A note from Zarina Ahmad, Co-director, Wen
As feminists, we know that justice is never single-issue. Our struggles for gender, racial, and environmental justice are deeply interconnected, shaped by histories of oppression and the urgent realities of today. This month, we focus to Palestine, a place where the intersections of gender, health, race, and environment are not abstract, but lived daily, under occupation and now, genocide.
Why Palestine Matters to Wen
Wen’s mission is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves to live in a world where their health, dignity, and environment are protected. Yet, for millions of Palestinians, these basic rights are systematically denied. The ongoing violence, displacement, and environmental destruction in Palestine are not only humanitarian crises – they are feminist issues. We must name what is happening: the systematic targeting of civilians, the destruction of homes, hospitals, and vital infrastructure, and the deliberate deprivation of food and water constitute genocide.
Women and girls in Palestine face the compounded impacts of military occupation: loss of homes, restricted access to healthcare, water scarcity, and the trauma of conflict. Environmental devastation, destroyed olive groves, polluted water, razed farmland, deepens poverty and erodes community resilience. These are not accidental byproducts, but deliberate strategies of control and dispossession.
Last year, I spoke with Nour, a young Palestinian woman from Gaza, whose story has stayed with me. Nour’s family had tended the same olive grove for generations – a living link to their history and identity. She described how, during the bombardment, her family’s land was razed, the ancient trees uprooted by bulldozers. “The olives were our pride,” she told me. “They fed us, paid for our schoolbooks, and reminded us that we belonged to this land, no matter what.” Now, Nour’s family is displaced, their home and livelihood destroyed. Yet, she continues to organise, supporting other women in her community, planting hope even in the rubble.
Nour’s story is not unique. Across Palestine, women are holding families and communities together in the face of unimaginable loss. Their resilience is not just survival – —it is resistance.
The Health Impact of Occupation
Palestinian women are at the forefront of resistance and survival. They hold families together, lead community organising, and fight for justice in the face of unimaginable adversity. Yet they are silenced and eradicated in mainstream narratives. As feminists, we must centre their experiences and leadership, recognising that their liberation is bound up with our own.
The occupation’s impact on health is stark: maternal mortality rises when hospitals are bombed or blockaded; mental health suffers under constant threat; access to menstrual products and reproductive care is disrupted. These are feminist issues, demanding our solidarity and action.
The Gendered Impact of Genocide
Palestinian women face the compounded impacts of military occupation and genocide: loss of homes, restricted access to healthcare, water scarcity, and the trauma of relentless violence. Environmental devastation – destroyed olive groves, polluted water, razed farmland – deepens poverty and erodes community resilience. These are not accidental byproducts, but deliberate strategies of control and erasure.
Environmental Justice is Gender Justice
Environmental destruction in Palestine is not gender-neutral. Women, as primary caregivers and stewards of land and water, bear the brunt of ecological harm. The bulldozing of orchards, contamination of water sources, and denial of access to farmland are acts of environmental violence that deepen gendered inequalities.
Wen’s work has always recognised that environmental justice cannot be separated from struggles against racism, colonialism, and patriarchy. Palestine is a frontline in this global fight.
Solidarity Means Action
Solidarity is not a slogan – it is a practice. Wen stands with the people of Palestine, and with all those resisting oppression and environmental injustice. We call for an immediate end to the genocide, for the protection of civilians, and for the right of all people to live in safety and dignity.
But solidarity also means looking inward. We must challenge the ways in which our own institutions, governments, and supply chains are complicit in injustice. We must amplify Palestinian voices, support boycott and divestment campaigns, and demand accountability from those in power.
A Feminist Future for All
Our vision is a world where no one’s liberation comes at the expense of another’s. Where gender, health, race, and environment are not battlegrounds, but foundations for flourishing lives. The struggle for Palestine is part of this vision, a reminder that justice is indivisible, and that our movements are strongest when we stand together.
Let us refuse silence. Let us act with compassion and urgency. Let us build a future rooted in justice, for Palestine and for us all.
Zarina Ahmad, Co-director, Wen
Zarina is an expert in equalities and climate change, increasing participation of under-represented groups in environmentalism. She was named as one of the top 30 influential women contributing to the environment and sustainability by BBC Woman’s Hour.
