“As women and activists for equality here in the UK we owe it to those in Gaza to stand up for peace and secure an immediate ceasefire. Solidarity.”
Beth Winter MP
Beth Winter MP addressed the Labour & Palestine “Women for Palestine” rally in the run-up to International Women’s Day. You can read a published version of her speech or watch the event below:
Thank you to Labour and Palestine for inviting me to today’s Women and Palestine discussion ahead of this week’s International Women’s Day.
It is right we give time to consider the lives of women in Palestine. There is much to discuss.
In more peaceful circumstances, we might consider the conflicts of a historically patriarchal society and the limitations of conservative religious influence on representative politics with the flourishing of a network of self-organised women’s organisations throughout Palestinian civil society and the historic role of women providing leadership to the struggle against illegal occupation.
From the Palestinian Women’s Union established in the 1920s, to the Women’s Work Committees of the 1970s, or the current Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling.
Individuals such as Hanan Ashrawi, an early Minister in the Palestinian Authority.
To Huwaida Arraf, who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement.
Or Ahed Tamimi, twice imprisoned at a young age, and now a popular figurehead.
But we are not in peaceful circumstances.
It was in fact the Palestinian women’s rights activist, Randa Siniora, who said, in 1987:
“it became impossible to focus exclusively on legal and social aspects of women’s rights, with human-rights violations taking place against Palestinian women every day. Now our main task is documenting those violations.”
The UN Women survey of partner organisations in Gaza in November, showed that 83 per cent of women’s organizations surveyed in the Gaza Strip are now mainly focusing on the emergency response.
However, UN Women’s analysis of funding to the 2023 Flash Appeal reveals less than 0.1 per cent of funding has directly gone to those women’s rights organizations.
Therefore, we must focus on the impact of the current catastrophe facing civilians, and women in particular, in Gaza and – to a lesser extent – the West Bank.
Analysis by academics in the US has argued Israel has carried out its war in Gaza at a pace and level of devastation that likely exceeds any recent conflict, including bombing that took place in Syria and Iraq in the past decade.
Michael Lynk, who served as the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories from 2016 to 2022, said, “The scale of Palestinian civilian deaths in such a short period of time appears to be the highest such civilian casualty rate in the 21st century.”
Since 7 October 2023, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and 1.8million displaced.
The Gendered Impact of the Crisis in Gaza – a report produced by UN Women in January
estimated close to 1,000,000 women and girls have been displaced;
- 70% of deaths are women or children;
- 3,000 women have become new widows;
Given the number displaced and living in temporary shelters, we should consider the ongoing impacts of that.
- 5,500 women are expected to give birth in Gaza in the next month.
- women and girls in Gaza 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.
The UN Women report also highlighted the impact of the conflict on social progress and women’s freedom, setting out how, women increasingly fear that, in light of food shortages, school closures, and loss of educational opportunities, families will resort to desperate coping mechanisms including early marriage.
We have seen escalating violence as aid workers, health workers and journalists have been killed, schools and hospitals destroyed, often when run by UNRWA as shelters.
The conflict is a war on civilians, and it is a war on women, and it has to stop.
I have consistently called for a ceasefire since the Hamas attacks of 7th October – which we understand killed many innocent women themselves – and it is clear that a great many colleagues in parliament defended the specific Israeli military tactics of siege – cutting off water, food, electricity – that it was clear would punish civilians.
It is right that the weight of campaigning pressure is driving more politicians to talk of a ceasefire but we have no time to waste.
The UN Women report concluded, the most urgent need is for immediate ceasefire and unfettered access for aid.
We must also ensure the UK
- ends arms sales,
- restores its suspended funding to UNRWA, as the EU has recently done,
- and acts to centre women and girls as part of its Women, Peace and Security national action plan
Thank you to all that you do.
One final brief point, as I don’t have time to address in full, but I am conscious the solidarity movement is increasingly subject to a smear campaign that conflates real security risks elected representatives may have from lone and isolated extremists, with the legitimate lobbying the solidarity movement does.
I challenged that last week and will continue to do so.
As women and activists for equality here in the UK we owe it to those in Gaza to stand up for peace and secure an immediate ceasefire. Solidarity.
- This article is a published version of the speech given by Beth Winter MP during Labour & Palestine’s ‘Women for Palestine‘ rally held in the run-up to International Women’s Day 2024. You can watch back the event on YouTube or listen back on the Arise Festival podcast.
- Beth Winter is the MP for Cynon Valley and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook, you can follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
