On 28 May, 7 women and children lost their lives in a boat accident off El Hierro in Spain’s Canary Islands. While most of the 145 people on the boat which capsized just a few metres form La Restinga Port, were rescued, the dead women and children were buried in 3 separate cemeteries. The incident has brought the increasing number of women migrants using the sea route to reach Europe and the deadly risks they face back to the agenda. 

 

15 PER CENT OF THEM ARE WOMEN

 

According to the United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency, armed conflicts and growing poverty, especially in the Sahel region of West Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger), are forcing millions of people to migrate. According to data from the Spanish Refugee Aid Commission (CEAR), about 15 per cent of irregular migrants arriving in the Canary Islands since 2021 have been women. 

 

Speaking to The Guardian, CEAR coordinator Juan Carlos Lorenzo stated that women are no longer passive, but decision-making actors in the migration process. It was noted that the process in the past, when men migrated and women joined them later, has changed, and women are now travelling on this dangerous journey with their children, alone or with other women. 

 

SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND GENITAL MUTILATION

 

The measures taken by the European Union (EU) against the transit routes in the Mediterranean have led many migrants across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands. El Hierro Island encountered more than 20 thousand migrants in 2024. This number has exceeded the population of the island. 

 

This crossing is known as one of the most dangerous routes to Europe. It is long, difficult and with a high risk of death. However, for women it has become a way of escape not only for economic reasons, but also from social pressure, sexual violence, forced marriage and genital mutilation.