When conflict destroys services, who fills the gaps in care? We need to make sure it’s not always women

Hadeel QazzazConflict, Gender, Humanitarian

In Gaza and Lebanon, thousands of women are now first responders when it to comes to feeding, caring and comforting, all while dealing with their own trauma from deaths, injury, starvation and displacement. Yet too often the way humanitarian agencies operate actually adds to their workload, says Hadeel Rizq-Qazzaz.

Let’s put a new deal for care at the heart of Lebanon’s recovery plan

Marwan IssaFragile contexts, Gender, Women's Economic Empowerment

Women are paying the price as the nation’s deep, economic crisis drives a surge in care work, says Marwan Issa

The men are gone – but the patriarchy remains: the struggles of women left behind in Syria’s ‘no-man land’

Dania KarehFragile contexts, Gender, Women's Economic Empowerment

Years of conflict have led to thousands of men dying or being pushed away. Now, says Dania Kareh, the women who remain face a huge challenge as stubborn social, economic and educational barriers frustrate their efforts to build decent lives for their families.

Four ways women can help to end the Middle East’s water crisis

Sally Abi KhalilGender, Water, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

We know women have to be at the heart of designing and delivering the response to the region’s water problems, says Oxfam MENA’s Sally Abi Khalil. She sets out four principles for a fresh, feminist approach to managing water.

Faced with impossible healthcare costs, unsafe housing and rampant discrimination, Lebanon’s LGBTQIA+ people are in survival mode

May AchourHealth, Research, Rights

The price of a single therapy session is now half the monthly minimum wage and most LGBTQIA+ people face violence where they live. In the first in a series of blogs to mark Pride month, May Achour introduces two new Oxfam policy briefs on the state of healthcare and housing

Using technology to enhance youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa

Ahmed ElassalYouth employment, Youth Participation

Challenges in context According to an Oxfam report, half a billion people could be pushed into poverty by COVID-19. The International Labour Organisation (ILO), warned that the crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7%  of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020. The situation has directly hit the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Export, travel, transportation …

A model law to tackle violence against women

Farah KobaissyGender, Violence Against Women and Girls

In December Oxfam’s partner in Lebanon, KAFA, launched a ‘Regional Model Law on Violence against Women and Girls in the Arab Countries.’ Here Farah Kobaissy reflects on this historic step for women’s rights in the region. Our region is characterized by gender inequality. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is largely seen as a private issue – to be dealt …