March 7, 2024 —  This International Women’s Day, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) highlights the critical role of women who step up to provide crucial services and support to people and communities in crises.

In Gaza, out of the 1.9 million people displaced, close to one million are girls and women. During crises, girls and women are impacted disproportionately, pushing them to the brink of survival. Conflict worsens their exposure to coercion or violence while gender inequality hinders access to humanitarian services like food, safe water, shelter, and healthcare. 

In overcrowded shelters, the lack of adequate facilities exacerbates vulnerabilities, such as privacy and safety concerns, health risks, and hygiene and sanitation challenges. The safety and dignity of girls and women are compromised in the absence of secure and separate spaces. Access to water, feminine products, and personal hygiene and sanitation products are scarce, further affecting the well-being of girls and women.

Malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are a significant concern, as functioning health systems and food security deteriorate. There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with over 180 giving birth every day. The women have to give birth in the few remaining and overwhelmed healthcare facilities, in dangerously overcrowded shelters, or even in the streets among rubble. As access to food and water worsen, mothers continue to struggle to feed themselves and their families. 

As the war reaches its fifth month and amidst the dire circumstances of lack of food, water, and medicine, women in Gaza are demonstrating remarkable resilience.

Dr. Seema Jilani, pediatrician with the IRC, recently worked alongside Palestinian doctors and health care staff at Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza: 

“The women in particular, showed an immeasurable strength amid unimaginably horrifying situations, whether giving birth in inhumane circumstances, breastfeeding their newborn babies amid bombings, or trying to save diapers by changing them less often because of the lack of supplies, comforting their wounded children, or, in the most tragic cases, burying them. They are pillars of strength holding up their communities, and amongst the health care staff, their work ethic is unparalleled.”

Seda Akpinar Manla Nassan, the IRC’s Early Childhood and Development Coordinator:

“Women serve their communities in pivotal ways during humanitarian crises, many times at the forefront of relief efforts. Aid workers in Gaza are working through their own displacement, constant danger, dwindling food, water, and supplies, including medicine, and having lost their loved ones. Women bring a unique perspective, addressing specific needs and challenges faced by women and children. Recognizing and empowering women in humanitarian efforts is not only a matter of gender equality but also an imperative for achieving more comprehensive and effective crisis response.”

Read about the work of IRC’s women volunteers, staff, and clients here, this International Women’s Day.