TRIGGER WARNING FOR: Sexual violence, Violence against women, rape, and assault
As International Women’s Day rolls around, it is incredibly important to use this day to celebrate the various achievements that women have accomplished in the past and continue to accomplish today, as well as to celebrate all the amazing parts of being a woman. Still though, it’s also important to use International Women’s Day as a time to bring to light the various injustices that women and girls around the world still face today, especially these injustices that are often unreported, largely ignored, and unknown.
- Women in Gaza: As Israel’s invasion into the Gaza Strip continues, Aljazeera reports that various UN experts are warning of abuse and mistreatment being perpetrated against Palestinian women in Gaza, by Israeli IDF forces. Some of these violations include “severe beatings”, as well as “multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers”. In addition to this, there are also multiple reports of women being raped or threatened with other forms of violence. To make things worse, The Guardian reports on another issue that Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are dealing with, which is a lack of period products and other sanitation products. Women and young girls are instead forced to use other materials, which are often unclean, to deal with menstruation; this results in infections and toxic shock. Additionally, pregnant women in Gaza are at an even worse disadvantage, as these displaced women suffer from a lack of proper healthcare infrastructure. Gaza is currently dealing with a lack of healthcare facilities, necessary medical instruments, doctors, nurses, and medication/anesthesia, due to Israel’s repeated bombing of the Gaza Strip. According to The Guardian, these issues have resulted in 40% out of the 50,000 pregnancies in Gaza being classified as “high risk”.
- Women in Sudan: Sudan is a nation that has been grappling with civil war and infighting for years, yet the struggles of the Sudanese people, and specifically Sudanese women, are rarely talked about in the mainstream media and often remain unknown. Sudanese women and girls are affected by the power struggles between different militant groups in the country. For example, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in the Darfur region of the country, members of the militant group Rapid Support Forces engage in the abduction of women and girls, keeping them in “slave-like conditions”. Forbes also reports that women and girls are subject to acts of brutal sexual violence at the hands of members of different militant groups. Additionally, many of these attacks against women are ethnically motivated, with Aljazeera reporting that Masalit women and girls are especially vulnerable to this sexual violence, with a higher risk of being sold in markets, and forced into prostitution.
- Women in Afghanistan: Though the situation in Afghanistan was initially heavily reported on during the withdrawal of American military presence amid the Taliban’s rise back to power in the country, this attention was short-lived, and the aftermath of the Taliban’s new government and its effects on Afghan women has largely been ignored. Under the new Taliban government, Human Rights Watch reports that the state of women’s rights in the country is likened to ‘gender apartheid’ by both Afghan women and UN officials. HRW also reports that as the Taliban bans many different industries within the nation, such as beauty salons, women are disproportionately affected, and often lose their livelihoods and safe spaces completely. The Taliban also banned female aid workers, which means that Afghan women who rely on this aid are often unable to attain it. According to HRW, the Taliban has also banned women and girls from many different activities, with some of these including “the chance to walk in a park, play a sport, or enjoy nature”. Unfortunately, the women who protest against these restrictions face kidnapping or ‘disappearance’, detainment, and torture.
- Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Similar to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been struggling with infighting between various armed groups and government forces for a while. This fighting has left many vulnerable, especially women and children. The High Commissioner of the UN Refugee Agency described the situation in detail, stating that women and girls are at an ever-increasing risk of sexual exploitation, often at the hands of armed men. This issue is made worse due to the overall lack of crucial resources, such as food, along with the lack of opportunities for women and girls in the country. The High Commissioner also states that women and girls are unsafe even when trying to access crucial resources such as firewood and water, as there have been reports of women and girls being attacked while attempting to do so.
Though much progress has been made around the world in advancing women’s rights, and our fight for equality, it is clear that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. This is why on International Women’s Day this year, just the act of educating yourself and sharing with others the often unknown struggles that many women are currently going through is incredibly important. Awareness leads to advocacy, and through this advocacy, we can continue to build a future where the lives of every woman and girl are protected, and respected.