What is life like for women working in Gaza? Doctors, teachers and journalists speak out
First-hand accounts from women in Gaza about helping people through war, displacement and humanitarian crisis.
In Gaza, there is no safe place to work – or to live. Women on the frontlines of the response are working under extreme hardship, insecurity and repeated attacks.
The war in Gaza has devastated life on every level. Women and girls are among those most deeply impacted, including in the massive death toll, repeated and ongoing displacement, and extreme deprivation – the result of Israeli air bombardment and ground military operations. As covered in a recent UN Women advocacy brief from Gaza:
- Death: More than 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025.
- Injury: Nearly 11,000 more have been injured so severely that they survive only with lifelong disabilities.
- Displacement: Nearly one million women and girls have been displaced.
- Insecurity: Access to goods and services remains deeply restricted, resulting in 790,000 women and girls facing crisis-level and catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
What is it like to be a doctor in Gaza? Working where safety doesn’t exist
“Here, you fight just to survive”, says Dr Iman Ayad, a medical student working at Al-Shifa Hospital, which has come under repeated bombardment.
“We had to work despite the lack of food, rest and safety. On top of that, the medical staff themselves were also targeted, deprived of any sense of safety. The concept of ‘safety’ simply didn’t exist”, explains Dr Ayad.
Because of the breakdown of Gaza’s health system and the community’s overwhelming medical needs, Dr Ayad has already performed surgeries – despite still being a student.
“A medical student elsewhere dedicates most of their time to study. Usually, two-thirds of a student’s day is spent learning. But here, it’s the opposite”, she explains. “There was no electricity, so studying was impossible. There was no internet, which made access to information very hard. My only source of learning was the doctors currently working at the hospital.”
For Dr Ayad, her motivation lies in rebuilding what has been lost – especially for children.
“I have felt helplessness, and a deep sense of lost humanity. What fault do these children have? Every aspect of normal life was taken from them – even their right to treatment. In that moment, I realized that their right to healthcare was gone too.”
What is it like to be a journalist in Gaza? Preserving and protecting people’s stories
As a journalist, Doaa al-Harazin is committed to showing the world the reality in Gaza, and to documenting what is happening.
“We try to show the world, to all the free people around the globe, that in Gaza there is tragedy, there is suffering. There are massacres, there are civilians who have lost their lives. There are women who become widows every day, children who are dying, torn apart; families that have been completely wiped off the civil registry. We are trying, as much as possible, to document these crimes”, says al-Harazin.
For al-Harazin, her calling to journalism also means that she lives in constant fear of targeted attacks. “I live in a place that shelters women journalists. By being here, I am risking my life. I’m living inside a circle of danger. Even when we shelter in the journalists’ tent where we work, it can be targeted at any moment.”
Personal loss has also devastated al-Harazin. “We lost our lives, our homes, our families, our health. My closest relatives have passed away. I have no one.”
What is it like to be a teacher in Gaza? Keeping education alive
“We, the people of Gaza, are among the most educated in the world. War or no war, we study; we learn”, declares Lamya Othman, content-creator-turned-teacher.
When the war started, Othman’s company was destroyed and she was forced to flee her home. Despite her own loss, she found herself called to help others – and to teach.
“We were displaced from Al-Bureij camp to Deir al-Balah, and I was offered a chance to work as a teacher. I fell in love with my students, with teaching itself”, says Othman.
At first, Othman started teaching in a small learning tent. Today she runs the Al-Sumoud School – translated as The School of Steadfastness – for children whose parents have been killed in Gaza.
“I’m so happy to be with them, teaching them, surrounded by them every day. And I will never leave them – I’ll keep going, God willing”, says Othman.
She describes the challenges that two years without real schooling have created for the children: “So many lost their right to education. So when I started teaching them, I had to begin from the basics – kindergarten-level things they were supposed to already know.”
“All I want is for our children to have the same chance to learn as every other child in the world.”
What is UN Women calling for?
UN Women calls for the ceasefire in Gaza to be fully implemented: International law must be respected, violations must be addressed with accountability, and women and girls must be protected.
Humanitarian assistance must reach those in need – at scale and without obstruction. And Palestinian women and girls must be at the centre of response and recovery efforts.
What is UN Women doing in Gaza?
UN Women remains on the ground in Gaza partnering with women-led and women’s rights organizations, providing funding, coordination, and technical support.
Together with the UN system, humanitarian partners, and women’s organizations, UN Women works to reach all women and girls with lifesaving assistance. We work to ensure that women’s organizations are funded and represented in decision-making and reconstruction efforts.
