Women and girls getting their periods in Gaza face humiliating conditions and infections, forced to use diapers or scraps of cloth after more than two months of fighting, AFP reports.

“I cut up my kid’s clothes or any piece of cloth I find, and I use them like sanitary towels for my period,” said 25-year-old Hala Ataya in the southern city of Rafah where many have fled.

Forced to leave her home in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, she came with her three children to a United Nations-run school, sharing a toilet and shower with hundreds of others.

The stench is nauseating in the toilet, which is filled with flies. The streets of Rafah, adjacent to the Egyptian border, have been transformed into open-air latrines.

“We’ve gone back to the Stone Age. There’s no security, no food, no water, no hygiene. I’m ashamed, I feel humiliated,” said Samar Shalhoub, 18, who was displaced from Gaza City.

Read more here.

Opinion

Editorial

Shifting climate tone
Updated 08 May, 2026

Shifting climate tone

Our financial system is geared towards short-term, risk-averse lending, while climate adaptation and green infrastructure require patient, long-term capital.
Honour and impunity
08 May, 2026

Honour and impunity

THE Sindh Assembly’s discussion on karo-kari this week reminds us of the enduring nature of ‘honour’ killings...
No real change
08 May, 2026

No real change

THE Indian sports ministry’s move to allow Pakistani players and teams to participate in multilateral events ...
A breakthrough?
07 May, 2026

A breakthrough?

The whole world would welcome an end to this pointless war.
Missed opportunity
07 May, 2026

Missed opportunity

A BIG opportunity to industrialise Pakistan has just passed us by. This has been reconfirmed by the investment...
Punishing dissent
07 May, 2026

Punishing dissent

THE Sindh government’s treatment of the Aurat March this week was a disgraceful assault on democratic rights. What...