Trudeau’s feminist policies have failed Palestinian women and girls

As we mark International Women's Day on March 8, the plight of Palestinian women and girls underlines a stark gap in the UN's 2024 ‘invest in women: accelerate progress’ theme that is meant to uplift voices of all women and girls, especially those marginalized in times of crisis. Yet, the global response to Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza has overlooked its profound impact on Palestinian women and children, effectively silencing their struggles. Katherine Bullock, left, is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto; Nawel Hamidi is a lawyer and an assistant professor at Saint Paul University; and Tazeen Hasan is a human rights policy analyst and an advocacy manager with Justice For All Canada. Handout photographs Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has committed to women's empowerment and rights through Global Affairs Canada's diplomatic initiatives and international development, a stance reiterated by Women, Gender Equality, and Youth Minister Marci Ien in 2023 when her government adopted the theme 'United for Gender Equality’ for Gender Equality Week. Despite this professed commitment to eliminating barriers impeding women's progress, Trudeau's cabinet has remained silent amid the destruction that has undone decades of advancement for Palestinian women. In response, Canadian feminist organizations sent a joint letter to the prime minister highlighting this discrepancy. Since October 2023, more than 30,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, 70 per cent of whom were women or children, according to the Gaza health ministry. Two mothers fall to the conflict every hour. Numerous women are undergoing C-sections without anesthesia. Nearly a million women and girls have been displaced, facing heightened risks due to the lack of essential services such as shelter, sanitation, and health care. Amidst this turmoil, there are no safe spaces for survivors of gender-based violence. UN experts have called for an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings, including in instances of individuals signalling surrender with white cloths, as well as arbitrary detentions, rapes, sexual assaults, inhumane treatment, and the forced disappearances of Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank. The Euro-Med Monitor has recorded cases of sexual violence and torture by Israeli forces. Furthermore, the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has sounded the alarm on the severe threats faced by mothers and pregnant women in Gaza. The consequences of this conflict have thrust women into unforeseen roles—as widows leading households, as mothers who have to bury their children, as caregivers for the elderly and disabled, and as leaders in their communities without support. The suspension of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) by Canada and other international donors has dealt a devastating blow to the already fragile lives of Palestinian women and children. UNRWA’s essential services such as education, health care, and food assistance, including support for over 50,000 pregnant women, nursing mothers, and single-parent families, are vital for Palestinian women and girls. Stopping this aid directly harms their safety, dignity, and rights. Canada’s stance on Gaza must embody its commitment to gender equality, including gender-responsive humanitarian aid that addresses the unique needs of women and girls in this crisis. Confronted with reports of human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls, Canada must demand accountability and denounce Israel's use of forced disappearances. But to make such calls meaningful and not empty rhetoric, Canada must also end its involvement in the conflict through its military exports to Israel, by which it implicates itself in the abuses endured by Palestinians. This is not just about a ceasefire or reinstating funding to UNRWA: it's about Canada upholding our collective moral responsibility to ensure that Palestinian women and girls in the most desperate situations are not left without hope or help. It is time to acknowledge the disproportionate impact of this war on Palestinian women and to ensure their experiences are not sidelined. This International Women’s Day, Canada should remember Palestinian women in Gaza and the West Bank and recommit to a world where no woman's suffering is ignored, and no mother's cry for help goes unheard. Katherine Bullock is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Toronto at Mississauga. Tazeen Hasan is a human rights policy analyst and an advocacy manager with Justice For All Canada. Nawel Hamidi is a lawyer and an assistant professor at Saint Paul University. The Hill Times

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Trudeau’s feminist policies have failed Palestinian women and girls

Canada’s stance on Gaza must embody its commitment to gender equality, including gender-responsive humanitarian aid that addresses the unique needs of women and girls in this crisis.

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