Human War, Female Battlefields: War’s Toll on Women

Among the many lessons that the genocide in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has exposed us to, a poignant one is the realization that wherever prolonged warfare exists, women suffer war wounds that only their bodies can speak to. From the trauma associated with resorting to period-delaying pills to escape the scarcity of wartime menstruation to elongated bleeding after giving birth, the women of Gaza are our living reminders that we are answerable to what happens to women when war rages on.

Outside of wartime, caring for oneself during a period consists of a fine balance between access to sanitary products, toilets, medicine, clean water, and privacy. Yet, the reality of the nearly 700,000 menstruating women and girls in Gaza is one of continued lack of access to all of the aforementioned. An article from the National Public Radio (NPR) released in January 2024 exposes the extent of the problem by highlighting that pads have virtually disappeared from stores and pharmacies as a result of Israel’s total siege of Gaza. In March, The Guardian recounted the story of Mona who resorted to using torn-up pieces of clothes and tissues because she was unable to access sanitary pads. She is one of many women who have turned to old clothes, towels, washed used pads, or the corners of their tents as makeshift alternatives to sanitary pads.

Still, the lack of access to sanitary pads is further exacerbated by limited access to toilets. On January 10, 2024, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) released a situation report stating that the escalation in the Gaza Strip has led to such overcrowding that those living in shelters in Rafah are left with one toilet per 486 people. At face value, this is a data point that reflects the extent of the displacement caused by Israel's indiscriminate bombings. And it does. It means that privacy is greatly reduced and that sanitation concerns are multiplied. But if it means that for everyone, it also specifically means that the nearly 700,000 menstruating women and girls in Gaza do not have a dignified place to manage their menstrual hygiene. The reduced number of bathrooms has implications for those menstruating who need basic hygiene products and have none. Those menstruating who need toilet paper but have none. Those menstruating who need running water and have none. We may begin to speak of the phenomenon of wartime periods, where, according to the United Nations, women are at an increased risk of reproductive, bacterial, and urinary tract infections due to the conditions they are subjected to. Wartime periods mean that women like Mona now have their periods more often than they used to, that she now bleeds more than once a month because of the stress she faces. Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial, Emergency Coordinator for Doctor Without Borders, told NPR of the many women who come to Gaza’s health centers to request birth control pills to block their periods because of the reality of wartime periods. These are but a few of the psychological war wounds of wartime periods. 

According to NPR, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) distributed more than 41,000 hygiene kits in Gaza since October. These kits contain pads, soap, wipes, diapers, toilet paper, as well as other items but they are only a drop of what is needed. With constant bombardment and access restrictions, the UNRWA continues to face massive challenges in delivering humanitarian aid to those in need, leaving humanitarian assistance far below what the civilian population needs. Somewhere along the way, the challenges faced by those who are menstruating also intersect with those of pregnant women, those who have just given birth, and those going through weeks of postpartum bleeding. Last December, The New Arab highlighted the story of Maram El-Sayed who resorted to pieces of clothing for use during postpartum and contracted a genital bacterial infection that led to her being admitted to the hospital. Her story is likely to resemble that of the 8,120 women who, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), are expected to give birth in the next month in the West Bank.

Experts now speak of the psychological and physical impact of the war on women, of the magnitude of the reproductive infections they face, the protection-related risks that arise, and the mental health issues that ensue. Conscience asks that we face the sheer horror of what it means for a woman to need to resort to contraceptive drugs to block her menstrual cycle and to consider the fear before a new mother facing uncontrollable postpartum bleeding exacerbated by stress. We may not know the exact number of women whom we have lost to toxic shock syndrome or those lost to bacterial infections, but we must know that they died at the hands of something that ours could have prevented. The vernacular of humanitarian aid rightfully includes water, bread, and shelter, but we remain answerable for the consequent deaths when we refuse to consider that it might also include that which a woman needs to survive.