Women’s rights leaders must break their silence

The stories of the crimes perpetrated against women in southern Israel on October 7–savage murder, rape and humiliation by Hamas in Israel more than one month ago is slowly being brought to light in the world’s mainstream media. But the silence by UN Women and other international women’s rights groups is deafening.

There is evidence and eyewitness accounts that children and elderly women were sexually violated. Victims had broken pelvises, mutilated genitals and were gang raped. Women and girls were violently and sadistically killed with their underwear torn off, faced down with their heads blown off. Hamas terrorists admitted to necrophilia–to dirty and dishonor the victims. Barred by Islam to do so, they did it anyway.

Similar sex crimes against the women and girl hostages held in Gaza may still be happening.

The victims of the October 7 massacre were women of many nationalities and religions. UN Women, the official United Nations organization that, in their words, “Delivers programs, policies and standards that uphold women’s human rights and ensure that every woman and girl lives up to her full potential,” has not uttered a word and pointedly turned its back on them all, the majority of whom were Jewish-Israeli women.

Does the moral, feminist ethical code of the UN disappear when it comes to Jewish or Israeli women? Does the UN need to like a woman’s government in order to support her right not to be raped for political reasons? Is institutional antisemitism raising its ugly head at the UN once again?

Does UN Women and so many other international women’s organizations really need to tip-toe about Hamas, the organization that gleefully, boastfully and passionately slaughters civilians, uses them as human shields and doesn’t seem to mind if its own women and children are killed in wartime but expects and counts on it? Do the leaders of these organizations really believe that these men should rule anyone on earth, let alone women?

UN Women and numerous other prominent women’s groups have issued statements decrying the sad fate of Palestinian women and girls in Gaza. They most definitely do deserve better lives but that will only happen with leadership that prioritizes their well-being.

Leaders of women’s groups must break the silence around the gender-based crimes that its sisters in Israel endured and may still be taking place today in Gaza. If they do not, these groups have strangely legitimized violence against women, delegitimized their leadership and activist role and made the world a much less safe place for women everywhere.

UN Women and its allies will be responsible for the new paradigm that will exist between them and Jewish women everywhere. If these groups do not quickly, publicly, and unequivocally denounce the torture, rape, and murder of women and children in Israel we will become divided for decades to come.