To every woman who reads this, from me, Fares Abulebda
I must admit, I feel a deep sense of shame writing about this.
As a man, speaking about periods, hygiene, and the private pain of women is not something I ever imagined I would do.
But I have sisters. I have friends. I have seen the silent suffering of women I love, and I can no longer stay quiet.
War has stolen so much from the people of Gaza, but for women, it has taken something even more personal ,their dignity.
In Gaza today, over 700,000 women and girls are facing a reality that is cruel beyond words. The world talks about destruction and bombs, but no one talks about menstruation ,a hidden crisis affecting more than half the population, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2025.
Gaza needs around 10.3 million sanitary pads every single month, just to meet basic needs. But with the total blockade on humanitarian aid, these products have become nearly impossible to find. When they are available, they cost five times more than they did before the war. Most families simply cannot afford them.
Women are being forced to use scraps of cloth, old clothing, paper, or nothing at all. There is no clean water. Toilets have been destroyed. Privacy has vanished. Dignity is slipping away, silently and painfully.
Imagine your sister or daughter bleeding without protection, without safety, without a place to wash, in a war zone.
Menstruation does not stop for war. But in Gaza, it has become a prison. A curse. A monthly wound made worse by silence and shame.
This is not just a women’s issue. It is a human rights issue. A humanitarian emergency that no one dares to speak about.
To every woman reading this, I ask you, from the depth of my heart, to care.
Care not because you are Palestinian. Care because you are a woman. Because no woman, anywhere, should have to endure this kind of suffering.
Raise your voice. Demand that menstrual hygiene products be included in all humanitarian aid. Share this message. Break the silence.
Let us not remain quiet when our sisters are stripped of their most basic dignity.
Because when one woman is forced to bleed in silence, the whole world should feel the shame.
If this moved you, please sign and share my petition:
https://www.change.org/FaresAbulebda
With love, respect, and heartbreak,
Fares Abulebda
29 May 2025