The bombing of Iran and the region by Israel and the United States is orchestrated by men who worship militarised masculinities and whose world views are founded on dominance, control, and aggression. These actions only serve their own power, and sustain systems of militarisation, imperialism and patriarchy under which women, girls, and marginalised communities disproportionality suffer.
As the military assault against Iran by the US and Isreal intensifies on multiple fronts across the region, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are using the same settler-colonial playbooks used in Gaza and further expanding it across the region. Under the pretext of “defending human rights”, Israel and the US are bombing densely populated areas and forcing entire communities to flee as a part of its strategy of colonial expansion and regional dominance.
In Iran, mandatory veiling laws, criminalisation of abortion, restrictions on contraception, and the violent suppression of feminist activists is now being met with aerial bombardment. Women, girls, and marginalised communities are at the centre of a war between supremacists, where the dropping of bombs is the so-called precursor to peace and stability that takes the form of bombed clinics, decimated health systems, and burning oil infrastructure , which is blanketing Tehran in a toxic smoke that has lasting risks to maternal and reproductive health.
In Lebanon, the destruction of infrastructure, road closures, and the constant threat of airstrikes are severely disrupting clinic activities and community health services. Many of those displaced are women and LGBTQI+ individuals who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or caring for newborns and young children, with nowhere safe to go. Overcrowded shelters often lack adequate sanitation, privacy, and basic supplies, undermining individuals' safety and mobility while heightening the risk of harassment, exploitation, and gender-based violence.
All the while, the genocide in Gaza continues. Border crossings have been closed, movement in the West Bank has been shut down, and illegal settler and police violence continues whilst our attention is pulled to the multitude of crises at the hands of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.
The same ideological machismo that attacks bodily autonomy also glorifies war and destruction.
The international community’s failure to stop the genocide in Gaza or enforce international humanitarian law, alongside the protection Israel receives from powerful allies, has emboldened this violence and enabled its expansion across the region and globally.
The bombing and international interventions in Venezuela, Iran, Kurdistan-Iraq, Palestine, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and Syria, and now Lebanon, evidence how military power is being abused with no limits by the US. This use of force, bolstered by equally aggressive or compliant allies, is the new normal for the so called ‘President of Peace’.
These are the same actors that are rolling back sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ), and are simultaneously driving anti-LGBTQI+, and anti-migrant efforts in their own countries, while using the language of freedom to bomb others. This is matched by the scaffolding of white supremacy and a brand of masculinity that celebrates war and legitimises ultra conservative, traditionalist and illiberal leaders and authoritarian actors to leverage their foreign influence to weaken democratic norms and undermine regional security. All the while we draw on the language of a world order that is interpreted through a US and Global North centric lens, built by powerful states for powerful states on the coattails of patriarchy and colonialism.
"The world we live in is designed by and for cisgender, straight men—a direct legacy of patriarchy. This same system creates and launches wars. Pregnant people, children, the elderly, and those living with disabilities or chronic illnesses are particularly vulnerable in these situations.
Since caregiving is often an unpaid, unrecognized, and gendered task, women frequently bear the responsibility of caring for children and the elderly, often at the expense of their own health and needs. Furthermore, the mental health impact of war on women, girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other marginalized communities remains an often overlooked issue." – Soudeh Rade, Executive Director, Spectrum
Bodily autonomy is not a separate issue – it is rooted in economics, and culture, and deeply connected to sovereignty, peace and justice. Our fight for bodily autonomy is also our fight against militarism, imperialism, and the patriarchal systems that entrench and sustain inequality. For bodily autonomy to be fully exercised, we must dismantle the pervasive systems and structures that restricts our rights.
“Our fight for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice is inseparable from the global struggle for justice and liberation. IPPF will always stand in solidarity with women, LGBTQI+ people, healthcare providers, and human rights defenders across the region and globally. We reject the instrumentalization of human rights as a justification for war and are steadfast and unmovable in our commitment to supporting communities who fiercely defend dignity, equality, justice, and peace.” – Maria Antonieta Alcalde, IPPF Director General
IPPF demands the following five actions from the U.S. and Israel:
- An immediate end to military escalation and attacks on civilians.
- Restored internet access and unhindered delivery of humanitarian and medical aid, including sexual and reproductive health services.
- Cessation of attacks on oil refineries.
- Protection of healthcare workers and facilities under international law.
- And an end to state repression and the release of political prisoners.
Our fight for bodily autonomy, freedom and safety, is our fight against militarism and imperialism in all its forms. However the anti-rights architects attack, IPPF will be there pushing for a world that diminishes military might and machismo power structures, and defends and upholds freedom, justice, equality, and care for all.
when
country
Iran
region
Arab World
