Yasmin Abusayma
Mondoweiss / July 24, 2024
Palestinian women have been forced to demonstrate remarkable resilience while navigating the harsh realities of Israel’s genocidal war for themselves and their families.
While the world often focuses on the political and military aspects of Gaza, the daily realities encountered by women are frequently overlooked. Women in Gaza bear heavy burdens, demonstrating remarkable resilience while navigating the harsh realities of Israel’s genocidal war.
In April, UN Women released its latest Gender Alert on Gaza, highlighting the profound impact of the ongoing war. Six months into the war, at least 10,000 Palestinian women in Gaza had lost their lives, including approximately 6,000 mothers, resulting in 19,000 children left without parents. Surviving women face displacement, widowhood, and severe food shortages due to Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. This catastrophic impact underscores the war’s disproportionate toll on Gaza’s women. As the war continues to reshape traditional gender roles, the strength and perseverance of these women will undoubtedly have long-lasting effects on Gaza’s social dynamics and gender equality.
The stories of Lina Alshanti, Salwa Mohammed, Hala, and Nedaa’ Alhemdiat highlight the incredible resilience and adaptability of women in Gaza during the war. Forced to take on new roles and responsibilities, these women contribute significantly to their families and communities despite facing immense hardships.
Lina
Lina Alshanti, a 33-year-old English teacher, represents the extreme adaptations women in Gaza must endure. Living in an overcrowded apartment in Khan Younis with her extended family, including her husband and two young daughters, Lina faces a constant struggle for privacy. “I had to wear a hijab 24/7 because the rooms were filled with men, and we had to share the same toilet,” Lina explains. “I almost forgot how it felt to be a girl. I missed seeing my hair and taking a normal shower with clean hot water.” When her family moved to another small, dilapidated apartment in Rafah, Lina’s struggle continued. “Even in this house, I had to wear a hijab all day because the situation was dangerous. I was afraid of being killed at any moment, and most of the windows were not covered and in poor condition,” she recalls. This constant need for coverage, particularly in the sweltering heat, severely impacts their personal comfort and well-being.
With many men targeted by Israel, women have become the primary providers and protectors of their families. Lina shares the difficulties of her responsibilities: “My two little daughters, Maria, 4 months, and Lina, 2 years, depended on both breastfeeding and milk formula. Every day, I would spend my morning looking for wood to set on fire due to the shortage of gas, just to boil water to sanitize their bottles.” Lina has had to learn skills traditionally held by men, such as queuing for water, often under dangerous conditions. “I also had to line up in queues in far places to fill my water bottles. It was so hard to take care of my two kids,” she says. Her husband, Khaled, would search for food for long hours. “Since I used to breastfeed my kids, I had to eat quality food, but my milk was affected by the tension and psychological effects on me,” Lina notes, adding another level of difficulty to her already challenging situation.
Numerous women and girls in Gaza experience severe hunger due to the lack of access to food, safe drinking water, functional toilets, and running water, which poses life-threatening dangers. Clean water is especially crucial for breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women, who require increased daily intake of water and calories. Additionally, it is vital for women and girls to maintain their menstrual hygiene with respect and safety.
Tragedy struck Lina’s family on October 22. “I was sitting with my sister and brother who came to visit. I spent the whole day contemplating my little daughter Maria. At night, a heavy bombardment hit near our house. When I woke up, all I could think of was ‘where are my daughters?’” Lina recounts the horrific event. “I was told my husband was in intensive care and might die. My little daughter Maria was killed in her cradle. My brother and sister were severely burned. Losing my daughter made my life come to a standstill. I lost all passion for life.”
Lina’s own injuries required her to travel to Qatar for surgeries. “I had pelvic fractures and stayed in the European hospital for two months, suffering from a lack of quality food and health facilities,” she says. “My husband wasn’t allowed to travel because males are not permitted to travel. After three months, my sister and mom were given the chance to travel to Egypt and then Qatar through coordination with the Ministry of Health. They brought my daughter with them. I was the happiest in that moment, but I still feel lost and disconnected, being away from my husband.”
Salwa
Despite their hardships, women in Gaza contribute significantly to their local economy and community resilience through informal work and resource management. Salwa Mohammed, a 39-year-old elementary teacher, continues to educate her children and those in her neighborhood despite the war. “Part of my social responsibility is to help those children who lost their right to education and have been exposed to inhuman conditions,” she says. Salwa balances teaching and family responsibilities with minimal resources. “In the morning, I make bread and prepare food for my family. In the afternoon, I take care of students, using teaching methods that entertain them despite the lack of resources,” she explains. “I always notice how traumatized the students are as a result of the ongoing war in Gaza through their responses and comments in class.”
She also plays a crucial role in her community beyond the classroom. “I teach my neighbors and those who are displaced in my house how to make bread and also offer them food as charity,” Salwa says. “We have to look out for one another. The bonds we form during these times of crisis are vital for our survival.”
Hala
Hala, 29 a pseudonym for another woman who lost her husband, reveals yet another layer of the burdens women carry. After the tragic loss, Hala, who is still trapped in the north, took responsibility for her own kids. She evacuated many times in Gaza and her husband, 33, was killed on June 30 in a heavy bombardment of Al-Zeitoun neighborhood. “It was an unimaginable loss,” Hala says. “But I had to stay strong for my three kids. They needed someone to rely on, and that person had to be me.” Hala, displaced with her extended family, faced the challenge of caring for traumatized children while dealing with her own grief. “We moved to an overcrowded shelter where privacy was non-existent,” she recalls. “I had to manage everything from finding food to providing emotional support to my kids. In the afternoon, I have to stand in queues just to wait for food aid and receive any kind of assistance from charity institutions, just to be able to provide for my family. It’s overwhelming! Also, my kids were infected with hepatitis due to contaminated water, and I had to take care of them. It’s hard to describe the power it takes to hold everything together when you’re falling apart inside.”
Hala concludes, “I lost my husband at a young age. I will never forgive Israel for killing him. My kids deserve a happy, dignified life with their father. That is too unjust. The whole world is responsible for this and should do something to stop this genocide.”
Nedaa’
Nedaa’ Alhemdiat, 31, is another woman whose life has been upended by the war. A mother of two young children, she lived in Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza before the war forced her into a tent shared with 13 family members. “I never felt this old in my whole life,” Nedaa’ says. “I used to have a luxurious life, but now everything changed in a blink of an eye.” Like many women in Gaza, Nedaa’ has had to adapt to a life of scarcity and hardship. “I wake up every morning to prepare bread and send my kids to look for firewood. I also wait in queues holding many bottles to get water,” she explains. “My husband lost his source of income. He was a dentist, but now he doesn’t work.”
Nedaa’s daily life is filled with tasks that were once unimaginable for her. “I do the laundry manually, and my hands hurt so much, especially in the winter when they tremble with the cold,” she says. “I cry every night wishing this nightmare would end. We lack hygiene products, and sometimes I have to go to a hospital nearby or look for a friend’s house to take a shower and bathe my kids.”
Her family’s situation worsened when her father Nabeel, 63, paralyzed and unable to flee, was left in Al-Shifa Hospital where he died due to the lack of medical care. “His medical health deteriorated, and he required urgent surgery, but all hospitals were not operating at that time,” Nedaa’ recounts.
Nedaa’s brother, Tareq, and his family faced a tragic fate when they moved to a land near the Khan Younis Training Center (KYTC) just days before the Israeli military took control of the area. “We were shocked by what we saw,” Nedaa’ says. “I couldn’t stop trembling. His car was turned upside down, and we had to dig deep. We recognized Tareq from his clothes and his body was decomposed. It was the most difficult moment in my life.”
Despite these immense challenges, Nedaa’ remains strong and continues to fulfill her responsibilities. “No one will ever understand what it means for a woman to live in the war except for us,” she concludes. “It’s a heart-wrenching experience. I really miss feeling like a woman like before.”
Yasmin Abusayma is a writer and translator from Gaza
