War is becoming a death sentence for women and girls

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Thirteen-year-old Mona still remembers the moment the second airstrike hit.

“We were sitting on the sixth floor when they struck the seventh – my uncle’s apartment,” she said. “My uncle’s wife was screaming, ‘My children! My children are gone!’ As I rushed to help her, they fired the second shell. That’s when my mother and my siblings were killed.”

Mona survived the attack in Gaza, but her mother, sister and brother did not. The airstrike destroyed her family home and left her with life-changing injuries, including an amputated leg. 

Her story reflects a growing reality for millions of women and girls trapped in today’s wars.

As the UN marks Protection of Civilians Week, the number of active conflicts across the world at its highest since 1946. Conflicts are becoming longer, more violent and increasingly fought in populated neighbourhoods rather than distant battlefields. 

Homes, schools, hospitals and shelters are being destroyed, while civilians bear the burden of the violence. 

Women as victims

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While bombs do not distinguish between men and women, the consequences of war often fall disproportionately on women and girls.

The UN reported that 37,000 civilians were killed across 20 armed conflicts in 2025, with nearly one in five victims being women. 

Women and girls are more likely to be displaced, pushed out of school or work, cut off from healthcare and exposed to sexual violence, hunger and extreme poverty.

As communities collapse around them, many are left caring for children, elderly relatives and the injured while trying to survive themselves. 

In Gaza, 38,000 women and girls had been killed in the war by December 2025, even as ceasefire efforts continued. Residential buildings accounted for more than 95 per cent of recorded infrastructure damage. 

Surge of sexual violence

The UN verified more than 9,300 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, more than double the number recorded the previous year, though officials warn the true number is likely far higher because many survivors never report the abuse. Women and girls account for more than 95 per cent of reported cases. 

In Sudan, now in its fourth year of war, the number of women and girls needing support after gender-based violence has nearly doubled in two years and quadrupled since the conflict began. 

Women are being attacked in their homes and while searching for food, water and medical care. 

Conflict is also driving mass displacement. By the end of 2024, more than 123 million people had been forcibly displaced worldwide because of war, violence and persecution. 

Women and girls fleeing conflict often face overcrowded shelters, separation from family members, exploitation and repeated displacement. 

Healthcare systems collapsing

In Gaza, the UN reported that 94 per cent of hospitals had been damaged or destroyed by December 2025, leaving women to give birth without adequate medical care and injured civilians struggling to access treatment. 

Nearly 700,000 women and girls were unable to properly manage menstruation due to shortages of sanitary supplies and unsafe living conditions. 

The psychological toll is also immense. Women in countries including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon are facing widespread depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, often with little access to mental health services. 

Call for inclusion

Despite carrying much of the burden of survival during war, women remain largely excluded from peace negotiations and political decision-making. 

Globally, women make up only seven per cent of negotiators and 14 per cent of mediators in formal peace processes. 

Yet women continue to lead survival and recovery efforts in conflict zones by running community kitchens, supporting displaced families, rebuilding livelihoods and advocating for peace.

The UN warns that without greater protection, funding and inclusion for women and girls, modern warfare will continue to deepen inequality and devastate generations already struggling to survive.