The horrific sexual violence committed by Hamas against Israeli women during the October 7 attacks has sparked intense debate about selective outrage in feminist advocacy. Multiple investigations, including a June 2024 UN report , confirmed systematic sexual violence by Hamas fighters, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, and the desecration of corpses. Eyewitness accounts, medical reports, and survivor testimonies describe women shot in sexual organs, nails embedded in genitalia, and hostages sexually abused in Gaza captivity . Despite this evidence, many feminist organizations and global institutions like UN Women faced criticism for delayed or muted responses .
### Key Factors Behind the Silence
The Israel-Hamas conflict’s polarizing nature has led some groups to view condemnation of Hamas as tacit support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza. This false binary—where acknowledging Hamas’ crimes is conflated with endorsing Israeli policies—has silenced advocates who fear backlash from anti-occupation movements . For example, reproductive rights groups like ARC-Southeast issued statements linking “Palestinian liberation” to reproductive justice without addressing Hamas’ gender-based violence .
UN Women faced accusations of hypocrisy after initially condemning the October 7 attacks but later deleting the statement. Critics, including Israeli feminist legal scholar Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, noted the agency’s swift focus on Palestinian women’s rights while downplaying Israeli victims . The UN’s June 2024 report also highlighted Israel’s obstruction of investigations, complicating efforts to verify claims .
Some progressive circles frame Hamas as “resistance fighters,” ignoring its misogynistic ideology. This narrative, combined with antisemitic tropes, has led to dismissal of Israeli women’s trauma. Social media campaigns like #BelieveAllWomen were conspicuously absent, with skeptics demanding “direct testimony” from victims who were often dead or captive .
International Women’s Day 2025 themes emphasized “rights and empowerment” broadly , overshadowing specific atrocities. While UN events addressed global gender inequality and climate activism , the plight of Israeli hostages received minimal attention, even as five women remained in Hamas captivity .
### The Path Forward
Feminist movements must reject partisan selectivity to uphold universal human rights. As Halperin-Kaddari argued, condemning Hamas’ sexual violence and Israel’s civilian casualties in Gaza are not mutually exclusive . Institutions like the ICC have a duty to prosecute these crimes as war crimes , while advocacy groups must prioritize all women’s safety over political agendas. Silence in the face of such brutality betrays feminism’s core mission—equality and dignity for woman.
