Report: Women in Gaza Give Birth without Water
Translator
Najla Nur Fauziyah
Editor
Laila Afifa
Senin, 25 Maret 2024 21:32 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Sunday highlighted the difficulties experienced by women in Gaza amid Israeli attacks.
"Women in Gaza give birth without water. They have no food, no tents, no toilets. They are living the unimaginable," Bahous said on X.
"What women in Gaza need right now is a ceasefire and relief," she added.
Bahous attached a UN Women report dated March 21 on her post. The report detailed the situation faced by women in Gaza by Rana Khalil, a project coordinator for the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD), based in the West Bank.
“I'm a Gazan woman, and I know how women in Gaza are. They are so strong,” she said, quoted from the report.
Khalil described a recent call with her aunt in Gaza, who said that running water was sometimes available for two hours a day—and at other times for only two hours per week.
As of February, water production in Gaza had dropped to just 5.7 percent of pre-7 October levels, according to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification or IPC.
“Because there is no water, they cannot take a shower. They cannot wash their hair. So, there is a lot of lice now. They are shaving their hair,” Khalil said.
Khalil also shared the story of some of her family members in Gaza who were expelled from their homes. One of them was forced to give birth without water.
“The Israeli soldiers called them to leave their building. And after a week, his daughter had to give birth and there was no water,” she said. “I don't know how she gave birth without water. That was inhumane.”
When thinking about the long-term impacts of this crisis, Khalil said, “When I look [at] the girls and women in my family and try to give them support, I don't know how they will look at the world [after this]. And how will they recover?”
“I'm sure they will rise again,” she added, “what women in Gaza need right now is a ceasefire.”
UN WOMEN | ANADOLU
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