SILENT ECHOES: UNVEILING THE UNTOLD STRUGGLES OF WOMEN

       SILENT ECHOES: UNVEILING THE UNTOLD STRUGGLES OF WOMEN

BY HARINI T R

“Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights”

-Hilary Clinton

In the shadows of war, the headlines of news are often dominated with the clashes between the armed forces leaving away few untold stories, these stories lie low and left unnoticed. The unheard voices of women and their struggles during conflicts are harsh and must be brought out to light. In fact women are being used as a weapon for war. The war torn regions of Ukraine, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan and other conflict prone zones have the highest number of Human rights violations, especially violations of rights of women and Children. Are these violations put to light? Or Is there any Judicial avenue where justice can be sought? These questions are often left unanswered. Even the developed nations and developing nations are suppressing women’s rights. They’re being abused physically which includes sexual violence, rape, lack of access to resources, forced displacement, hostage situation, no access or limited access to healthcare and other basic needs. They not just undergo physical torture, but they’re being abused mentally, which leads to serious mental health issues and traumas post war. They’re also denied education and other basic rights post war. History has always proven that women are the most affected in the war. When Nazis invaded Soviet Union, several women were raped and tortured. Rape has become a crucial weapon to achieve certain military goals. During world war II, the Japanese army established ‘comfort stations’, where women were used as sex slaves and they were called ‘comfort women’. These women were taken along with the men and were continuously raped and tortured. 

As we unfold the untold stories of women in conflict prone zones, their rights are not just denied in a war prone area or an underdeveloped region, their rights are even denied in developed nations, which makes violation of women’s rights a global phenomenon, transcending borders. It is essential to throw light on these issues and bring them to the global stage. 

In the Palestine war, almost 70% of women lost their lives, nearly 1 million women were displaced. Women were also taken as hostages by Hamas. The basic water supply has been cutted off by the Israeli forces, which is a war crime as it is a collective punishment. Pregnant women are also not being given proper care due to the lack of fuel in maternity hospitals. As per the data of UN women, 2 mothers are killed every hour in Gaza. The escalating violence in South Sudan has made South Sudan a perilous ground for women. According to the UN commissions report, most of the women in South Sudan are bearing children as a result of rape and survivors have also contracted Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). As we mark two years of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that women are the most affected here. But, their resilience and contribution for their nation is remarkable. More than 62,000 women are currently serving in the military, in which over 5000 women are in the frontline (UN Women). It is equally important to broaden our scope on developed nations also, where their basic rights have been taken away. In a study conducted by the human rights watch on Japan’s prisons, most of the women are separated from their babies without a proper explanation. According to the act on Penal detention facilities, women can legally request to be with their babies under a year in Japan. Iran’s morality police and the case of Mahsa Amini is also another example of violation of women’s rights. In Afghanistan, the Talibans denied the basic right of education, freedom of movement. Some countries still don’t allow abortions. This shows that women’s rights are not only violated in war torn areas but also in peaceful democracies. The rise of International law has brought all these violations into the global stage, and various laws have been brought to protect and provide the basic rights enlisted in the UDHR. In fact, rape has been declared as a war crime. Several laws have been brought and also included in the constitutions to ensure and protect the rights of women.