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Women's Health

A young journalist is using social media to highlight a hidden struggle of war for women

Women and girls are without feminine hygiene products increasing risk of infection.

Bisan Owda|Instagram/Aris Leoven|Canva

Young journalist highlights period poverty during war

Many citizens of western countries have no experience living in a war zone and the toll it takes on a person's overall wellbeing. Usually to protect the civilian population, other countries open their borders to allow those vulnerable inside so their needs can be met without the constant threat of harm. But not every population has the option to leave their war torn country for safety with the comfort of knowing they'll be able to return when it's safe.

For some people, they have to stay where they are and make do with what's available. This means dealing with situations that people who are donating to assist innocent civilians may not realize things that are needed outside of food, water and baby formula.

Bisan Owda, 25, is a journalist in Gaza who has made it her mission to strip the shame away from an issue unique to women trapped in the middle of a war.

In a now expired Instagram story, Owda explained that when the war between Israel and Hamas started, women took birth control pills to delay their menstrual cycles. The hope was to avoid their periods until the war was over as it would be an inconvenience while displaced from their homes. Except, this conflict has lasted longer than most anticipated, which means women and girls have found themself in an unsanitary predicament unique to them.

"The population of Gaza strip is 2.2 million people, 49 percent of them are women and women in Gaza do not have access to hygiene water, to personal hygiene supplies, to menstrual supplies, to sanitary pads," Owda says in a video uploaded to Instagram in early December. "They don't have access to all these things and women now are simply exposed to psychological and physical health risks because there's no products to use during their periods. Women are shy to tell you this but they don't have to be shy actually."

This is a reality that many people don't think about, including the organizations sending aid to the area as Owda points out in her video, it seems to be missing from the few aid trucks that are allowed into Gaza. The conditions are overcrowded and there are very few functioning bathrooms that these women have access to. But it's not just the women who are experiencing their monthly menstrual cycles that are suffering, it's women who have just given birth as well.

Postpartum women are instructed to keep good hygiene by changing their sanitary pad 4 or more times a day, using a squirt bottle after using the bathroom, and soak in a bath to aid with wound cleaning. Women who have just given birth are at a much higher risk for infection of their uterus if they contract common vaginal infections that can be the result of a lack of sanitary items.

"We're suffering from being hungry, from being thirsty, from being bombed. We're suffering from being displaced. Now we are suffering also because there are no pads. It's just a new suffering," Owda said.

When Owda interviewed Nour, a young woman living in Gaza about the lack of menstrual products, Nour explains, "many young women are grappling with this challenge, resorting to alternatives such as tissues or scraps of cloth, all of which are unhygienic. The cloth requires regular washing, cleaning and changing."

A local doctor reveals to Owda, "each day we encounter numerous instances of fever, directly linked to vaginal yeast infections arising from inadequate hygiene and the absence of feminine hygiene products. Sanitary pads can't be found anywhere."

The situation is dire and medical doctors in the region are expressing the danger that comes with lack of access to this critical sanitary supply.

"It's extremely dangerous because we're talking about hygiene. When a woman is in good health, maintains cleanliness, and has access to fundamental necessities, it significantly contributes to the baby's well-being. Cleanliness is crucial for ensuring the health of both mother and baby. The lack of feminine hygiene products is not only a matter of health but also brings about a sense of humiliation," another doctor explains to Owda.

After sharing about the struggles women are facing in Gaza, Egyptian Cure Bank, a hospital in Egypt has begun accepting donations to send medical supplies to Gaza, which include feminine hygiene products. Even though people are in imminent danger, they're still people so women will continue to need sanitary pads and babies will continue to need diapers. Hopefully more shipments of these imperative supplies will make it to the people that need it most because all people that have periods deserve dignity while managing it.

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A restaurant owner's smooth, creamy plan to help end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Let's talk about hummus for a second.

Yes, hummus. The smooth garlicky, lemony spread and dip that's a staple of both Middle Eastern and Greek cuisine.

Mmmmmmmmm. Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images.

Whether a Sabra fan or a Tribe enthusiast or a make-your-own purist, it's hard to find someone who doesn't like the delicious creamy taste of hummus.

Hummus also has a deep cultural significance. It's been bringing people together for centuries.

A group of people sitting around a bowl of hummus is a familiar sight basically anywhere in the world. There's just something about those blended chickpeas that brings people to the table — pita bread and baby carrots in hand — ready to smile and eat.

Photo by Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images.

Kobi Tzafrir, a restaurant proprietor in Israel, knows all about the power of hummus, and he decided to put it to the ultimate test.

He's offering a 50% discount at his restaurant, the Hummus Bar, in Tel Aviv, on any meal shared between a Jew and an Arab. Why?

Here's a bit of background:

For hundreds of years, Arab Muslims and Israeli Jews have been at odds in a tense political and religious conflict. It's so complex and deeply entrenched in both cultures that explaining it would probably take all week. You can actually get a master's degree in it.

The biggest thing you need to know, though, is that this conflict isn't just a quibble. It's a cultural war that has claimed thousands of lives. In fact, recent outbursts of violence are part of what sparked Kobi Tzafrir's idea.

Kobi Tzafrir at the Hummus Bar. Photo by Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images.

He thought that if he could get people together for a meal, they might realize they're not so different.

After all, pretty much everyone likes hummus.

"If you eat a good hummus, you will feel love from the person who made it," Tzafrir said in an NPR interview. "You don't want to stab him."

Can a dip solve a historic and bloody conflict? Maybe. Maybe not.

Photo by Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images.

The idea is an experiment that has, so far, granted at least 10 pairs of people a discount during the last month. It's a small start, but for Tzafrir, the important thing is demonstrating to his country and the world that things can change.

"We hear a lot of extremists on the news, on Facebook, on TV, and it seems like everything here is very bad," Tzafrir told NPR. "But I wanted to show that everything here is not so bad. Things get out of proportion."

Tzafrir has been getting praise for the idea from people as far as Japan, and he says that business is up by at least 20%.

But does "food diplomacy" even work?

Well, that depends. Have you ever sat down for a meal with someone you disagreed with? Even if you didn't come to an agreement, you probably both shut up for a second to eat, right?

Believe it or not, even that little piece of common ground can be a key factor in changing people's minds.

Photo by Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images.

In 2011, Psychology professor David Desteno wrote about the power of common ground in The Boston Globe:

"One key factor that shapes our judgment is a surprisingly simple one: how much we see the person we’re judging as similar to us. New findings are suggesting that this similarity doesn’t have to involve anything as obvious as being part of the same group or family. It can be something as subtle as wearing similar colored shirts or wristbands. In fact, in a new experiment, my colleague Piercarlo Valdesolo and I have shown that morality can be influenced even by simply tapping your hands in time with someone else’s."

We've already seen food's ability to peacefully cross cultural barriers.

When Thailand and South Korea wanted to improve their standing with other countries around the world, they started with food. Bringing their cuisine to a wider global audience helped people around the world get to know a little bit of their culture and, in turn, improved global relationships.

And remember President Obama's Beer Summit? Or the Wichita Police Department's recent BBQ with Black Lives Matter activists? Sure, these things obviously didn't solve every race problem in America, but bringing people together peacefully is a lot better than yelling, cursing, and killing.

Police Sergeant James Crowley and Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. with President Obama and Vice President Biden in 2009. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

The Arabs and Jews who sit together at Hummus Bar will probably experience more than just a discounted meal — and that's the point.

At that table in that restaurant ... there will be peace. And there will be hummus.

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The pope announced this woman as 'World's Best Teacher.'

Her 'No to Violence' program is making an incredible difference in Palestine.

It sucks when kids don't get to be kids.

There's probably a more eloquent way to say that, but it's hard to be articulate when you're talking about kids growing up in war zones. The first 10 years of life should be about getting to know the world through play and learning and fun. Being a kid should revolve around making friends, playing in dirt, and being carefree.

But lots of kids are deprived those opportunities, and it can be detrimental. Studies have shown that exposure to violence can affect children's health, cognitive development, and sense of morality.

However, good teachers can make a huge difference for struggling kids.

There are incredible teachers making big differences all over the world, but this month, the Varkey Foundation honored one woman in particular: an incredible Palestinian teacher named Hanan Al Hroub.

Hanan at the Varkey Foundation awards ceremony. Photo via the Varkey Foundation, used with permission.

Hanan won the 2016 Global Teacher Prize, an award that recognizes one outstanding teacher each year. This award is a huge deal: Pope Francis himself made the announcement about her win, specifically thanking her for "the importance she gave to the role of play in a child's education."

After accepting the award, Hanan told the audience, "We need to help children with questioning, dialogue, thinking, and feeling to help them express themselves. We as teachers can build the values and morals of young minds to ensure a fair world, a more beautiful world, and a more free world."

In Palestine, where Hanan teaches, violence is an everyday occurrence.

Hanan witnessed violence firsthand as a child in a Palestinian refugee camp, and it forced her to grow up very quickly. Years later, her own children had to confront bloodshed too, when they were walking with Hanan's husband and someone started shooting at them. Their father was injured in the attack.

"It transformed my children's behaviors, personalities, and academics," Hanan said.

All her life, she had seen children's lives derailed by conflict and destruction. So she decided to get a degree in elementary education and use education as a tool to address — and even prevent — violence.

In her classroom, Hanan focuses on what happens when students are exposed to violence.

Often, she says, their behavior reflects their trauma. They can become hyperactive and defiant, which in turn overwhelms and frustrates their teachers.

"I have had a number of special needs children in my class since I have been a teacher, and I am still shocked to see how poorly prepared we are to tackle their needs. They are isolated in public schools," Hanan told Upworthy.

Her experience as both a teacher and a mother of children exposed to violence prompted her to create her a teaching model that put peace and compassion at the forefront, which is how she ended up in front of the pope this year.

Hanan's classrooms are shaped by a simple and profound motto: "No to Violence."

Hanan uses stories, games, and activities as conduits for complex conversations on ethical behavior and morality.

One of the first things Hanan's students learn is her mantra: No to violence. GIF from Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize/YouTube.

The core of her strategy is individualized care, encouraging healthy relationships, and respect. "I gave students personalized time, and I catered lessons to each student’s needs, treating them in a way they were not used to being treated. I also have open discussions with all my students once a month about their attitude towards each other," Hanan said over email.

"Mrs. Hanan speaks to the students' souls. Mrs. Hanan works on these children's morals," Haneyek Nazzal, one of Hanan's supervisors, said.

No to Violence encourages students to be good citizens who engage positively with the world around them.

Hanan's students help their neighbors with their olive harvests, raise flags with the Palestinian president, plant olive trees on Arbor Day, write and act in plays about World Health Day and World Environment Day, and even make visits to their village council so they can better understand how government decisions are made. This involvement in the community helps Hanan break the chains of violence — not just for the children in her classroom, but also for their families.

Hanan has also started training other teachers in her school to use No to Violence, and she wrote a book, "We Play and Learn," on her approach to learning. The best part: It works. The schools where Hanan has implemented the No to Violence program have seen a reduction in violent behavior.

I'll let Hanan explain the impact that a good teacher can have:

"Every day, our role in life as teachers gets more and more important," she says. "If the world asks what the future of our children will look like, we should ask ourselves what type of educated children we will be raising."

Kids cheering for Hanan while the ceremony was broadcasted. Photo via the Varkey Foundation, used with permission.

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A girl is hit by a car and is dying. The response she's met with is a shrug and 'not my problem.'

Can something like this can happen in broad daylight and nothing be done about it?

Let's be clear on a few things.

1. This is a dramatization. There is more to Israel and Palestine than this, but this video sheds light on the severe mobility restrictions in the West Bank that make access to health care nearly impossible for many. So by calling this out, I am in no way saying everything that is happening in the West Bank is black and white. I am merely saying that the waiting time for immediate medical attention is a factor of the conflict that needs addressing. This is a call that no matter who you are or where you live, access to health care is a crucial component of the human right to health.

2. This video is based on facts confirmed in a report by the World Health Organization. They found that approval rates for permits to enter Jerusalem to access health care differed widely among districts, and that although permits denied or delayed have decreased over the years, thousands of people are still denied their right to health care. In the West Bank, one in five patients, companions, and visitors who applied through the Palestinian Authority for Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem to access hospitals were still denied.

3. The depiction of soldiers in this video is of course not representative of all soldiers or the military. It is problematic that they paint the soldiers in this negative light, but please remember it is a dramatization and that the core of the video is the issue of access to health care, not the soldiers' attitude at the checkpoint.

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