International Women’s Day: ‘Tens of thousands of pregnant women in Gaza are giving birth without medical assistance’

More than 50,000 women in Gaza are pregnant, with 180 giving birth every day in dire circumstances.

“Tens of thousands of pregnant women are having to give birth without any medical assistance…these women, they don’t even have access to proper food,” says Fikr Shalltoot, the Director of Programmes with Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

“There is no privacy, there are no blankets or mattresses… They are quite worried, how are they going to deliver? Are they going to deliver their babies in the shelter,” she says on the latest episode of the Irish Times Women’s Podcast.

Speaking to podcast presenter Róisín Ingle, on the week that International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world, Shalltoot explains how women and children in Gaza have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing conflict.

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“Most of the people were killed inside their homes… and usually who are the ones who are staying home? It’s women and the children,” she says.

The United Nations and Human Rights Watch have called the conflict a “war on women”, with an average of 63 women killed every single day. More than 25,000 women and children have died since October.

In this episode, Shalltoot also reflects on the difficulties of getting aid to those who need it most and her hopes for peace in the region.

We also hear from MayKay Geraghty, a musician and member of the Irish Artists for Palestine collective, who on March 15th will release a stunning cover of the late Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’, to raise much needed funds for the Lajee Centre in the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank.

You can listen back to this episode in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.