Whether through sanctions, blockade or war, policies presented as matters of security and strategy often impose predictable and disproportionate harm on women’s health, particularly reproductive and maternal care.

Policies of pressure and control from Iran to Gaza quietly transform women’s health into collateral damage.

A delayed shipment of medication does not make headlines.

A generator failing in a maternity ward is not breaking news.

A woman rationing insulin or postponing prenatal care is not framed as political violence.

And yet, from Iran to Gaza, these are the quiet consequences of policies described in distant capitals as “pressure,” “security,” and “strategy.”

The Women, Life, Freedom movement born out of Iran has captured global attention. Women in Iran are disproportionately affected by the intensity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with stricter restrictions on their dress, behaviour, and livelihoods. The Iran sanctions regime, beginning in 1979 following the US Embassy crisis, refers to the network of international economic, trade, and financial restrictions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Part of these sanctions include limitations surrounding medicine and medical devices. In sanctions like those imposed on Iran, governments often default to a ‘humanitarian exemption.’ Medical supplies can still be sold to Iran. Food and basic goods are allowed. The policy is framed as not harming ordinary people. So,........

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