How Many Conflicts are Palestinian Women Fighting?

Overview

By nature, conflict is never isolated to active violence. It causes or exacerbates issues like economic disparity, mental and physical health challenges, and lack of access to food and water. All of these concerns have a gendered element, making them more nuanced and complex. Women, among other gender and sexual minorities, are at a disproportionate risk of conflict-related physical and sexual violence. The compounding crises that women face during conflict are particularly evident in the current phase of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Palestinian women struggle with issues related to reproductive health, gender-based violence, and restrictive patriarchal norms. These issues are all important to address and have taken a spotlight in the media when it comes to Palestinian women’s experiences. However, in addition to active violent conflict and conflict-related gendered concerns, Palestinian women have been fighting an additional battle against the hegemonic narrative undermining their agency and power. 

The conflict between Israel and Palestine began in 1948, most recently devolving into the Israel-Hamas war in October of 2023. Palestinian territory has become the site of a humanitarian emergency, with Gaza as the deadliest place in the world for civilians. 

Exacerbated Conflict-Related Concerns

The Gaza field office of the UNRWA conducted a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) in October of 2023, following the escalation of the conflict in Gaza. The goal of this RGA was to research the needs and capacities of men, women, boys, and girls to better provide gender-responsive emergency support and recommendations for humanitarian responses. One of the main findings of this RGA was that the conflict is disrupting livelihood opportunities for men, consequently altering traditional and patriarchal social norms. Concerning the impact on women specifically, gaps in health services, food insecurity, exacerbated gender-based violence (GBV), and limited water and hygiene supplies are significantly challenging women’s health and safety, particularly for pregnant women. 

Delving further into the unique challenges women and girls face during this conflict, a lack of access to water, privacy, and health services are at the forefront of concerns in the media. Living conditions in Gaza are unsanitary to a dangerous degree, leading women to take menstruation-delaying pills, although these pills can have serious side effects. Period symptoms like altered moods and abdominal and back pain, in addition to lack of privacy and rationed use of the bathroom, are exacerbating the difficulty of managing menstruation during conflict. 

The World Health Organization reported that in Gaza, women and newborns bear the brunt of the conflict. Israeli attacks have severely damaged maternal, newborn, and child health services. Pregnant women are unable to access emergency health services and are more likely to experience pregnancy complications. Without electricity and medical supplies, maternal and infant mortality rates are rising. 

The ongoing conflict and Israeli military occupation have heightened instances of gender-based violence. Palestine’s existing laws against GBV protect perpetrators rather than victims. The public has called more attention to the issue with gender justice movements advocating for updating legislation to better prosecute GBV. However, this increased attention is accompanied by a surge in attacks against women activists and human rights defenders. Recognizing the role of intersectional identities, some women are more vulnerable than others. While women in general face a greater risk of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, women with disabilities, women and girls who are displaced and living in refugee camps, and in this context Bedouin women, are at an even more heightened risk of violence. 

Fighting Traditional Gender Norms

Traditional Palestinian cultural norms rely on men to be the breadwinners, with women responsible for household work and childcare. In some cases, the conflict has altered these patriarchal norms by disrupting men’s livelihood roles. Negative consequences of this shift in gender roles include damage to men’s perceptions of their identity and capacity, which in turn can lead to higher rates of gender-based violence. However, some aspects of traditional gender roles persist, as women are still the ones responsible for caregiving in emergency shelters. 

The UN Human Rights Special Procedures Experts released a statement in December of 2023 voicing their concerns that the conflict may even further entrench patriarchal norms in Palestine. This statement echoes the fact that women have taken responsibility for emotional labor and unpaid care work in emergency shelters. This then could lead to increased emotional and psychological trauma, as women and girls assume these burdens that men often do not. 

Gender Analysis: The Hidden Conflict

Although there are many known benefits to having women in positions of power, and there are many women who would avidly fill those roles, much of these women’s work is still done “behind the scenes.” The predominant depiction of Palestinian women in the media are as victims, highlighting their vulnerability as women and mothers. While the image of pregnant women and mothers disproportionately being affected by limited access to healthcare is accurate, reducing all Palestinian women into this category exclusively victimizes them. This concept is not unique to the Palestine context, as women in conflict spaces around the world often face victimization and their suffering is used to amass international support. In addition to the other forms of conflict Palestinian women are facing because of the Israeli military occupation, this gendered analysis presents another less obvious one: the conflict against the hegemonic portrayal of women as victims, ignoring their agency and power. 

Palestinian and Israeli women have been advocating for peace for decades. Women of the Sun, a Palestinian women’s association, aims to increase the number of women in decision-making positions, promote women’s rights, and advance their economic empowerment. Shortly before Hamas’s attack in October of 2023, Palestinian and Israeli women gathered together at Jerusalem’s Tolerance Monument for a rally and march demanding peace. Although this visible and vocal cooperative advocacy is important for garnering support for peacebuilding, it is ultimately those in decision-making positions who have the most potential for change. When women are decision-makers, the longevity of agreements increases, and there is lower potential for risk-taking behavior.  

Policy Recommendations

It is difficult to make gender-responsive recommendations when most people’s basic needs are not being met. However, focusing solely on Palestinian women’s agency, one recommendation would be to amplify women-led efforts and organizations to bring more attention to this issue. Furthermore, there could be a special focus on women’s roles in peacebuilding. Imposing a gender quota for potential peacebuilding efforts would not only empower and support women, but also improve the outcome of those efforts to involve multiple gendered perspectives. Policies which aim to recognize and enhance women’s agency would support their fight against conflict-related concerns as well as challenge the hegemonic archetype of women as victims.

Author: Brie Zimmermann

Managing Editor: Alex Sarchet

Web Editor: Daniella Ciniglio