UN warns nothing less than survival of women, girls at stake in Gaza

In Gaza, where relentless streaks of fire and explosions pose a constant threat to civilian inhabitants, women strive to keep their families safe, feeding their children amid a harsh blockade and keeping them in shelter as Israeli strikes reduce building after building to rubble.

Their stories are etched with courage and heartbreak, as, even during this struggle, they fight for their own voices to be heard in a world that often turns a blind eye.

So far, hundreds of women and girls have perished in the wake of the Israeli onslaught, sparing none from mothers, daughters, and sisters to prominent journalists and top-in-class students.

Among them were Al Shaima Saidam, who just a few months ago had celebrated the near perfect score she earned on the general secondary education tests in the Palestinian enclave. She and her entire family were wiped out in a strike on the Al Nuseirat refugee camp.

Heba Abu Nada, a writer and poet, was killed in her home, leaving behind devastated loved ones and forceful words describing the strength and resilience of her people.

Journalist Salam Mema, along with her husband and three children, were killed in their home by Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp. Mema had worked for years to bring the events happening in Gaza to the world stage.

They are not mere numbers, but examples of the hopes, dreams, and plans extinguished by the deadly Israeli airstrikes.

‘Unimaginable’ death, deprivation

These losses also serve to illustrate the dire humanitarian crisis that is disproportionately affecting women and girls in Gaza as Israel refuses to consider a ceasefire.

"Women, girls, and their families in Gaza continue to face unimaginable death and deprivation. As Gaza is running out of life-saving water, food, electricity, and fuel, nothing less than the survival of women and girls is at stake," Sarah Hendriks, UN Women’s deputy executive director ad interim, told Anadolu.

"They (women and girls in Gaza) are in overcrowded and overstretched shelters without food, water, privacy, or sanitation facilities — limited to no operational toilets — which is increasing protection risks."

UN Women estimates that over 1,800 women have become widows and will bear the weight of their family’s survival alone, and that more than 744,000 women and girls have been displaced from their homes.

"The impact of this conflict on women and girls is beyond words. As is often the case in conflicts, women are disproportionately affected, and the road to recovery for them will be measured in years, if they survive," Hendriks said.

'Brink of collapse'

Describing the current situation in Gaza, Hendriks said the humanitarian system there is “on the brink of collapse.”

Even before the current wave of attacks began, Gaza relied on a daily influx of 500 trucks for humanitarian aid, including 45 trucks for fuel, she noted.

"The situation is dire, with an urgent demand for water, food, medicine, and fuel. The absence of fuel threatens the delivery of vital humanitarian aid and the functioning of critical infrastructure like hospitals and water desalination, with devastating consequences and unjustifiable costs on women and girls," Hendricks said.

Besides lack of access to Gaza's already-overwhelmed essential health facilities, including hospitals, she said women also faced unprecedented devastation in Gaza, with tens of thousands injured and critical shortages of medical personnel, electricity, fuel, and water.

"There are significant challenges to pregnant women and mothers in need of maternal care," said the spokesperson.

Citing data from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), she said there were around 50,000 pregnant women in the enclave, with more than 180 giving birth every day and 15 percent of them likely to need additional medical care due to pregnancy- or birth-related complications.

"These women face extreme challenges to access safe delivery services due to risks related to movement, compromised functionality of health facilities, and a lack of lifesaving supplies," explained Hendricks.

"With 14 hospitals and 45 primary health care centres closed, some women are destined to give birth in shelters, in their homes, in the streets amid the rubble, or in overwhelmed healthcare facilities, without proper sanitation and with the risk of infection and medical complications," she added.

The UN official also highlighted that women and girls in Gaza are experiencing grave personal distress due to the lack of safe and private toilet and bathing facilities and the unavailability of services and supplies for menstrual hygiene management, from sanitary products and water to clean underwear.

“At overcrowded and overstretched shelters, they are forced to hold their urine while standing in long queues to use a latrine and have reduced showering to only once a week.”

Call for immediate ceasefire

Touching on psychological challenges Palestinian women in Gaza are grappling with, Hendriks said:

"They face the constant fear of intense bombings and the burden of providing for their families. Every day, they ask themselves: ‘Will we survive this?’ Women in Gaza live in fear but also show high resilience in their daily efforts just to survive.”

“It is crucial to emphasize the immense need for mental health and psychosocial support for women and girls. Even before the current crisis, Gaza's situation was dire, with a staggering 97 percent of men and 98 percent of women living in constant fear for their safety. One can only imagine the immense emotional toll they are enduring at this moment.”

Reiterating her call, Hendriks said: “On behalf of all the women and girls in Gaza living through this nightmare: We continue calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Essential supplies and services and unimpeded humanitarian access must be allowed into and across Gaza, and all hostages must be released.”