasan Islamic Society , a community organization supporting the women . He laughs . `` And now they wo n't stop talking . And we men , now we have to listen . '' The international community must advocate for refugees ' right to survive . We must ensure that beyond immediate aid , women have access to skill-building , financial resources , social networks and protection from violence and harassment , so they have the chance to build their own futures .
Jina Krause - Vilmar : On International Women 's Day , focus on helping refugee women transition to new jobs . She says aid agencies like hers aim to help these women build literacy skills and financial literacy . She says the effort involves informing men about wives ' and husbands ' new lives .