Reports of violence against women in Gaza surge, UN agency finds

Reports of violence against women in Gaza have surged, according to a study released by the UNFPA. Prior to the conflict, girls in Gaza outnumbered and outperformed boys at every level of education above primary school. Since then, prolonged school closures have forced many children to leave education altogether. Boys face pressure to seek informal work to help support their families, while girls confront heightened safety concerns. Living among strangers without privacy in a socially conservative environment, residents report increased incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Many families view early marriage as a means to protect daughters and preserve modesty. The UNFPA study, based on research conducted in late 2025 and early 2026, highlights that girls orphaned during the war are especially vulnerable. One woman interviewed in a Gaza City camp recounted attending the wedding of two relatives from her family, both aged 14 and 15. She said, “Their uncles joined them off quite young. Do you know why? Because their father and mother were martyred, and their uncles wanted to get rid of the work and expenses.” She added, “By God, they don't know what marriage or life is.” The Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza, a Palestinian NGO that partners with UNFPA, together with other activist groups, has documented numerous cases of married girls who suffer abuse and often become pregnant. The organization notes that adolescents in their early teens are far more likely to experience miscarriages and give birth to underweight infants than adult women. Owomuhangi explained, “We see teen pregnancies going through the extortion because of child marriage.” She continued, “A child who is at an age when the body is not fully developed to sustain another body, who is hungry, in unhygienic circumstances, who doesn't know how to take care of the infant, who doesn't even know how to take care of herself, the consequences of that pregnancy are always really, truly bad.” The UN and most humanitarian agencies define marriage involving girls under 18 as child marriage. Even before the war, such unions were more prevalent among Palestinians in Hamas‑ruled Gaza than in the occupied West Bank, though the trend had been declining. Gazan law permits exceptions to the minimum marriage age of 17 when parents provide consent and a judge authorizes the union. Court officials may approve marriages for individuals as young as 14 years and 7 months. A local Sharia expert observed that “legal safeguards” had been removed after Islamic courts, which handle family matters for Muslims, were shut down for much of the conflict.