Women in Gaza: Menstrual product shortages raise health and hygiene fears

25 Jan 2024 --- Displaced women and girls in Gaza are being deprived of necessary menstrual products, having to use tent scraps and spare pieces of clothing, reveal aid workers. Using unsanitary materials as period products could raise the risk of infection and toxic shock syndrome.

In one of numerous examples, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) highlights a young mother from Gaza who is using homemade, makeshift alternatives to sanitary pads that are negatively impacting her health and well-being. The mother says she faces significant embarrassment within her family. 

The UN Population Fund reports there are over 690,000 menstruating women and adolescent girls in Gaza. These people require access to menstrual products, hygiene products and privacy. 

Maysa, an associate protection officer from the UNRWA Protection Team at the Khan Younis Training Centre (KYTC), reports that the team receives numerous requests from displaced women for sanitary pads. 

“The shortage and scarcity of these supplies in the local market have a psychological and physical impact on women,” she says. 

Health hazards
Dr. Nisreen, who works at the UNRWA health center serving the KYTC shelter, says the hygiene kits distributed to women do not include sufficient sanitary pads. 

“The scarcity of this product in the markets has led to increased prices, making it difficult for displaced individuals to afford them,” she explains.

Women in Gaza are using makeshift period products, which could lead to infection.Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at Action Aid Palestine, said in a statement: “Imagine having to manage your period with no period products, toilet paper or soap, and no chance of being able to wash yourself — all while living cheek by jowl with other people without a moment of privacy.”

“This is the reality for hundreds of thousands of women and girls in Gaza right now. It isn’t just [an] affront to their dignity — it’s a real health hazard.”

The UNRWA says it cannot meet the high demand for hygiene kits as stocks have either entirely run out or are at critically low levels. This scarcity puts women and girls at risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections alongside protection-related risks. 

The organization reports that the closures of most stores and pharmacies in Khan Younis have only exacerbated the situation.

UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma reports from Gaza that “many women told me that they don’t eat and drink not only because there is not enough to go around, but also to limit the time they have to spend going to use the filthy and unsanitary restroom facilities.”

Jafari adds: “One of our colleagues in Gaza told me it has been weeks since she’s been able to have a shower. Women like her are showing incredible resilience and finding creative ways to manage their periods and needs as best they can, but they shouldn’t have to. It is a fundamental right for women to be able to manage their periods safely and with dignity.”

“Catastrophic” situation
Over 25,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, 70% being women and children. It is reported that the war has displaced 1.9 million Palestinians, one million of whom are women and girls, resulting in tented cities.

The UNRWA asserts that the shelters for internally displaced people (IDPs) are “unbearably overcrowded” with little or no privacy, especially for women and girls. The shelter at the KYTC is one of the largest shelters in southern Gaza, with 40,000 IDPs. Displaced Palestinians are not receiving the hygienic care they need.

Meanwhile, in Rafah — a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip — overcrowding has reportedly forced over 480 people to share a single toilet.

Over 80,000 family hygiene kits have been distributed to IDPs in Gaza by the UNRWA since October. The Agency says it will be able to provide more of the same with support from the EU, which has contributed a total of €14 million (US$15.3 million) for internally displaced persons to provide shelter support items, including supplies such as hygiene kits. 

Funds needed
However, the UNRWA says much more money is needed to alleviate the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation, which is particularly acute among vulnerable women and girls. Delivering humanitarian aid continues to face near insurmountable challenges, including constant bombardment and access restrictions. 

The level of life-saving humanitarian assistance entering the Gaza Strip is minimal and far below what the civilian population needs to survive. 

The aid workers also report that women are receiving cesarean sections without anesthesia. The UN estimates 50,000 women are pregnant in Gaza and according to healthcare workers, miscarriages have risen 300%. 

By Sabine Waldeck