Empowering Arab Migrant Women in Romania: Challenges, Community, and Hope

Romania has seen a rising number of migrants and refugees over the last five years, many coming from Middle Eastern and South Asian countries to escape conflict or find employment. While the country still has one of the lowest shares of foreign-born residents in the EU, at just around 3% of the population, the challenges facing newcomers are significant: language barriers, limited support systems, discrimination, and precarious access to services.

The Romanian state provides little support, treating migration primarily as a security issue handled by an agency within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, rather than as a matter of social integration. The support mechanisms and procedures that do exist are difficult to navigate and often remain out of reach for many migrants. As a result, newcomers are frequently left dependent on the few NGOs operating in this space. However, these organisations often face limited funding and staff.

The lack of resources means that integration depends overwhelmingly on personal effort and individual capacity. If you are skilled, educated, and able to learn the language, you can “make it”; but those without such tools quickly end up marginalised.

For migrant women in particular, the risks are compounded by cultural isolation, gender inequality, and rising Islamophobia, while public discourse increasingly echoes nationalist and exclusionary narratives.

The Arabic Cultural Centre in Sibiu – The Home Away from Home

Fawzia G. Rehejeh, whom we interviewed for this article, knows these challenges intimately. She is the founder of the Arabic Cultural Centre in Sibiu—one of the organisations supported through the Catalyst of Change programme.

When she first arrived in Romania in 2013, she struggled to adjust. The language barrier and a deep sense of isolation pushed her to return to Syria. But after the violence escalated, she came back. This time, she committed to building a life in Romania. She learned the language, enrolled at university, and began to find her place. Fawzia’s story is one of the few fortunate cases: she had the education, the opportunities, and previous ties with Romania that made her integration journey somewhat easier.

One of the first challenges she faced after arriving was the lack of a community: “I was a migrant without a community,” Fawzia recalls. That experience inspired the creation of the Arabic Cultural Centre, which is a migrant- and women-led NGO that promotes the rights, dignity, and integration of Arab and other non-European immigrants and refugees. It began as a space where newcomers could learn Romanian and connect with one another. Shortly after, it evolved into a vibrant platform for intercultural dialogue, inclusion, and empowerment.

In 2024, the Centre launched the project Empowering Women Immigrants from the Middle East in Romania: Personal Autonomy, Socio-economic Integration, and Cultural Identity, with support from the Netherlands Helsinki Committee.

The Need

Romania has become home to an increasing number of women fleeing war or economic hardship across the Middle East and South Asia. For many of them, resettlement in Romania brings a new set of struggles. They face double vulnerability: as migrants within Romanian society and as women within their own communities. Fawzia explains:

“Many women don’t speak Romanian and remain isolated…they don’t know their rights, the procedures, the institutions, or the limited support systems that exist.”

Their vulnerability is further heightened by a rise in hate speech and Islamophobia. The Arabic Cultural Centre has received hateful messages almost every week for the past two years. At one cultural festival, participants were even targeted with eggs. Such incidents are rarely prosecuted and reflect a worrying and growing trend. Reports from NGOs and international monitors point to a rise in online hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric in Romania, often amplified by far-right voices.

The Project: Creating Safe Spaces and Stronger Voices

At the core of the NHC-funded project is a series of workshops designed to inform, support, and connect women from Arab and other non-EU countries. Each workshop covers critical topics such as knowing and defending women’s rights, recognising and responding to discrimination, and developing intercultural and communication skills. These sessions provide a space to share experiences of trauma, hope, and strength, helping the women to build a community. Fawzia explains that, at first, there was concern that women might not attend, but this fear proved to be unfounded by the overwhelming number of requests, and plans to continue and expand the project.

Alongside direct support for the women, the project also aims to change narratives. The Centre is developing a public campaign featuring 10 to 15 portraits of migrant women. These stories highlight both the hardships and the resilience of women navigating life in a foreign land. While still in development, the campaign aims to reach broad audiences through social media and local press.

Challenges and Hope

Participation can be difficult when women face pressure from their families or lack childcare. Language remains a constant barrier, and cultural taboos make some topics hard to address. However, the Centre is well-equipped to deal with these challenges: it offers Romanian courses, peer support, and has Arabic-speaking team members and counsellors available. The Arabic Cultural Centre continues to be a vital player in Romania’s civic landscape, working alongside partners such as the Romanian National Council for Refugees, UNHCR, and national NGOs.

Through its dedicated focus on women, cultural festivals, language classes, and advocacy, the Centre demonstrates that inclusive societies don’t happen by accident. Instead, they are built with care, courage, and community.

The work of the Centre is rooted in hope, but Fawzia remains clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. She says the future is overshadowed by the rise of extremism in Romania:

“Many people grow up believing Israel is the Holy Land and Arabs are terrorists.”

The current propaganda, fueled by deep public distrust in the system, makes it easy for such misconceptions to flourish.

Arabic Cultural Centre is a key grassroots partner in the European Union-funded Catalyst of Change: Supporting a Vibrant Civil Society in Europe project. Through this initiative, the Arabic Cultural Centre continues its work to empower migrant women in Romania, advocating for personal autonomy, socio-economic integration, cultural identity, and the creation of safe, inclusive spaces for community-building and intercultural dialogue. The Catalyst of Change project strengthens civil society organisations working on environmental rights, women’s rights, and anti-corruption across Croatia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia, ensuring they are better equipped to promote EU values, withstand external pressures, and respond swiftly to challenges affecting civic space. Please note that all views expressed in this article are solely those of the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU.