The Middle East, a region already beset by conflict and wars borne out of colonial legacies and current-day geopolitical power struggles, is now at a precipice. It is the women and girls in these settings who lose out in their reproductive and sexual rights and freedoms.
Nearly a year into targeted, reproductive violence against Palestinian women and girls, and the bombing of our reproductive health site in Gaza; IPPF readies itself for a fresh wave of attacks against its health workers and clinics in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the wider region.
We will not be silenced; and remind all parties that acts of obstetric and reproductive violence can be prosecuted as war crimes.
We fear not just for our colleagues; but for every single woman and girl. Once again, the very essence of humanity is at stake, as though women, children, and all human beings are merely numbers.
Fadouah Bakhadda
Arab World Regional Director
The place names and boundaries in this map do not reflect any position by IPPF on their legal status.
