The Muslim women tackling period poverty in Gaza ahead of Eid al-Fitr
UK: A British all-female team is spending the last week of Ramadan on a humanitarian deployment to assist women in Gaza in desperate need of sanitary items.
Seven women from the West Midlands and London have set off for Cairo in Egypt to prepare and load up emergency aid for women in Palestine.
Organised by Birmingham-based charity ISRA-UK, the team are packing and loading hygiene kits which will then be driven into Gaza, consisting of female-specific products such as sanitary towels, wet wipes, shampoo and hand sanitiser to support the women living in the war-torn region.
Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are said to be resorting to unsafe ways of managing their periods. 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.
Deployment team leader Saraya Hussain said: “We are on a mission to get hygiene products to the women and girls of Gaza, as requested by our Palestinian partners on the ground there.
“The situation there is dire and desperate and the women need us. They’ve requested our help and we need people to donate, help us fundraise for sanitary items and join our deployment group if they can commit to this endeavour.”
The charity said the people of Gaza have to go weeks without washing or showering.
“Lacking clean water, women and girls on their periods are unable to wash themselves and stay clean,” Ms Hussain said.
“Many women are being forced to use period products or substitutes for longer than is safe.
“Sanitary pads are so scarce in Gaza right now that one girl sheltering in an United Nations school in the Maghazi camp had to resort to washing used pads with soap, causing her serious skin irritation, but she had no other choice.”
ISRA-UK is a humanitarian organisation that has been officially authorised to deliver vital aid directly into Gaza by the State of Palestine’s Ministry of Social Affairs, and have so far loaded and sent across six 40ft truckloads of emergency items.
Ms Hussain is being accompanied by seven women, all fundraisers and all moved by the plight of Gaza residents amid the brutal onslaught by Israeli forces in recent months.
Here’s why they are taking part in the deployment for Gaza:
Amerah Saleh, 31, Birmingham / London:
“It’s really important for me because as a Yemeni but also as a Brummie, I felt like I’d done everything that I could, the protesting, the sharing online, and it felt like a really tangible thing I could get involved in that will have lasting impact, even if only a little, it’s better than nothing.
There’s a group of us on this deployment, we have been fundraising for the last 3 weeks, and the point is that we get together to pack and put it on the truck ready to go into Gaza, insha’Allah (God willing).
The situation in Gaza makes my heart hurt, it makes me feel like I’m losing faith in humanity, but at the same time things like this are giving me that really fine line to keep pushing along and that maybe something will change.
It’s really important to have hygiene packs for women because I always feel that women are always the ones that are left behind and a big thing that we forget is that women have basic needs that maybe men wouldn’t have on the ground, and hearing the stories of women using tent cloths; as a woman when that time of the month comes, it feels like the worst time so I cannot imagine what they’re going through.
The little bit we can do, I’m down for. My heart breaks every single day, watching and consuming. I can’t imagine living through it. And with women most likely being the ones left to their own devices during war, there are some things we actually can tangibly support with. I’m here for it.”
Donate to Amerah’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
Aisha Bibi, 33, Birmingham:
“Since 7th October, witnessing everything behind a screen helplessly, has made me want to join this deployment.
I know it’s not a long term plan for the beautiful people of Palestine, but with the little power that we have, we will do our best with the resources we have access to.
I hope and pray for a free Palestine, Insha’Allah. Until then I will protest, donate and do everything I can, to support in any way that I’m able to do so. Free Palestine!”
Donate to Aisha’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
Tabassum Bibi, 34, Birmingham:
“Being a woman in modern day society is difficult, but I cannot even begin to imagine what the women of Gaza have been going through.
Not even the bare minimum of necessities, having to makeshift sanitary towels, giving birth without any pain relief.
We’re sending everyday essentials like sanitary products, shampoos, soaps, things that we use every single day, sometimes twice a day, and it’s very important that they get these products.
We’ve all done different things to fundraise, we’ve obviously approached family and friends, we’ve been online, we’ve all got JustGiving pages. I did a car wash myself, a few of them did bake sales, street collections, we all did different things to raise as much as we can for the women of Gaza.
We’re Women for Gaza to assist the women of Gaza. We MUST do what we can and continue to do so.”
Donate to Tabassum’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
Rochelle Edwards, 31, Birmingham:
“Amongst duas (prayer supplications) and donating, this is the least I can do for the strongest souls on Earth.
In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort.
In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. I dream of seeing a free Palestine.”
Donate to Rochelle’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
Kheira Mohammed, 58, Birmingham:
“My passion is working with communities and women specifically. Seeing women suffering in silence breaks my heart especially in this day and age.
What’s happening in Gaza is appalling and devastating and I’m not prepared to just sit and watch. I will do everything in my little power to help.
I feel very helpless a lot of the time but will just keep doing what I’m doing, whether it’s protesting, boycotting or sharing posts until this madness ends Insha’Allah.
The women’s deployment is what I’ve always wanted to do and making a difference and raising awareness of female struggles is what I will keep doing until there’s changes for equality.”
Donate to Kheira’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
Sabba Saeed, 33, West Midlands:
“Around the world, we know that lack of vital hygiene products has a devastating effect on millions of lives.
I’m doing this to raise awareness and support the distribution of personal hygiene products for women at a personal level.
Imagine how it’s like there now in Gaza as a woman, without sanitary items, without being clean, not even having a bar of soap, so that’s why I was so interested in doing this and helping women across the world.
I will always support women no matter where they are in the world. This is my opportunity to make a difference and work together to empower vulnerable women. Insha’Allah.”
Donate to Sabba’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
Mugheesa Ahmed, 30, London:
“Why? Because sitting idle hurts. And frankly so do periods.
The fact that there are women on this planet, in this century, that don’t have access to resources to cope with theirs is appalling.
I knew I wanted to be part of the deployment because though I feel that no matter what I do it will never feel enough, the notion that “something is better than nothing” is still what fuelled me to participate.
I have a very large sense of injustice, and as a capable human I feel that if you’re in a position to help your fellow man (in whatever big or small capacity that may be) that it is your duty to do so. So that’s what I’m doing, not out of the goodness of my heart, not for the kudos or a pat on the back, but because it’s something I should be doing regardless, given the privileged position I’m in.
This deployment specifically seemed the most apt to start with as it’s for women, by women. Knowing that women’s needs are often overlooked in general but especially in crisis, it’s important to still dignify them by at the very least trying to meet their basic needs.”
Donate to Mugheesa’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/
You can also donate to the wider ISRA-UK Women’s deployment group here to assist future aid convoys: https://www.justgiving.com/
