Women protested outside the United Nations headquarter in Beirut, demanding an end to the war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip that has killed 30,000 Palestinians. Demonstrators affirmed that “there is no liberation for women without the liberation of Palestine, and there is no feminist struggle without the women of Gaza.”
Women protested outside the United Nations headquarter in Beirut, demanding an end to the war in the Gaza Strip that has killed 30,000 Palestinians.
“Starving Gaza is genocide,” read one of the banners held up by protesters, many of whom waved the Palestinian flag.
“When we see the people of Gaza being annihilated, the children of Gaza being annihilated, our hearts burn,” said Aisha Mohammed, a Palestinian refugee who took part in the protest.
Demonstrators chanted: “Lift the siege on Gaza”, “Freedom, freedom, freedom” and “Stop fire now” to demand freedom for Gaza, lifting the siege on it and an immediate cease-fire.
“Palestine is a feminist issue”
They also carried banners condemning the injustice faced by Gazans, especially women, amid the current offensive on the enclave, and demanded an immediate end to the war, including phrases such as “Palestine is a feminist issue”, “International law kills women”, “Save Gaza” and “Stop fire now.”
In a statement read at the protest, demonstrators affirmed that “there is no liberation for women without the liberation of Palestine, and there is no feminist struggle without the women of Gaza, and there is no combatting of patriarchal authority without resisting all colonial, military, and oppressive regimes.”
The statement urged the peoples of the world to “mobilize their efforts and escalate for the immediate and unconditional cessation of the genocide war being waged by the Israeli occupation on Gaza.”
Protesters demanded the “return of those forced to evacuate from the people of Gaza to their homes immediately, the release of all prisoners who were abducted from inside Gaza immediately, and the cleansing of the occupation’s prisons from all prisoners.”
They also called for “cutting off supplies to the Zionist entity, especially weapons and goods, and holding accountable all those involved in the genocide war.”
What is happening in the region?
Since October 7, 2023, at least 8,900 women have lost their lives, and 23,000 have been injured in the ongoing attacks by the Israeli army, with the fate of 2,100 missing women unknown.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that an average of 63 women, including 37 mothers leaving their families behind, are killed daily in Israel’s assaults on Gaza.
Palestinian groups estimate that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.