Menstrual Cycles – A Silent Nightmare for Displaced Women in Gaza
By Shaimaa Eid
Something that is supposed to be a natural part of any woman’s life has become a nightmare, writes Shaimaa Eid.
In Gaza, war is not confined to the sound of explosions, the sight of blood, or the rubble left by tanks and airstrikes.
It extends deep into the intimate details of daily life, where even the most basic needs become a grueling battle for dignity and survival.
For many women and girls, the approach of their menstrual cycle is no longer a private concern but a recurring nightmare amplified by displacement, poverty, and war.
Sanitary pads—taken for granted in much of the world—have become an unaffordable luxury in Gaza’s displacement camps. A severe shortage, combined with skyrocketing prices, leaves thousands of women unable to access menstrual hygiene products.
With the war ongoing and most families having lost their livelihoods, a large portion of Gaza’s population now lives below the poverty line, making even basic hygiene out of reach.
Forced by circumstances, women are reverting to primitive and unsafe methods to manage their periods—reusing cloth scraps, for example—often without access to clean water, toilet paper, or personal hygiene supplies.
These conditions have led to growing health complications, many of which are impossible to treat under the current siege and collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system.
But the issue is not merely about access to pads. It’s about dignity.
Privacy ‘Non-Existent’
Privacy is virtually nonexistent in the overcrowded displacement camps. In many cases, hundreds of people share a single bathroom. Girls and women must walk past lines of people to access it, trying to conceal what they carry in their hands. The humiliation and anxiety associated with these moments are just one layer of a much broader crisis.
Inside one of the overcrowded UN-run shelters in Khan Younis, Rawaan, 25, sat quietly next to her mother, trying to hide her discomfort.
She spoke in a hushed voice: “I feel ashamed and scared every time I get my period. There’s no private place to shower, no sanitary pads. Sometimes I’m forced to use old cloth or tissues. I’m constantly worried someone might notice or smell something. What’s supposed to be a natural part of any girl’s life has become a nightmare for us”.
Rawaan is not alone.
Hundreds of displaced young women are struggling with anxiety and a complete lack of privacy in shelters that lack even the most basic standards of hygiene and personal care. This turns a normal biological process into a source of deep psychological and physical suffering.
Anticipation and Dread
Painkillers—commonly used to relieve menstrual cramps—have also disappeared from pharmacies due to the devastating Israeli blockade that has crippled Gaza’s supply of medicine since the war intensified on October 7, 2023.
For many displaced women, the anticipation of their next period is filled with dread, added to the already long list of daily fears: the constant hum of drones, the smell of death in the streets, food and water shortages, and the exhausting tasks of survival from dawn until nightfall.
Imagine enduring physical pain and emotional upheaval in inhumane conditions—without privacy, medical care, or even the psychological safety to process what’s happening.
In desperate attempts to suppress their periods altogether, some women and girls have resorted to using birth control pills to delay menstruation. While this might seem like a temporary solution, prolonged and unsupervised use of such medications poses serious health risks.
Still, most respond to these risks with a bitter phrase: “Choosing the lesser of two evils”.
Denied a Fundamental Right
This is not simply a story about the lack of sanitary pads.
It is a deeper struggle for women’s dignity and their right to care for their bodies in a way that honors their humanity.
Every displaced woman in Gaza is being denied a fundamental right that should be guaranteed to all women—regardless of geography or circumstance. And in a conservative society where these topics are often shrouded in silence, many suffer in shame, unable to voice their needs or seek help.
Displaced women in Gaza also face immense psychological burdens.
They have lost their homes, their income, and often their loved ones. Many report worsening anxiety and depression, symptoms that directly affect their overall health and resilience.
Comprehensive support systems—both psychological and physical—are urgently needed. This includes making menstrual hygiene products accessible and affordable as a basic necessity, not a luxury.
Weight of Responsibilities
In countless families, women have become the sole providers after the death or disappearance of fathers, husbands, and brothers.
These women carry the weight of entire households on their shoulders. They labor inside tents and outside, collecting water in heavy jugs, standing in long lines for bread or food aid, all while shielding their children from the unbearable pain of hunger, fear, and grief.
In a partially destroyed building in Deir al-Balah, Umm Mahmoud, 39, was seen arranging worn-out blankets around her five children.
Her voice was weary as she spoke: “I suffer from ovarian cysts, and my menstrual pain is unbearable.”
“Before the war, I used to take regular medications and painkillers. Now, I have nothing. Sometimes I use children’s painkillers, or I just endure the pain in silence. There’s no hot water, no clean bathroom, and I’m terrified I’ll get an infection,” she added.
With a sigh, Umm Mahmoud continued, “We, the women of Gaza, are enduring a double pain—not just from the war and destruction, but from things no one sees and no one talks about”.
Cry for Dignity
Displaced women in Gaza are suffering a dual agony—physical and psychological—while enduring it all in silence.
Yet, this silence is not surrender; it is a cry for dignity, a call for the rights that no occupying force has the authority to strip away.
The voices of Gaza’s women and girls must be amplified.
This is not a marginal issue—it is a central humanitarian crisis. Access to women’s healthcare is not optional; it is essential.
Every failure to provide it is another violation added to the long list of abuses inflicted on Gaza’s population. And in the heart of this suffering, it is women who bear the heaviest burden.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Shaimaa Eid is a Gaza-based writer. She contributed this article to the Palestine Chronicle.