Reading Comprehension

PT110 · S1 · P4 · Q21 Women Refugees

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When women are persecuted on account of their gender, they are likely to be eligible for asylum.

Topic

Eligibility of women facing gender-based persecution for refugee status under international law.

Framework

Answer / Explain

Main Point

Women persecuted for their gender can qualify for asylum as part of the "social group" category in the UN's refugee definition, and this broad, flexible category was intentionally created to ensure such individuals are protected. The Most Valuable Sentence:—the end of paragraph 1:

P1: Establishing the Central Question and Position

Sets up the issue: gender is not explicitly listed in the refugee definition, but women suffering gender-based persecution do qualify under “social group.” The history of the definition shows that “social group” was designed as a catch-all for those otherwise left out.

P2: Historical Background on the “Social Group” Category

Explains where the "social group" category came from. The original refugee definition didn’t include it—the United Nations later added it as a flexible category to cover cases not neatly fitting the more specific criteria.

P3: Supporting the Broad Interpretation of Social Group

The UN’s Handbook and subsequent documents promote a broad, inclusive understanding of “social group.” This supports the idea that women fleeing gender-based persecution should qualify for asylum, especially since UN documents specifically encourage using this category for women in such situations.

21.

Which one of the following asylum-seekers would be most likely to qualify for refugee status under the social-group category as it is described in the passage?

  1. a woman who is unable

    Different Category

    This woman isn't being persecuted; she's just economically struggling. And the only backstory we get is "she comes from a poor country". Does that mean that everyone in her country should get refugee status? If so, then it would fall under the specifically enumerated "nationality" category, not the fuzzy leftover "social group" category.

    2% picked this

  2. a woman who has limited

    Different Category

    If this woman is facing hardship because of her race, then she would get refugee status under the "race" category, not under the "social group" category.

    4% picked this

  3. a woman who is unable

    Different Category

    If this woman is facing hardship because of her religion, then she would get refugee status under the "religion" category, not under the "social group" category.

    5% picked this

  4. Correct

    a woman who faces persecution

    Why this is right

    This woman is being persecuted, which is a requirement. She doesn't seem to qualify under the enumerated categories of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. So, the leftover "social group" is her only option. Does she fit the definitions in the 3rd paragraph? Yes. She doesn't fit the "persons of a similar background, habits, or social status" definition from what we've been told so far, but she qualifies for that 1985 UNHCR idea that you can use the social-group category to classify women asylum-seekers "who face harsh or inhuman treatment due to their having transgressed the social mores of the society in which they live". Accepted norm = more (pronounced "mor-ay") It sounds like she's being persecuted for rejecting / transgressing the accepted norm/more about arranged marriages.

    Skill tested: Application · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    83% picked this

  5. a woman who faces persecution

    Different Category

    If this woman is facing hardship because of her political opinion, then she would get refugee status under the "political opinion" category, not under the "social group" category.

    6% picked this

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