The impact of stereotypical constructions of masculinity among the Rohingya population living in the Kutupalang Rohingya camp in Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract This research examined how stereotypical constructions of masculinity impact the Rohingya community living in the Kutupalang Rohingya camp in Bangladesh. The study was conducted immediately after the 2017 influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh. A total of 28 in-depth interviews were conducted, comprising 16 Rohingya men and seven Rohingya women, and five humanitarian officials. The study also included two focus groups, one with Rohingya men and the other with Rohingya women. Rohingya populations’ lived experience of manhood sharply contrasts with their idealized construction of masculinities characterized by identity, wealth, power, education status, and the ability to be the family’s income earner. This idealized version of masculinity is shaped by personal experiences of exclusion combined with stereotypical notions of masculinity. These stereotypical notions of masculinity reinforce Rohingya men’s vulnerabilities in multiple ways. Firstly, the nonalignment between Rohingya men’s lived experience of manhood and stereotypical constructions of masculinity contributes to a crisis in their masculinity. Secondly, stereotypical masculine constructions allow state bodies to consider Rohingya men as antagonists of the state, normalizing the culture of violence against them. Thirdly, Rohingya men’s deviation from culturally expected masculine roles intensifies dissatisfaction among both Rohingya men and women, resulting in violence against women at the intrahousehold level. Overall, the study found that stereotypical masculinities play a pivotal role in reinforcing gender-based violence by maintaining and reproducing unequal power relations and gender order. Consequently, such constructions can turn a marginalized man into either a victim or a perpetrator, depending on his gendered power position under a particular circumstance.