On September 19, 2023, weeks before October 7 and the onset of the genocidal war that has consumed Gaza, 80 Palestinian women gathered in the blockaded territory to discuss the future. They were empowered leaders, successful entrepreneurs, professional businesswomen, committed academics and innovative engineers and scientists—all united under the umbrella of the Business and Professional Women Network (BPW), for the launch event of the Palestinian Women Summit 2024. These women were not just attendees—they were visionaries, driven by an unbreakable resolve to play an active role in defining the future of Palestine through channels of economic innovation, academic breakthroughs and policy leadership.
The planned summit, of course, never took place. Today, nearly all of those women have tragically suffered the losses of their businesses, homes, families and entire livelihoods. The same women who once dedicated themselves to the noble cause of creating a future of hope and societal advancement have been displaced from their homes and communities and are living in inhumane conditions. They have been stripped of their basic, inalienable rights.
Amid the awful statistics of death and destruction, their stories are overlooked. They are the people behind the immense suffering and destitution seen in images of Gaza. And it is them, among the other women of Palestine, who will be there to pick up the pieces and hold things together. Yet despite this centrality, and an international agenda that was supposed to empower women in peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, they are still being left out of the official decision-making on which their fate depends.
Pillars of a Downtrodden Society
This harsh reality is the fate of Palestinian women—a reality that existed well before October 7, 2023. The genocide taking place in Gaza is part of a much older Israeli effort to destroy Palestinian society, displace it from its homeland, and erase its memory. In this process, women are disproportionately affected—not just by the immediate atrocities of war, but by its long-term impacts. At the heart of every nation are families, and women are at the heart of every family. Therefore, the attack on the Palestinian nation is foremost an attack on its women.
Since 1967, Palestinian women have borne an overwhelming, daily burden stemming from Israel’s military occupation, which has systematized gendered violence against them through a conscious policy of forced displacement, the disruption of family life, and a direct assault on their physical and psychological well-being. Interminable conflict, deprivation and systematic dispossession have pushed Palestine into a permanent state of crisis, reinforcing this gender-based violence, as well as economic and political marginalization.
Today, the destruction of Gaza does not only have a military aim—it is an attack on the social fabric of Palestinian existence. The Israeli military has systematically targeted civilians, and 70% of those killed are women and children. Yet, aside from the shocking statistics, this conflict is also an attack on the role of women as the bedrock of Palestinian society—as caregivers, protectors and pillars of resilience.
When genocides occur, the targeting of homes, schools and hospitals is not random—it is a deliberate attempt to annihilate the infrastructure that underpins communities. Palestinian women are then left to pick up the pieces of their shattered society, heading relief efforts, caring for orphans and attempting to recover what remains of their families. But how do they rebuild when the war does not end? How do they heal when the trauma does not end?
Palestinian women are not merely victims of war—they are its first responders, the unsung leaders of post-war survival. In Gaza, where international relief remains inadequate and erratic, women improvise, mobilize and fight for the survival of their families and communities. They run underground medical clinics, ration food, establish makeshift schools and provide psychological care to traumatized children who have known nothing but war.
The documented losses among Gazan women are nothing short of horrifying. Several reports published by the United Nations and numerous human rights organizations have revealed that thousands of women have lost their lives or been severely injured, while many others have been widowed—forced to face the adversities of life alone as they look after their fatherless children. Furthermore, the extensive damage to maternal healthcare centers has resulted in a dramatic rise in maternal mortality rates, with dangerous complications during labor, in addition to an absolute breakdown of reproductive healthcare services that are vital to the health of women and their families. There were an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza on the eve of October 7, with no accounting of what has happened to them or their offspring.
Most women now give birth in unsafe conditions, often in temporary tents with no medical attention. The mental scarring is equally horrific: levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety among Palestinian women are said to be soaring, as they witness the constant eradication of their family members, homes and livelihoods. And still, despite being forced to endure unimaginable loss and the profound trauma that follows, the women of Gaza continue to rise up from the rubble that engulfs them—taking on the essential work of leading relief efforts, building intricate underground networks of support, and discovering innovative ways of continuing to nurture life amidst overwhelming destruction. Their own survival is a powerful act of resistance against the many forces that would try to eliminate their existence and discount their efforts.
Women as Decisionmakers
Although they are the ones who are keeping the people of Gaza alive, women are not yet included in political negotiations, humanitarian planning or reconstruction. Men negotiate the ceasefires, but women rebuild the societies.
If women were in fact involved in governance structures and transitional justice mechanisms, the post-war reconstruction of Gaza would be more just, equitable and sustainable. Women, however, are intentionally left out—portrayed as icons of victimhood, not agents of change.
Despite the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 nearly a quarter-century ago, which established the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and stressed the need for women to play a full and equal role in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, Palestinian women are intentionally and methodically barred from political leadership, decision-making and post-conflict state-building. The international community has spent billions of dollars on women’s empowerment initiatives, yet none have yielded actual political influence for Palestinian women. Why? Because Israeli colonialism has entrenched patriarchal systems that militarize masculinity and methodically push women out of leadership spheres. With Palestinians in constant survival mode against Israel’s system of repression and dispossession, Palestinian women are trapped in their own society’s system of patriarchy, in which they were never intended to lead.
Yet Palestinian women are not only survivors—they are also builders of the future. Their leadership in the post-war reconstruction needs to be institutionalized, not treated as an afterthought. Their leadership needs to mirror the magnitude of their pain, the extent of their sacrifices and their legitimate role in charting the Palestinian quest for justice. If the world is committed to peace, then Palestinian women need not just to be protected, but to be empowered. Their struggle is not merely a struggle to exist—it is the struggle to rebuild an entire nation.
After 17 months of constant bombardment, Gaza is mostly in ruins. Yet Palestinians demonstrated their determination to stay and rebuild as soon as a ceasefire began in January, heading on foot in droves back to their destroyed homes. When the time comes, the rubble can be removed by men, but the reconstruction cannot be done without women.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.
