Empowering Vulnerable Women: A Story of Survival in Greece's Asylum System

In December 2022, a young single mother from Afghanistan approached our team for assistance with her asylum interview. Despite arriving in Greece six months earlier, she was only able to submit her asylum application in October, after enduring three weeks of homelessness on the streets with her six-year-old child.

As a victim of sexual and gender-based violence in her home country, she fled persecution on the grounds of her gender. The safe-third-country concept heightened her fear of being returned to Turkey and ultimately Afghanistan. An ELIL lawyer helped the woman prepare for her asylum interview and represented her on the day of her hearing. Due to her vulnerable profile, the application was examined on both admissibility and eligibility on the same day. The lawyer submitted a legal memo to support her case and the asylum service eventually granted the woman and her child refugee status, on the grounds that they faced a serious risk of persecution in their country of origin.

Thousands of women and girls in Greece are stranded in camps or left to live on the street with no access to shelter and basic services. Legal assistance can make all the difference as they seek safety and security for themselves and their families.