SPEAKING at a rally in Belfast on Saturday to mark International Women’s Day, former President Mary Robinson focussed on Israel and the United States’ attacks on Iran, stating that they are “illegal and breach international law”.

She spoke about the situation of women, saying “Women and the civil society in Iran have been suffering over the years and suffering very badly, especially recently”, but stressed that this suffering did not justify an aggressive war that was causing even more misery.

That misery befell the families of at least 165 primary school girls in Minab, Iran, just 10 days ago in an air strike that it now seems was carried out by the United States.

It brings into focus once again how women and children are disproportionately impacted by war and conflict around the world: wars usually started by men.

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Modern warfare increasingly harms civilians rather than soldiers, and the burden falls especially heavily on women and children.

Beyond death and injury, armed conflict magnifies existing gender inequalities.

War and violence disrupts education, increases poverty, heightens exposure to sexual violence, and places care-giving and survival burdens primarily on women.

According to the UN, women and girls account for about 95% of victims of conflict-related sexual violence, while more than 75% of displaced people are women and children.

As we are witnessing once again in Iran, the gendered impact of war can be seen........

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