Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 20th Jan. UN women in a report published on Friday said that women and children account for 70 per cent of people killed in the war in Gaza, with two mothers killed every hour since hostilities began between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel.
The report examined the gendered impact of the conflict, which has left over 23,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health authorities, about 16,000 of whom are women or children.
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous in a statement issued with the report stated “We have seen evidenced once more that women and children are the first victims of conflict and that our duty to seek peace is a duty to them. We are failing them”.
She warned “That failure, and the generational trauma inflicted on the Palestinian people over these 100 days and counting, will haunt all of us for generations to come”.
UN Women reiterated deep concern over the accounts of unconscionable sexual violence and other gender-based violence during the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on 7 October that sparked the conflict.
The agency called for accountability, justice, and support for all those affected, and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
UN Women said the Gaza conflict “is fundamentally a protection crisis for women” at a time when nowhere in the enclave is safe.
It stressed that of the 1.9 million people displaced, close to a million are women and girls, and the “impossible decisions” they have to make regarding whether to evacuate when and how, and where to go “are entrenched with gender differentiated fears and experiences,” given risks of attacks and harassment while on the move.
UN Women estimated that 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households, and at least 10,000 children may now be fatherless.
Women fear families will resort to desperate coping mechanisms such as early marriage.
UN Women conducted a rapid survey of 12 women-led organizations and one youth-led organization which found that most, 83 per cent, were partially operating, focused mainly on the emergency response.
It noted that less than one per cent of funding under the 2023 Flash Appeal for Gaza has directly gone to women’s groups.
The report is part of UN Women’s six-month response plan for Gaza, which includes providing emergency food assistance to over 14,000 women-headed households and supporting the distribution of items requested by women on the ground such as clothing, sanitary products, and baby formula.
The agency is partnering with women-led organizations to deliver gender responsive services for gender-based violence; establishing women-led protection and response committees in shelters, and convening regular consultations with women’s organizations to discuss the challenges they face.
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