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The war in Lebanon has caused about 1.2 million people to become displaced, more than 300,000 of whom are children, according to official figures. These people are living out in the open, without adequate shelter, clothing, or food assistance. As in all crises, women face additional challenges exacerbated by war and displacement. According to new figures from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), there are about 2,300 pregnant women among the displaced, and 260 of them are expected to give birth next month. Pregnancy in crisis situations can be very risky, especially for women who have been deprived of prenatal services and safe delivery care.
Women and girls also have to face the fear of gender-based violence, a risk that increases in emergencies. In a report, UNFPA cites a 15-year-old girl saying, “The place is very crowded, and I feel shy all the time. I’m living with people I don’t know, and every time I need to go to the bathroom I hesitate. I haven’t been to the bathroom in four days now. I feel some pain because of that.”
About 56,000 women and girls of reproductive age have been displaced, 25,000 of them since the intensification of Israel’s strikes on Lebanon on September 23, according to a report issued about a week ago. This means that the number has now increased with the continued waves of displacement and the intensification of the shelling in multiple Lebanese regions, which will further widen the gap between need and availability.
We met with some women who launched initiatives to help out other women who have been displaced and are suffering from difficult conditions in shelter centers. These makeshift shelters are actually schools that are now housing those fleeing from the South, the Beqaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which means they lack the most basic facilities. Women and girls are complaining about the absence of showers, personal hygiene supplies, and privacy, and families are facing various difficulties after having left their villages without even being able to pack their most basic needs.
Initiatives like those of Zeinab, Nahla, and Jano provide some hope, like a lit candle, for women and civilians in general, proving that women can make a difference even amid bombardment and destruction.
Clothes of all sizes
Jano Barakat, an activist from northern Lebanon who owns a women’s clothing store, tells Medfeminiswiya about an initiative she launched to help displaced women and those under bombardment. “The idea came to me because I felt like I couldn’t display and sell these clothes any longer in light of the harsh circumstances my beloved Lebanon is going through. I decided to donate clothes to women who’ve been affected by the war, but I found that the need was much greater than what I, a small business owner, could meet, especially in these difficult economic times when everyone is struggling to survive. My idea is basically to support women by selling clothes of all sizes to tell women that they are beautiful regardless of the standards set by society. I decided to reach out to other women and give them the opportunity to support each other too, so that together we could meet the massive needs of the women in need. The more I sell, the more I can donate to others, and as such we become a bridge of communication between women and those impacted by the war,” Jano says. “The initiative has been well received, but we’re still in the early days of its launch. I’m working on developing partnerships and coordinating with associations dedicated to working with displacement centers in northern Lebanon in the coming period,” she continues.
Sanitary pads and housing
Not unlike Jano’s initiative in northern Lebanon, activist Nahla Salama is helping women in Beirut and its surroundings secure sanitary pads. “I started this sanitary pad initiative in 2021, back when the economic crisis was starting in Lebanon. It went on for several months. We relaunch these campaigns with every crisis that Lebanon goes through, and today, the country is in a state of war and women need a lot of support in this regard. The aid and relief provided to affected families exclude these needs. I filmed a video speaking up about this and posted about it on social media to raise awareness of the importance of supporting women and securing these needs. It’s worth noting that this initiative is not supported by any specific party; we are a limited group of people trying to collect these needs and distribute them to women,” she says.
Zeinab Hamadeh, also a Lebanese activist and a poet, has been helping families secure housing, mattresses, and basic necessities since the beginning of the large wave of displacement. She turned her personal Facebook page into a space for helping people by receiving and posting as many requests as she can for the Mount Lebanon region.
There is no doubt that the humanitarian situation in Lebanon is dire, but in the depth of this darkness, initiatives like those of Zeinab, Nahla, and Jano provide some hope, like a lit candle, for women and civilians in general, proving that women can make a difference even amid bombardment and destruction.
