Women and War

From WomenWatch, I chose the November 21 article, “Gaza Health Authorities Struggling as War Casualties Swell,” (http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2012/11/gaza-health-autho...) because I am currently teaching a course on Middle Eastern Affairs. This story reminds us that the tragedies of war often affect not only soldiers, but also women and children. According to WomenWatch, the recent conflict in Gaza resulted in the deaths of at least 11 women and 30 children, many of which were under the age of 5.

This article reports on the critical shortage of medical supplies hospitals in Gaza faced as they scrambled to treat the more than 1000 Palestinians – including at least 186 women and 381 – children injured during the fighting. After reading the story, I immediately searched the Internet for updates on the situation in Gaza. According to an article in Reuters US edition (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/palestinians-israel-gaza-...) on November 22, 2012, medical supplies in Gaza were being restored to pre-conflict levels.

This recent episode of violence carries two striking messages. The first is encouraging as it highlights the ingenuity of those under pressure. The second highlights the tragedy of war, in particular, for women and children.

In “Tunnelers, Aid Agencies Begin Resupplying Battered Gaza,” Reuters reports that Palestinians have been able to reopen some tunnels that have been used to bring in supplies from Egypt since the blockade of Gaza began in 2007. Although approximately two-thirds of the tunnels had been destroyed by the recent airstrikes, workers “wielding shovels and sandbags” quickly worked to restore a few of them while international aid agencies rushed desperately needed medical supplies to the area. The World Health Organization was also able to deliver several truckloads of medicines to Gaza when Israel temporarily opened a road as part of the cease-fire.

Reuters quotes Willow Heske, a staff member of Oxfam, as saying, "But, for many people, the aid that arrived was too little, too late." This highlights the tragic fact that it is impossible to protect all civilians during war. As Carl Bialik points out in “Accurate Death Toll a Casualty in Gaza” (Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2012), this is especially true in situations where all the combatants are not in uniform. Moreover, in an area as densely populated as Gaza City, any air strike is definitely going to impact civilians. In such cases, women and children are often the victims. This is especially tragic in situations where women have no voice in politics – and, thus, no say in starting the wars. Suheir Hammad, a Palestinian-American sums this up in her call for peace in Poems of War, Peace, Women. (powerhttp://www.ted.com/talks/suheir_hammad_poems_of_war_peace_women_power.html?source=facebook#.UKPW9Z3UpNs.facebook).