Gaza [Palestine], October 18: The UN Women called for ensuring that the ceasefire in Gaza translates into safety, recovery, and rights for women and girls, placing them at the center of every humanitarian and reconstruction effort.
''Every woman who rebuilds a bakery, a clinic, or a classroom, is rebuilding peace. Every dollar invested in women-led aid, is a down payment on hope. The data is very clear on this: when we invest in women, every $1 generates an $8 return for whole communities,'' said UN Women Chief of Humanitarian Action Sofia Calltorp during the press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva today.
''Today, the needs of women and girls in Gaza remain at an all-time high. Over one million women and girls require food aid, and nearly a quarter million need urgent nutrition support. This ceasefire is our window to deliver, to deliver fast, to stop famine where it has begun and prevent it where it looms.''
For two years,she added, women and girls in Gaza were killed at a rate of roughly two every hour. This number only defines the scale of this war, and it will haunt our collective conscience for generations. Most women in Gaza have been displaced at least four times during the war. The ceasefire is their first chance to stop running, to find safety, and to rebuild. But winter is coming, and too many still have no shelter.
In Gaza today, sh continued, one in seven families is now led by a woman. They need aid that reaches them directly, so they can feed their children, access healthcare, rebuild livelihoods, and restore some stability after losing everything.
''Because it's not just about getting aid in and who it reaches, it is also about how we deliver it. If we do not put the humanitarian needs of women and girls at the center, and if we do not include women's organizations in the response, in recovery, and in the work of rebuilding, then women will be excluded from the future of Gaza altogether,'' she said.
''At UN Women, we are now working side-by-side with the UN system which is on the ground fully mobilised to scale-up life-saving assistance,'' she added.
Source: Emirates News Agency
