[News] Voices from Gaza: The Experiences of Palestinian Women Amid the Ongoing Genocide
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*Voices from Gaza: The Experiences of Palestinian Women Amid the Ongoing
Genocide*
8 March 2024
While across the globe 8 March marks International Women’s Day, for the
women of Gaza, it marks five months and one day since the beginning of
Israel’s genocidal military campaign. During this time Israel has killed
more than 30,800 Palestinians in Gaza, with approximately 9,000 of them
being women, as reported
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by UN Women. Thousands more remain missing or under the rubble. This
International Women’s Day, it is crucial to elevate the voices and
narratives of Palestinian women and particularly women in Gaza. Their
stories stand as a testament to their resilience amidst the ongoing
genocide.
Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are confronted with the alarming
risk of being forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained by Israeli
forces. They frequently endure strip searches, humiliation, and other
forms of torture, along with cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment
during their arrest and detention. UN experts expressed
<https://alhaq.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=10071401ba4201bc1a4992f68&id=0930a9af33&e=08c14cf485>
grave concerns over reports detailing instances where Palestinian women
and girls in Israeli detention have also been subjected to multiple
forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by
male Israeli army officers.
* *Aisha<#_ftn1>**[1]*, a 20-year-old resident of Jabaliya refugee
camp in the North Gaza District, was apprehended by Israeli
authorities on 22 November 2023, as she and her family were
evacuating towards southern Gaza. She was intercepted at an Israeli
checkpoint and separated from her family. Taken from Gaza, she was
initially transported to Damon Prison and later transferred to
another detention center in the Naqab. She was finally released on 9
January 2024, and returned to Gaza. Reflecting on her experience,
she recalled:
/“The soldier then asked me to take off my jilbab (outer garment) and
shake it off. After that, he asked me to take off my shirt and trousers.
I was wearing more than one pair. Then, the female soldier told me to
put them on again. After that, the female soldier grabbed my arm, took
me forward, and made me sign a paper with my eyes blindfolded. She then
stood up and sat me on a chair. A person who spoke Arabic asked my name
and age. Then he told me that my family had been stopped 500 meters
away, and that they had been detained. He asked about my university
major and which year I was in, as well as my parents’ names and
occupations. He then asked if I knew of anyone among my relatives who
was affiliated with Hamas, and I replied, ‘I don't know’. He asked about
the location of the Israeli ‘hostages’, and I said, ‘I don’t know’. He
inquired how many siblings I had, and I answered. Afterwards, he said he
would ask me some questions using a lie detector. At that moment, I was
seated on a chair with my eyes blindfolded./
/He then took me and sat me on the sand. I could see under the blindfold
and saw a girl facing me. I later learned that her name was Dima. Then I
heard the voices of female soldiers bringing another girl. They led us
on foot for about a minute and seated us again on the sand. I was with
two other girls, and I could hear their voices. I peeked under the
blindfold. They brought in more girls until there were six of us. It was
the afternoon, and they brought us only water. The weather was cold, and
one of the girls requested a blanket, but they refused to provide one.
We also heard the screams of men who were obviously in extreme pain.
They placed a plastic tag on my wrist with the number 12 written on it.
After nightfall, they forced us to go towards some jeeps. A soldier, I
do not know if it was a male or female soldier, pushed me from behind by
the shoulders. The jeep drove for approximately half an hour, and there
was another vehicle attached to the jeep carrying male prisoners. We
learned this after hearing one of them screaming due to pain in his
hand. They then unloaded us, and we could hear alarm sirens and clashes.
I do not know where we were, but I believe it was near the border of the
Gaza Strip./
/They made us sit on a blanket placed on stony ground. Two girls asked
to go to the bathroom, and later we found out they relieved themselves
in the open. We requested a blanket, and they gave us a very light one.
We asked them for another one, but they refused. We also asked for
water, and they provided it./
/Beside me was a girl named Samar, who was suffering from abdominal
pain. They brought her to a doctor, and I translated for the doctor. The
girl then told the doctor that she felt as if she was having a
miscarriage and that she was in her second month of pregnancy. We had
been told to remove our shoes, we were blindfolded, and our wrists were
bound. The doctor just told her to lie on the ground, and we all lay
down next to her. They told us to sleep with our wrists tied and our
eyes blindfolded. We slept and woke up in the extreme cold on the cold
stony ground.”/
With nearly 1 million women and girls displaced
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in Gaza, privacy and access to basic hygiene products has become nearly
unattainable for most. It has been widely reported
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that women and girls have resorted to using makeshift materials, such as
tent pieces and clothing, as sanitary pads. Some have even turned to
norethisterone tablets, typically prescribed for menstrual disorders, in
hopes of halting their menstrual cycle. Others have experienced
disruptions to their menstrual cycles due to the extreme stress,
starvation, and trauma they have been enduring on a daily basis for the
past five months.
* *Hanadi Al-Daieh*, from Bureij Refugee Camp, recounted
<https://alhaq.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=10071401ba4201bc1a4992f68&id=260ac3dbe9&e=08c14cf485>
her experience of forced displacement:
/“I was living in a rented home. It was bombed while my husband and
siblings were in it. The house collapsed on top of them. Thank god, no
serious harm had appended to them, only minor injuries. I then moved to
my parents’ home, and they [the Israeli army] threatened us with
evacuation orders to leave Bureij. We asked where the safe place would
be, and we were told to go to a school—the Abu Hmeeseh Bureij school, an
UNRWA school. We saw death with our own eyes. Shrapnels were falling on
us, and unfire and everything. /
UNFPA estimates
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that there are approximately 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with about
180 women giving birth every single day. These expectant mothers face
dire circumstances, including famine, with inadequate access to
nutritious food and clean water. Forced to consume contaminated water
and animal feed-based bread, they endure unimaginable choices to sustain
their pregnancies. With the near-total collapse of Gaza's healthcare
system, prenatal care is often unavailable. For the 15% of women likely
to experience life-threatening complications during childbirth,
hospitals offer little solace, often overcrowded and lacking essential
supplies. Postnatal care is virtually nonexistent, leaving mothers
without basic necessities for their newborns. Instead of envisioning a
hopeful future, these mothers grapple with the grim reality of whether
their infants will survive starvation or illness.
* In her poignant testimony, *Tagreed Al-Ashqar* shared
<https://alhaq.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=10071401ba4201bc1a4992f68&id=210396b931&e=08c14cf485>
the harrowing experience of giving birth amidst the backdrop of
forced displacement. She said:
/“I gave birth with a cesarean. On the third day, we left Jabaliya
Refugee Camp, while I still had stitches. And she [baby girl] was not
doing well. No diapers, no milk, we had nothing. Since we came here,
[she has had] the flu, cold, and coughing. If you need vapor therapy,
you find none. Medicines are not available. Her mouth is infected. Even
clothes are not available. We scratch to find from here and there, and
it's not warm enough for her.”/
The devastation inflicted upon the lives of women and girls in Gaza is
immeasurable. Even if the genocide were to end today, they would still
be deprived of years of employment and education. The trauma and
psychological effects of the past five months and counting will haunt
them for a lifetime. Before the ongoing genocide, women and girls in
Gaza constituted a minority in the workforce and education system. Yet,
they held roles as teachers, journalists, doctors, and promising
students with ambitious aspirations for their future and Palestine's.
However, today, the prospect of realizing those dreams seems bleak.
Since the onset of the genocide, the International Labor Organization
reported
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that over 66% of employment had been obliterated as of December 2023.
Presently, no schools or universities in Gaza are operational, leaving
approximately 625,000 students
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affected.
On International Women’s Day, and every day, it remains crucial to
acknowledge the resilience of over one million women and girls who
persist, holding onto hope and remaining the cornerstone and future of
Gaza. With this in mind, we reiterate our call
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for women and feminist organizations and movements worldwide to take
prompt action and stand in solidarity against the oppression endured by
Palestinian women in Gaza, and who deserve to live in freedom and in
dignity.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] <#_ftnref1> Aisha and all the names mentioned in this testimony are
pseudonyms. The actual identities of the victims are known to Al Mezan
but are not disclosed in order to protect their anonymity and ensure
their safety.
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