UN Women Flags Risks to Women & Girls Amidst Middle East Crisis

The ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran is drawing greater humanitarian concerns from across the globe. Massive military attacks, counterstrikes and wider regional conflict are turning the Middle East into a volatile war zone negatively impacting civilians. In the face of increasing violence, UN Women has expressed strong concern about the intensifying conflict and its effects on vulnerable communities. 

The global peacekeeping body’s women-focused arm pointed out that the ongoing conflict is endangering civilians, particularly women and girls. With more military actions, essential services will be disrupted, there will be displacement and gender-based violence will become even more likely in already vulnerable communities.  

UN Women has supported the call made by the United Nations Secretary-General for immediate de-escalation of the situation and has also appealed to all the parties to respect international laws and ensure the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure.  

Now that the war has spread to many different locations and the number of deaths is increasing, the warning given by the agency shows the escalating human suffering caused by the conflict that is no longer just a matter of military targets. 

Escalating Conflict Across the Middle East 

The latest wave of violence began on February 28 after the United States and Israel made a joint move on Iran, focusing the strikes on missile facilities, military installations and main authorities in Tehran and other locations in the country. The operation resulted in the demise of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as a number of top-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Right after Khamenei passed away, the Assembly of Experts of Iran chose his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, to be the nation's new supreme leader. While the leadership change was taking place, Iran was engaged in launching major revenge operations all over the region. Missile and drone attacks were launched against military and governmental sites in Israel and also against countries where US military bases are located, such as Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. 

The dispute has also expanded beyond these immediate participants. Lebanon was turned into another major war zone when the Iran-supported terrorist group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in response to the killing of Khamenei. Israel reacted with air raids on Beirut and southern Lebanon, as well as targeting Hezbollah command centers and ammunition depots. 

The death toll in the war continues to rise. Reports claim that over 3000 people have died in Iran, including both armed forces members and civilians. Several hundred children are among the dead. One of the most spoken-about events was a hit near a girls' school which is located near an IRGC base and according to Iran, resulted in the deaths of approximately 110 children. The US has declared that it is looking into the matter. 

Besides Iran and Israel, assaults are said to have been carried out in different Gulf states and areas of Iraq in different phases. Targets such as energy facilities, sea lanes and civilian locations have been hit which have increased worries that the war might lead to the destabilization of the whole region. 

Decades of Tensions Leading to the Crisis 

The current war stems from deep-seated geopolitical discord between Iran, Israel and the United States. Iran's nuclear program, originally established in 1957, has remained a focal point of global unease for a long time. The unveiling in 2002 of nuclear sites unknown to the world before raised concerns worldwide and prompted diplomatic moves to stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons. 

All these dialogues led to the signature of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that saw Iran agreeing to a major reduction of its stockpile of enriched uranium and restriction of its nuclear operations in return for lifting of sanctions. But, the agreement was still a subject of contention, especially in Israel and the United States. 

Following the US departure from the agreement and re-imposition of sanctions, the friction between Washington and Tehran mounted. Iran incrementally increased nuclear activities beyond what was agreed upon in the deal, and at the same time Israel kept cautioning that Iran's nuclear program was a threat to its very existence. 

The discord between the two was compounded by regional wars. Iran has for a long time been supplying armed groups in the Middle East not only Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also the militias in Iraq, Syria as well as Yemen. Such relationships have been behind the proxy wars as well as the sectarian divisions that have become more pronounced. 

The confrontation reached a peak following the outbreak of war between Israel and the Hamas force that is Iran's main partner in funding and arming the guerrilla group. Iran's allies increased their attacks against Israeli and US interests, and this led to several retaliatory strikes. In 2024, things had changed, and instead of proxy warfare, Israel and Iran used their military against each other, and that is when the drama started. 

UN Women Calls for De-Escalation and Civilian Protection 

UN Women has highlighted the necessity of taking measures to safeguard innocent people and stopping the worsening of the humanitarian situation in the Middle East as war is spreading. They are cautioning that big military operations generally have a disproportionately negative impact on women and girls; this is especially true in conflict areas where the breakdown of social services and security systems occurs. 

The intensifying fighting results in the deterioration of health, education and humanitarian support systems and that, therefore, it will be very difficult for the disadvantaged communities to get the basic services. The women and girls who are in these circumstances will be exposed to the risks of displacement, exploitation and sexual violence more than others. 

UN Women has also highlighted that women's organizations and local responders, who are usually the first ones to give aid during crises, are being pushed to their limits as the conflict keeps on getting worse. Besides, infrastructure damage and insecurity make it harder for these groups to carry out their work effectively in the impacted areas. 

In its press release, the organization emphasized again that women and girls worldwide are entitled to live in safety and peace without fear of violence and discrimination. It urged all parties to the conflict to respect the laws of war and take urgent steps to de-escalate the conflict. 

As the conflict continues to spread to different countries with economic implications on the global scene, the future of the war remains unpredictable. However, the call by UN Women points to the reality that, despite the geopolitical nature of the war, the human factor, especially for women and girls, continues to grow.