ActionAid has heard that some displaced women living in Rafah are so desperate they are cutting out small pieces of the tents they rely on for shelter from the cold and rain to use as a substitute for period products, risking infection. The lack of water means keeping clean is near impossible, with women telling us they have gone for weeks without showering.
A staff member at ActionAid Palestine, who wished to remain anonymous, has been displaced from her home three times and is now in the south of Gaza. She told us: “There is no water. I suffered during my period. There was no water available for me to get clean during my period. I had no sanitary pads for my own needs throughout my period.”
With Rafah currently hosting more than a million displaced people – more than four times its usual population – in extremely overcrowded conditions, there is no privacy. Queues for toilets are extremely long, with UNRWA estimating that at its shelters in Rafah there is only one toilet per 486 people.
Adara*, who was displaced from her home with her four children, told us: “We suffer a lot whenever we want to go to the bathroom. We stand in line for a long time and the bathrooms are far away.”
Without water, women and girls on their periods are unable to wash themselves and stay clean. This, combined with a lack of soap, and with many women forced to use period products or substitutes for longer than is safe, poses a risk to their health. Only one of the three water pipelines from Israel to Gaza is currently functioning, according to UNOCHA. People are only accessing an average of 1.5 to 2 litres of water per day – which is below the 3 litres needed for their basic survival, and well below the minimum 15 litres required per person each day to cover all water and sanitation-related needs, including washing.
ActionAid, alongside its local partners such as Wefaq Association for Women and Childcare (WEFAQ), is supporting women and girls in Gaza as best we can amid extremely challenging conditions for aid operations. Our support so far has included distributing hygiene kits – which include tissues, toilet paper, soap, sanitary pads and wet wipes – and constructing 60 toilet and shower blocks in Rafah, which will provide women and girls with a private space.
Riham Jafari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine said: “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 affront to their dignity – it’s a real health hazard too.
“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.
“At ActionAid, we are supporting women and girls as best we can, but with the already catastrophic humanitarian conditions worsening by the day and the scale of need skyrocketing, these solutions are just a sticking plaster. As we have repeatedly stated, what the people of Gaza need is a permanent ceasefire, now, to end the senseless killing of civilians, with women and girls making up 70% of those killed, and to allow desperately needed aid to reach those who need it.”