ActionAid International and Alianza por la Solidaridad, the Spanish member of ActionAid to Organize for Launching Report on the Impact of War on Women

Occupied Palestinian Territories – ActionAid International and Alianza por la Solidaridad, the Spanish member of ActionAid( APS) , organized an international virtual webinar to launch their joint report that was released for  marking one year  of Israeli war against the Gaza Strip. The report titled: “Agents of Change: The Role of Palestinian Women-led Organizations in Crises” documents the impact of the war on women in Gaza. It also details the severe challenges faced by women and girls, based on evidence-based research and testimonies collected from women living in Gaza and the West Bank, including activists and leaders. These challenges include the increased risk of gender-based violence and profound psychological trauma. The report also highlights the remarkable resilience women show daily as they lead community recovery efforts and advocate for peace.

Ms. Soraida Abdo Hussein, Director of APS  in Palestine facilitated this virtual webinar . Participants included Ms. Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls; Ms. Buthaina Sobh, Director of the Wefaq Association for Women and Child Care, an ActionAid Palestine partner; Mr. Suhail Tannani, Director of the Protection Program at the Al-Awda Community Association in Gaza, a partner of Alianza; and Ms. Rima Nazzal, a member of the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Women’s Union and Coordinator of the Civil Women’s Coalition for the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325.

The speakers emphasized the importance of issuing this report to shed light on the suffering of Palestinian women in Gaza due to ongoing war, displacement, repeated evacuation orders, and the collapse of the healthcare system. They stressed that this unprecedented war on Gaza has had profound effects on women’s lives, including killing, targeting, displacement to overcrowded shelters under inhumane and unhealthy conditions, and the spread of respiratory, physical, and psychological illnesses due to the lack of medical care resulting from the collapse of the healthcare system caused by targeting medical facilities and the blockade of fuel and medical supplies.

The speakers also highlighted the critical role played by Palestinian civil society organizations, particularly women-led ones, in humanitarian responses in Gaza, despite the difficult and complex conditions they work through. During the webinar , it was emphasized that ending the war, halting the violence, and implementing international laws and resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 1325 to protect women in conflict zones, are the only ways to end the suffering of Palestinian women and ensure their protection.

You can watch the full recording of the virtual webinar in Arabic via the following YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXI-lxANOGo

Background Information

ActionAid in Palestine (AAP) is a part of global federation working for social justice and gender equality and eradicate poverty in more than 45 countries around the world. AAP started its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian People as ActionAid believes that they should enjoy their rights to freedom, justice and self-determination. AAP implements a number of programs through its engagement with communities and women and youth groups seeking to empower them and enhance their influential civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective activism to address the protracted rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation of Palestine. AAP works simultaneously to enhance their leadership capacity and knowledge to practice their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers to account.

For more information, please contact

Riham Jafari

Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication in Palestine

Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org