Women situation in Palestine
Women in Palestine face two formidable enemies. In addition to the
hierarchical family structures that Palestinian women experience, and
despite Palestine having a high prevalence of educated women in
general, a significant portion of them do not enter the workforce. Within
communities where people are impoverished, there's a social safety net
in marrying off underage girls. They live in a patriarchal society where
various forms of control, such as honor and religion, and notably
occupation, collectively reign. They argue that they do all this to secure
girls' futures.
The second challenge is the occupation itself. Under occupation
oppression and war, it is difficult to work against honor-related violence.
Women and girls suffer from violence and poverty in a different way than
men during and after every conflict. Even when the war ends, violence
against women often persists.
The war against the Palestinian people, ongoing for 75 years, leaves not
just passing traces but serious and permanent ones. In addition to the
daily systematic harassment at checkpoints, curfews, and the looming
threat of imprisonment for speaking out or standing up throughout
Palestine, in the absence of a just peace and security, Palestinians are
now enduring the most difficult times.
Gaza is a narrow coastal strip where more than two and a half million
Palestinians reside. According to most organizations, Gaza is assessed
as the most dangerous place in the world for civilians in 2024. The war in
Gaza is a crime against all of humanity.
People are trapped under inhumane blockade. Of those killed in Gaza,
almost 70% are women and children. Despite censorship and distortion
of truth, we hear and see how women and children are the most
vulnerable in the ongoing war. Access to clean water, food, medicine,
and electricity is nonexistent or extremely limited. Women and girls cut
pieces of fabric from tents to use as menstrual pads. The spread of
various diseases including hepatitis B and COVID-19 is increasing in
places where people seek shelter. More than a million women and girls
have been displaced from one area to another seeking shelter for
themselves and their families. The occupation has deprived more than
60,000 pregnant women in Gaza of the opportunity for prenatal and
childbirth care. They and their children are malnourished, and the risk of
birth defects and death is high.
There have been reports of a doubling in premature births. Operations
and cesarean sections are performed without anesthesia or proper care.
Both mothers and children are living in life-threatening conditions.
All children are traumatized and lack family and protection.
They lack sanitary products for menstruating women, leading to
increased infections.
According to UNFPA, an estimated 5,500 women in southern Gaza are
expected to give birth each month and experience complications.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Thursday that the death
toll from the Israeli war has risen to "31,988 martyrs and 74,188 injured"
since October 7, 2023.
In addition to the human losses, most of whom are children and women,
the war has not only caused extensive destruction of infrastructure and
properties but also led to ongoing starvation that has claimed the lives of
countless children, women, and elderly. Here are seven facts showing
how the war on Gaza is also a war on women:
About 9,000 women have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza so far.
This number may be lower than reality, as reports indicate that many
women have died under the rubble.
Every day the war continues in Gaza, at the current rate, an average of
63 women are killed.
Over 4 out of 5 women (84 percent) have reported that their families eat
half as much or less than they used to before the war started. Mothers
and adult women are responsible for obtaining food, but they are the last
and least to eat in the family.
In 95% of these cases, mothers do not eat, skipping at least one meal to
feed their children. The UN Women's Agency has said that all 2.3 million
residents of Gaza will face severe food insecurity within weeks - the
highest level ever recorded.
Almost 9 out of 10 women (87 percent) say they have a harder time
getting food compared to men. Some women are now resorting to
extreme coping mechanisms, such as searching for food under the
rubble or in garbage bins.
Unless there is an immediate cessation of hostilities and the killing and
bombing stop, more people will perish in the days and weeks to come.
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