When wars destroy heritage, women lose more than monuments – new research |
As conflict continues in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and elsewhere, the cost is being recorded not only in deaths and displacement, but also in ruined libraries, mosques, churches, museums, archives and historic neighbourhoods.
UNESCO has verified damage to 527 cultural sites in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion; 164 sites in Gaza since October 7 2023; and damage to the World Heritage-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran following a nearby airstrike.
These losses are usually described as attacks on “history”, “civilisation” or “the past” and sometimes as a “loss for all humanity”.
But as our new research details, such destruction can also negatively affect communities’ sense of belonging and identity – and erode women’s sense of safety and security amid conflict.
Islamic State’s campaign
Islamic State’s campaign across Syria and Iraq from 2013 involved mass violence, human rights abuses and forced displacement. The Islamic State committed genocide against the Yazidi minority, including systematic killings and sexual slavery.
At the same time, Islamic State methodically targeted cultural and religious heritage, including museums, archaeological sites, churches, shrines, cemeteries, mosques and other historically significant and sacred places.
UNESCO called this “cultural cleansing”. There was an intentional strategy to destroy cultural diversity through attacks on people identified by........