Ending genocide is a feminist issue
We must end the genocide and atrocities in Gaza and everywhere that it is happening or risk of happening around the world.
Everyday, horrifying images of yet more grave violations of international law flood the internet. Urgent action must be taken NOW to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.
We were told by the international community that attacking camps in Rafah that are providing shelter for civilians who have been forcibly displaced from their homes was a ‘red line’. That red line has now shockingly and repeatedly been crossed, yet no action has been taken. This inaction is an unconscionable injustice. It reveals a total disregard for Palestinian lives, and that Israel can act with impunity. As feminists we cannot ignore this racist and colonial injustice.. The daily brutalities and human rights violations suffered by Palestinian people, especially women and children, demand our immediate and unwavering attention.
The situation is incomprehensible, an unprecedented catastrophe. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported over 37,718+ fatalities, the majority of those killed and injured are women and children. Over 10,000 people are missing and presumed dead, buried under the rubble, more than 85,000 have been injured and left with next to no medical care, people are being starved, thousands are experiencing famine and the entire population is experiencing acute food shortages and malnutrition, profound trauma, loss of their livelihoods and homes, violation of their human rights. This is having a devastating impact on pregnant women, mothers breastfeeding their infants and young children. Women continue to give birth, including by c-section, without pain relief, and are dying needlessly from treatable infections because of the dire lack of sanitation and life-saving medical supplies. This cannot go on. The lives of two million people in Gaza are at stake, as is our humanity.
As feminists and human rights defenders, we stand in solidarity with Palestinians – critically, with Palestinian women - who are on the front lines of the humanitarian response, resisting occupation, and tirelessly advocating for peace and justice. We call on feminists everywhere to join us in demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to the occupation and for justice, freedom, and dignity for all Palestinian people.
The international community must end its complicity. We call on them to take decisive action – to use whatever power they have through diplomacy, sanctions and the blocking of arms and military transfers to stop the genocide, and to uphold international humanitarian law so that Israel is held to account.
Women and children are disproportionately affected by genocide, war and conflict. They face not only the direct impacts of violence, but also the compounded effects of patriarchal oppression. Their voices are often silenced, their suffering overlooked, and their rights systematically denied.
Our feminism is inclusive and intersectional. It demands an end to all forms of oppression and recognizes that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is intrinsically linked to the global fight for human rights and equality everywhere. We are currently witnessing an erosion and undermining of international humanitarian law and human rights. Right now, in several different places plausible genocide, risk of genocide or other atrocities are ongoing under the silence or inaction of the international community - the struggles are all linked, the cause is one. We must unite and act now to end atrocities in Sudan, the DRC, Tigray and against the Palestinian, Uighur and Rohyinga people.
At a time of such injustice, inaction is not an option. We will not be silent or stand idly by. We must amplify the voices of women’s rights organizations, feminist activists and feminist-led organizations working in these communities to support their resistance, expertise and work protecting the rights of women, girls and gender-diverse people. This action is critical in order to bring about a future where justice, freedom, rights and peace prevail for all. Ending genocide and atrocities is a feminist issue.