Access to sanitary pads, personal hygiene supplies and emergency health care has always posed a serious and underreported problem for displaced women and girls during natural disasters, wars and conflict — an issue that displaced women and girls in Lebanon are now facing amid Israel’s war.Â
“My husband paid what he had to get us to a safe place. We are afraid of diseases and infection, especially as we are with four other families living in the same room, and diseases spread quickly,” says Nadine Itawi, who is living in a school-turned-shelter in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate (Beqaa).
Originally from the Hay Al-Saloum municipality in the Dahieh suburbs in southern Beirut — which has been the focus of some of the most ferocious Israeli bombardment — Nadine and her neighbours travelled via bus for around five hours, after Israel warned the residents to evacuate.
When they arrived at the shelter, they received a food package and cleaning supplies for the bathroom and floor, but no sanitary pads, shower gel or shampoo — nor medication for lice.
She said to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister edition, that her family can’t afford sanitary pads and other essentials. To make matters worse, she says, “We are only allowed to shower once a week. We place the water in the sun in the school playground, so our children don’t shower with cold water.”
She adds that one of the school toilets is out of order, and there are only two toilets for women, and one for men, “bearing in mind there are over 500 displaced people at the school.”
Complicating existing hardships
The current circumstances have exacerbated the existing hardships of several Lebanese women, including Nada Elmasry, a displaced woman from Hay Al-Saloum and a breast cancer patient.
“There are very few toilets and they get dirty fast because there are so many displaced people. I barely get a turn to use them, or even to brush my teeth,” she says.
“There’s rubbish everywhere — and I have to avoid germs — but I can’t keep myself clean and healthy. Only the painkillers I was given help a little.”
Nada adds that chemotherapy stopped her periods, but she asked for sanitary pads “to use daily because they reduce germs, as we can’t shower — though some see them as a luxury.”
However, when someone did take the initiative to provide them, Nada explained, “the women started fighting over them.”
Nada, whose home has been destroyed, says she and her sister spent two nights on the streets, and two nights in the emergency department of a hospital in Baabda (Mount Lebanon), before they ended up in a nightclub in Beirut which opened its doors to the displaced.
“But we feel humiliated and ashamed even asking for food, so how can we ask for sanitary pads again? We’re living in the worst and most miserable conditions we have ever experienced,” she says.
Fatima, who is also displaced, from the Dahieh suburbs in Beirut, is currently sheltering in Dekwaneh Public School in Mount Lebanon. She reports a severe shortage of water, lice infestations, and problems with the sewage system.
She says that those running the shelter “gave us sanitary pads, laundry detergent, and cleaning supplies. But what’s the point when we don’t have enough water?”
She also highlights that the women need regular medical check-ups, “especially the elderly, those suffering chronic diseases, and those in wheelchairs, who need special care.”
Farah Khreis, who is currently sheltering with her three children in the al-Amiliyah School in Ras al-Nabaa in Beirut said she was given sanitary pads, but developed a urinary tract infection which she believes is because the bathrooms were so dirty.
“I got an infection which caused severe inflammation and burning in the urine. The doctor asked me to do a urine analysis and culture, but there isn’t a laboratory nearby and I don’t know how much these tests cost. We are displaced people who fled death, bombing and destruction without taking anything with us.”
The mother-of-three confirms “she has no choice but to put up with the pain and keep taking the anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by the volunteer doctor” who came to see the displaced the al-Amiliyah School in Ras al-Nabaa in Beirut.
Filling in the gap
The current reality of these women has led many to criticise the failure of the national emergency response to provide and distribute adequate aid to the displaced.
To fill this gap, civil society organisations and individual initiatives have, in many cases, stepped in to address the emergency needs of women and girls.
Unlike previous crises and hardships Lebanon has experienced, it seems that this time, long-term and ongoing awareness campaigns led by women’s associations in Lebanon have improved the situation to some extent.
For instance, in some shelters, items like sanitary pads, underwear, and other personal hygiene products have been provided as part of the in-kind assistance.
However, women in other shelters, like Nadine, or those who have been forced to sleep on the streets, are still not receiving this support.
Further interventions needed
According to activist Stephanie Bou Chalha, from the Capacity Building and Research Unit at Abaad (a Lebanese women’s rights organisation), there has been a significant increase in awareness of women’s needs since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon.Â
During this period, Stephanie acknowledged that official bodies and civil society organisations had begun addressing additional needs of women and girls, especially menstrual supplies and personal hygiene items.
“As an organisation, we distributed sanitary pads, underwear, toothpaste, towels, and other basic personal hygiene items for displaced women. These needs only become even more vital amid the logistical difficulties and unhealthy conditions and infrastructure in the shelters.”
She regretfully admitted, however, that “some shelters haven’t taken into account the gender dimension, and female privacy when it comes to the layout and distribution of rooms and bathrooms.”
She said Abaad had observed “violations of the privacy of breastfeeding or veiled women, and it has become clear that some women’s toilets are situated very close to the men’s, and don’t contain showering facilities.”
Given these issues, Stephanie stresses the importance of raising awareness about personal hygiene, “especially in light of these difficult circumstances, as the lack of hygiene products and ways to keep clean while women are on their periods could lead to women and girls getting fungal infections and diseases. It’s a sensitive and delicate issue — sanitary pads need to be changed every few hours and [people need] to keep clean and shower.”
She further adds that Abaad is monitoring the needs of women in a number of shelters in Beirut, Jbeil, Keserwan and in the north, and has begun delivering hygiene products.
“Likewise it is addressing the need to provide support and services to the displaced on the streets, and here there are major difficulties because the numbers are increasing constantly.”
This is an edited and abridged translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click here.
Translated by Rose Chacko Â
This article is taken from our Arabic sister publication, Al-Araby Al Jadeed and mirrors the source’s original editorial guidelines and reporting policies. Any requests for correction or comment will be forwarded to the original authors and editors
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