In Gaza… women stand at the forefront and pay the highest price

UNRWA confirmed that women working on the front lines bear a double burden in light of the harsh humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as their professional work overlaps with their increasing family responsibilities amid displacement and the collapse of basic services.

The agency noted that the “Sixteen Days to Combat Gender-Based Violence” campaign this year highlights the magnitude of the challenges facing women, especially in war-affected environments.

According to Nathalie Buckley, Deputy Commissioner-General for Programs and Partnerships, the testimonies of female employees in Gaza reveal the extent of the exacerbation of the risks they are exposed to in light of unsafe work environments and great psychological pressure. A recent study showed that 80% of female employees reported that their workloads had doubled, while 76% of them began to suffer greater difficulties in performing household chores after displacement and loss of infrastructure.

The agency highlighted stories of working women facing these conditions, including Rawiya, director of the Khan Yunis Training Center, whose workplace was turned into a shelter hosting about 50,000 displaced people, while she lost her home and was sharing a narrow room with her family members. Initiatives also emerged for other women, such as Heba, who established a textile cooperative inside a shelter to provide income and psychological support for displaced women.

UNRWA stressed that promoting gender equality and ensuring safe working environments, psychological support and gender-sensitive policies constitute a basic necessity for an effective humanitarian response, calling for investment in the capabilities of women as they are a fundamental pillar of the resilience of societies.