Rebecca Fratello

Unequal Wars: Women, Survival, and the Struggle for Justice When we think of war, we think of destruction, displacement, death. But is this devastation the same for everyone? For women, the burden goes far beyond the battlefield. Too often, their experiences are narrowed to sexual violence alone, while other deeper injustices, as poverty displacement, exclusion from recovery, dependance on male incomes, remain ignored. Gaza today represents this cruel reality. Over one million women and girls are displaced in overcrowded and unsafe facilities, with no food, water, or even way to manage menstrual hygiene (UN Women, 2025). Women carry the unbearable weight of loss and survival on their shoulders. They lose spouses, children, homes, and dignity. But women are not only survivors. They are leaders, peacemakers, with such a powerful impact on justice and the rebuilding of society. When inequality turns lethal 1 in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty (UN Women, 2024), facing greater barriers to education, mobility, and economic independence. When bombs fall, these disadvantages become lethal. Women face death by missiles, starvation, and rape. In Gaza, they queue for hours to secure bread, give birth without anaesthesia, and go through the ruins with children in their arms (El Masri et al., 2013). Nevertheless, they demonstrate resilience: more than 58,600 households in Gaza are now headed by women, an evident proof to their strength under unthinkable conditions (UN Women, 2025). Yet, international law recognises women only as “mothers” or “victims,” without recognising their political and economic agency (Gardam & Charlesworth, 2000). This inevitably deprives them of adequate resources or structural support, leaving them alone and excluded from any decision-making and recovery plan.​ Exclusion from peace and leadership Gender equality is more than a goal itself. It’s a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance (Kofi Annan). Even after fighting subsides, women are often excluded from peace negotiations and reconstruction. In Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, women mobilised for peace at the grassroots but of course they were ignored from formal talks (Ngoh, 2022). This marginalisation undermines both justice and stability. Globally, peace agreements are far more durable when women are included, yet their contributions are often treated as symbolic rather than concrete. Women shouldn’t be used solely as slogans. It is time to listen to their leadership as peacebuilders, not just victims of war. Marginalising women in reconstruction wastes transformative potential. Recognising their agency is not an act of charity, but rather a condition for justice and peace (True, 2019). Conclusion Stop thinking of women as mere victims of war. They are survivors, leaders, and peacebuilders. To ignore them is to rebuild on injustice, but to include them is to give world peace a chance to last. ​ ​ REFERENCES ●​ UN Women. (2025, September). What it means to be a woman in Gaza today. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2025/09/what-it-means-to-be -a-woman-in-gaza-today​ ●​ El Masri, S., Harvey, C., & Garwood, R. (2013). Tackling Violence against Women and Girls in Urban Humanitarian Crises: The Case of Gaza. JSTOR.​ ●​ Gardam, J., & Charlesworth, H. (2000). Protection of Women in Armed Conflict. Human Rights Quarterly, 22(1), 148–166. http://www.jstor.org/stable/-​ ●​ UN Women. (2024, March). 1 in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty [Press release]. UN Women. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/03/1-in-every-10-wom en-in-the-world-lives-in-extreme-poverty​ ●​ Ngoh, V. (2022). The Conflict’s Impact on Women from Rebels, Victims, Peacebuilders: Women in Cameroon’s Anglophone Conflict. JSTOR.​ ●​ True, J. (2019). Women’s Economic Empowerment and the G20 Agenda. JSTOR.​