On this year women's day, all we could think about are Palestinian women in Gaza.
Nearly 9,000 women have been killed in Israeli attacks in five months. Another 2,100 are missing and presumed dead, while 23,000 have been wounded and over half a million are displaced.
“Palestinian women, especially in the Gaza Strip, are exposed to the worst humanitarian catastrophe,” Ashraf al-Qudra, the health ministry’s spokesperson, said on Thursday.
Dozens of women and girls have also been detained and face harsh conditions in Israeli custody, including sexual abuse.
Women in Gaza also struggle to find menstruation products and access the necessary pregnancy and post-natal care. The consequences on reproductive health, including a rise in stress-induced miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births, have increased significantly.
Women in labour are undergoing caesarean procedures without anaesthetics, and a shortage of post-operative care such as medication, antibiotics and pain relief further exacerbates the situation.
According to the health ministry, 5,000 women give birth monthly in Gaza under “harsh, unsafe and unhealthy” conditions caused by Israeli bombing and displacement.
There are 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza suffering from “malnutrition, dehydration and lack of medical care.
There have also been repeated cases of Israeli soldiers mocking Palestinian women by posting videos and pictures of themselves rummaging through personal belongings in Gaza homes, making derogatory comments and posing with women’s underwear.
Today we laid out over 5 Kilometres of children’s outfits to represent over 11,500 children killed in Palestine by Israel and the 36 Israeli children killed on Oct 7th.
The UK & US government should be doing everything they can to protect these children, not supporting the mass slaughter of them. As Gaza continues to experience the worst crime against humanity possible, genocide, our government, your government, is aiding Israel and using your taxes to pay for this unimaginable horror.
It’s hard to imagine the scale of 11,500 dead children. We hope this allows you to see the unfathomable loss and destruction unleashed on Gaza.
Enough is enough. It’s not hard to say it, Ceasefire NOW.
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Thank you to IG: @ledbydonkeys for organising this powerful installation, their London activist partners for making the journey to work alongside our local community through @palestinesolidaritymvmt and @humantiproject - all of whom spent hours laying these clothes down.
Audio: Husam Zomlot
All clothes featured will be donated to charities, with us coordinating some being delivered to Gaza.