Palestinian Women Endure Caesarean Sections Without Aftercare and Use Rags in Place of Sanitary Products

Amal’s Story: A Silent Struggle Behind the Wall

This is the bleak, quiet reality for Palestinian women in 2025 — a reality that is marked by medical abandonment, crumbling infrastructure, and an overwhelming absence of basic health supplies.

Amal, a 29-year-old mother from Gaza, had her second baby by emergency cesarean section in a dimly lit hospital with power pulsing erratically. Hours later, she was discharged — no pain relief, no antibiotics, no aftercare. The incision wound remained open, but the hospital was overfull, supplies were low, and Amal was just another name on a list they could ill afford to remember.

Postpartum Without Pain Relief: A New Normal

To most women globally, childbirth — even through cesarean section—is preceded by rest, medical checking, and emotional support. But in conflict areas such as Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian women undergo mass surgery and physical trauma and are sent home on the same day, as the healthcare system has collapsed. In some centers, doctors must choose whom to give medicine to, on the basis of only urgency and not humanity.

“Following my operation, I asked the nurse for some relief for the pain,” Samah, a mother from Rafah, said in court. “She just gave me a cold stare and told me, ‘We have nothing.'”  A Palestinian women  narrated.

Rags Instead of Sanitary Products: A Crisis in Menstrual Hygiene

The humanitarian blockade has further made sanitary products almost unobtainable or out of reach. No longer is it a matter of an easy monthly routine. Palestinian women are now resorting to the old method of cutting up fabrics and making use of rags, which they wash and reuse in unhygienic conditions. Not only does it subject them to infection, but it also deprives women of their dignity.

Teenagers, more than anything else, suffer the most. Without hygienic products, they skip school or withdraw in embarrassment. In a country already burdened with an unfathomable load, the psychological effect on the country is unfathomable.

Why Is This Happening in 2025?

Although there have been cries for humanitarian aid and medical aid outside of the global community, the war, sanctions, and poor health programs kept Palestinian women on the outside looking in, surviving. Gaza hospitals have no stock of basic medicines. Clinics see hours of blackout power cutouts. And social shame when it comes to women’s health keeps many from speaking out at all.

Organizations like Children’s Aid, UNRWA, and Médecins Sans Frontières  are still shouting, but it is too much. Their supplies are dwindling, and their delivery is cut short by damaged roads and closed borders.

What Needs to Change

This is not a health emergency — it’s a humanitarian and human rights emergency. Every woman, wherever she is in the world, has a right to safe childbirth, sanitary product access, and respect for dignity.

We need to appeal to governments, NGOs, and international communities to:

Rebuild the medical supply chain.

Enhance women’s reproductive health programming for Palestinian women.

Increase menstrual hygiene education and supplies to schools and communities.

Give voice to women like Amal and Samah — because silence will deepen the wound.

A Voice for the Voiceless

In 2025, we live in a world more connected than ever — yet stories like Amal’s still go unheard. We must raise awareness and demand change so no Palestinian woman has to give birth without medical support or face her monthly cycle without basic hygiene. Palestinian women aren’t just numbers; they are mothers, sisters, and daughters who deserve dignity and respect.

They experience the same pain and struggles that women everywhere do. They deserve proper medical care, emotional support, and access to basic necessities. Their voices carry the same weight and deserve to be heard. It’s our responsibility to speak up, take action, and ensure their lives are protected and valued.