Palestinian women with disabilities face shame and pain in Gaza's crammed displacement camps

Inside Gaza's temporary shelters for the displaced, any chances of leading a dignified life disintegrate under the difficult living conditions and overcrowding — but for Palestinians with disabilities, the challenges are even severe amid the near-total collapse of the health sector due to Israel's ongoing genocide. 

There are around 48,140 individuals living with disabilities in Gaza, including 19,514 women. 

In these shelters, there is no space for privacy, nor any chance to obtain even the most basic levels of care, and the suffering of the disabled accumulates in overlooked details – a missing mattress; an unsuitable bathroom; missing medication, and the heavy silence which surrounds their unspoken, yet painful needs.

Exhausted, and no support 

Iman, who is originally from northern Gaza but who has been displaced several times since the start of the war, suffers from a mobility impairment. She says her days in the displacement centre pass extremely slowly, during which she endures pain and physical exhaustion.

She describes the centre as "uninhabitable", especially for those who require constant mobility support.

"I sleep on a blanket on top of a cold, hard tiled floor. There's no mattress, no wheelchair, not even a pillow to support my back," she tells The New Arab.

"I feel like the floor is eating my joints, my back is in constant pain, and my legs have swelled up from long periods of sitting in the same position. Sometimes I can't change my position without help from someone else, but no one is free, and everyone is completely exhausted."

"I feel helpless, embarrassed, and humiliated. Even our needs as women are forgotten in the tumult of war"

Iman speaks about how her health has deteriorated day after day: "My body is failing, and I feel a weakness like nothing I've known before. Even small movements have become painful, and no one here understands that I need special care, and not just a roof over my head."

Rajaa, who has a hearing impairment (the interview with Rajaa was conducted via written messages on WhatsApp), says the isolation and inability to communicate in the overcrowded centre have exhausted her physically.

"No one here understands sign language. There are no visual cues or signals. When I feel unwell or have a headache, I can't ask for help. Sometimes I get dizzy, and no one pays any attention. I don't know what's going on around me, and the constant stress this gives me makes me live in constant anxiety, which affects my health."

Hanan, who is also physically disabled, is frank about how the menstrual cycle has become a repeated monthly ordeal that she and other women in crammed and unsanitary shelters suffer intensely without the faintest interest.

"Every month, we have painful days, as women, but in the displacement centres, these days have become a nightmare. There are no sanitary pads, there isn't enough water, and there are no safe or clean spaces," she shares. 

"I sit for hours on the floor without being able to change my clothes or wash myself. The pain is intense, but there are no painkillers. I feel helpless, embarrassed, and humiliated. Even our needs as women are forgotten in the tumult of war."

As for Fatima, a visually-impaired married woman from Juhor ad-Dik, a rural village south of Gaza City, the loss of privacy in the bathroom hurts her most in the displacement centre she is currently in.

"I need help getting to the bathroom, and I can't check if the door is locked. This makes me feel unbearably exposed. I have no control over my personal space, and I feel unsafe in a place that is supposed to be private," she tells The New Arab.

"Relying on others for help with personal things embarrasses me and makes me feel like I've lost some of my freedom and respect for my body."

Absent care

Since the start of Israel's genocide in Gaza, the rights of Palestinians with disabilities have been repeatedly violated, especially in the overcrowded schools and the rudimentary tent encampments.

Haneen Al-Sammak, a human rights activist specialising in disability issues, says bathroom facilities designed for people with disabilities have fallen into disuse, forcing women with disabilities to use unsuitable bathrooms that lack privacy and pose a threat to their physical safety.

Haneen adds that disabled women suffer enormous difficulties in carrying out the most basic of daily activities inside the displacement centres, like changing their clothes or going to the toilet. In addition to this, pitying looks and sometimes even derogatory comments from others can take a significant psychological toll.

Moreover, in camps where private spaces are absent altogether, disabled women are sometimes forced to sleep on the sand or hard floors without anything to give a level of basic cleanliness or protection to their bodies.

Even getting to toilet facilities poses a huge challenge in itself, because these are mostly located at a relative distance from general living quarters, or are unsuitable in other ways, which forces some women to suppress their need for long hours, which can lead to dangerous infections and health complications.

Haneen stresses that the unsanitary environment within these centres doesn't meet basic hygiene requirements, which also increases the likelihood of infection and leads to a deterioration in the general health of women with disabilities. These violations, which constitute a violation of Article 25 of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also significantly impact their mental health.

Dr Iman Hajo says that there has been a concerning spread of urinary tract infections and skin diseases among many women with special needs, as well as an exacerbation of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Dr Iman points out that some of these women are also suffering severe psychological problems, including anxiety, depression and sleep disorders, as a result of the isolation and social stigma they're subjected to. She adds that a forced dependence on others to meet daily needs increases feelings of shame and may also expose some women to exploitation or neglect.

Another problem is that the lack of reproductive healthcare services for married women with disabilities is leading to issues developing during menstruation and after childbirth, as women are unable to regularly change period pads or clean properly, increasing the risk of genital infections and long-term health complications. Since many women are reluctant to visit clinics, fearing physical exposure or loss of dignity, this leads to delayed diagnosis and worsening health.

Urgent response

Despite all these challenges, the Abdel-Shafi Community Health Association is working systematically to provide comprehensive services to women with disabilities in displacement centres, whether through directly providing healthcare or facilitating transfers on medical and mental health grounds for cases demanding specialist intervention.

Dr Sujoud Al-Madhoun, the association's technical supervisor for mental health, says they coordinate with relatives of women with disabilities to provide health services, which include psychological protection services to address any abuse or trauma they may have experienced.

Despite all the challenges facing the health sector, which has been devastated by the war, the foundation operates a free phone service so women and their relatives can contact them and ask for help.

Dr Sujoud adds that the foundation is trying, despite all the challenges, to hold one-on-one sessions with women and transfer them to the closest medical facilities.

She confirms that each of the foundation's medical clinics is staffed with a gynaecologist and a nurse who provide health and reproductive health consultations to women with disabilities, including education on ways to maintain bodily cleanliness and prevent infection in light of the current circumstances.

Warda Al Shanti is a freelance journalist, editor and programme presenter from Gaza, Palestine. She is also a member of the Marie Colvin Journalists' Network

Translated by Rose Chacko