Women This Week: Shortages of Essential Goods for Women and Children in Gaza

UN Women Reports Increasingly Inhumane Living Conditions 

This week, UN Women released its latest Gender Alert on Gaza. Six months into the war, more than ten thousand women have been killed, over half of whom were believed to be mothers. This has led to an estimated nineteen thousand orphaned children. In addition, basic services, including access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (or WASH services), are not being met. Over one million women and girls are experiencing limited access to these services, and about half are of reproductive age, exacerbating specific challenges related to women who are breastfeeding, pregnant, and menstruating. A woman from Gaza was cited in the analysis, “I live in a house with 53 women. No pads are remaining anywhere to buy; we used all the cloth that we have in this house and can’t access any more, because the shops were either closed or destroyed.” 

Backsliding on Gender Equity in Senegal  

The newly elected President of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was elected on promises of ‘systemic change’ but immediately disappointed women’s rights activists after appointing only four women to his government, which includes twenty-five ministers and five secretaries of state. Many Senegalese had expected to see increased representation, particularly since the executive branch under previous administrations included either seven or eight women. Maïmouna Astou Yade, the executive director of JGEN Sénégal—a women’s rights organization—pointed to even more backsliding on women’s rights. President Faye’s government also decided to rename a government ministry focused on “women” and “child protection” to one focused more broadly on “family and children.” This “sends a strong signal regarding the priorities of this new regime for the next five years,” she said. 

Protests by Women’s Soccer Team in Brazil Lead to Coach’s Resignation  

This week, protests led by the Brazilian women’s soccer team—Santos—led to the resignation of their coach, Kleiton Lima. Lima left Santos club in September after nineteen anonymous reports were made accusing him of sexual and moral harassment. In early April, he was restored to his position after officials reported finding no evidence to justify the accusations. Since Friday, Santos players have protested his return during matches by placing their hands over their mouths as if being silenced. Multiple wore the number nineteen to signify the number of accusations. On Monday, Lima resigned, making a “personal decision” to “protect his family, his integrity and the club.”