Rethinking Women's Day Amidst the War on Women in Gaza

Women’s Day during a war on women

It is more than futile to discuss the annual issues that usually come up during this time of the year in the same way we always do while there is a “War on Women,” as the most recent statement issued by UNWOMEN called the war on Gaza. With almost 10000 women killed in Gaza to date, nearly one million displaced, in poor sanitary conditions and a horrific famine.

Women’s Day Topics from a Different Perspective

Equality

Every year around Women’s Day, the talk about gender equality is rekindled, and calls for equal pay and other legitimate equality demands are reignited.

This year, however, we should be calling for equality for the women of Gaza to receive attention and care, like all other women in the world, to live in peace and safety equally and to have access to humane living conditions.

Inclusion

The hype about inclusivity reaches its peak every year this time. This year, I am praying women in Gaza are included in the call for fundamental human rights, such as freedom of movement, access to clean water, food, and decent healthcare.

Safety

Violence against women is a severe issue constantly discussed by activists and feminists. The violence women and girls in Gaza have been facing daily for the past five months has gone beyond the worst cases ever heard in a court of law. And yet there has been a deafening silence about it by those same activists who are loud about gender-based violence. I wonder why?

Women’s Health

A vital pillar of livelihood, healthcare, especially for women, is often overlooked in war zones. This year in Gaza, the miscarriage rates have skyrocketed, pun intended; women gave birth unassisted by medical staff due to constant bombings, and those who were lucky enough to make it to the hospital had to undergo c-sections without anesthesia. The primary female hygiene necessities are lacking all over the inflicted Gaza Strip. 

Motherhood

Women in Gaza, who have been living in horrible conditions due to war and siege, have always faced fertility challenges. Motherhood is a precious dream Gazan women have always struggled for. Having a baby for a woman who has suffered fertility treatments is the ultimate gift and the source of all joy and happiness. Motherhood has been stripped from these struggling women every day since October 2023, when 13000 children were killed, leaving thousands of shattered-hearted mothers. Every night, images of Gazan women holding the bodies of their dead babies and children haunt me in my sleep.  

Celebrating resilience

I won’t ever again join women’s day celebrations done by the fake feminists and human rights activists who stood silent in front of the atrocities faced by Gazan women and girls. I will, instead, celebrate the resilience and immense strength of the incredible women in Gaza, who, despite the death and the horrors, continued caring for everyone around them, with the little or nothing that they had. They are indeed the soul of the soul.