A woman looks on from the window of a damaged building following overnight Israeli bombardment on Lebanon\u2019s southern city of Tyre on May 16, 2026. (Kawnat Haju \/ AFP via Getty Images) <\/p>\n
Around the world, escalating armed conflict, political repression and humanitarian collapse are reshaping daily life for women and girls\u2014often with devastating consequences. From drone warfare in Sudan, to internet blackouts in Iran, to attacks on healthcare infrastructure in Lebanon and Gaza, women are navigating intensifying threats while also sustaining families, communities and survival networks under extraordinary strain. At the same time, women-led organizations and feminist movements confronting these crises increasingly face funding cuts, political repression and shrinking civic space even as demand for their work grows.<\/p>\n
Globally,\u00a0over 676 million women and girls<\/a> live within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, representing about 17 percent<\/strong> of the female population. This staggering figure\u2014a 74 percent<\/strong> increase since 2010\u2014is tracked and analyzed by the\u00a0Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security in partnership with PRIO. <\/p>\n But we also know: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the world\u2019s most urgent crises. Ms. Global<\/a> is taking note of feminists worldwide\u2014and the gendered realities shaping conflict, displacement, political repression and survival. <\/strong>(This edition of Ms. Global contains information from the Women, Peace and Security Conflict Tracker\u2019s May updates<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Ukraine Ukrainian Women\u2019s Groups Are Struggling to Meet Escalating Needs<\/strong> <\/p>\n Russia\u2019s mid-May aerial escalation<\/a>\u2014described by Ukraine\u2019s air force as Russia\u2019s biggest barrage against the country since the full-scale invasion and launched shortly after a brief ceasefire expired\u2014has sharply increased civilian protection risks across Ukraine. Large-scale drone and missile strikes damaged<\/a> residential areas, energy sites and other critical infrastructure. Targeted drone attacks in frontline areas have been described as a \u201chuman safari<\/a>,\u201d with first-person view and fiber-optic drones reportedly tracking and striking civilians during everyday movement, heightening protection risks for women, caregivers, older people and others seeking aid, healthcare, evacuation support and essential services.<\/p>\n These strikes are compounding<\/a> already severe gendered harms: The first three months of 2026 marked the deadliest winter for women and girls since the first year of the full-scale invasion, with 199 women and girls killed between January and March, while women\u2019s civilian casualties rose 27 percent in 2025 compared with 2024. <\/p>\n Humanitarian access remains dangerous, as demonstrated by the May 14 drone strike on a clearly marked U.N. humanitarian convoy in Kherson. <\/p>\n At the same time, nearly eight in 10 women\u2019s organizations report<\/a> that funding cuts are seriously affecting their work, threatening access to survivor services, protection mechanisms and humanitarian support just as women and girls experience escalating risks.<\/p>\n Ukraine also faces critical legal, protection and accountability challenges. A draft Civil Code<\/a> advanced by Parliament in late April has raised concerns among human rights groups over provisions that could weaken equality protections and narrow legal recognition for some families. Civil society organizations warn the draft violates European human rights standards and E.U. accession obligations, potentially undermining Ukraine\u2019s integration path.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, stalled negotiations, ongoing occupation and continued attacks risk entrenching harms facing women and girls in occupied areas, including conflict-related sexual violence, arbitrary detention, coercive documentation practices, and economic exclusion. <\/p>\n Still, May brought important accountability and recovery-financing opportunities: Progress toward a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression and renewed debate over mobilizing frozen Russian assets underscore the need to pair justice for Russia\u2019s invasion with survivor-centered, gender-responsive recovery.<\/p>\n The Georgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security\u2019s WPS Conflict Tracker combines real-time data points and original analysis to offer gender-sensitive insight into conflict dynamics across 27 countries. (To see the complete analysis across all 27 countries monitored, visit the\u00a0WPS Conflict Tracker website<\/a>\u00a0and explore by country.)<\/p>\n The WPS Conflict Tracker analyzes and identifies current risks and opportunities\u2014including new developments, upcoming events or looming threats\u2014for women in the 27 conflict-affected settings they monitor.<\/p>\n Updates for May 2026 include:<\/strong><\/p>\n Afghanistan Media Repression Further Silences Afghan Women<\/strong> Taliban restrictions on Afghanistan\u2019s media sector are intensifying, with Afghan press freedom groups recording at least 150 violations<\/a> over the past year, including threats, arrests, censorship, license revocations, outlet closures and tighter controls on reporting. Women journalists face especially severe restrictions, including mandatory dress rules and bans on broadcasting women\u2019s voices in several provinces.<\/p>\n Taliban threats, harassment, unsafe working conditions, unpaid or underpaid work and family pressure are pushing women out of the profession, reducing coverage of issues affecting Afghan women and girls and weakening access to information, accountability and women\u2019s public participation.<\/p>\n Colombia Growing Insecurity Ahead of May 2026 Presidential Election<\/strong> <\/p>\n Colombia is experiencing severe humanitarian consequences of armed conflict as violence has surged<\/a> in the months leading up to the May 31 presidential election. For women and girls\u2014especially those in rural, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities\u2014these dynamics heighten risks of displacement, food insecurity, sexual and gender-based violence, and forced recruitment by armed groups, while online harassment and political violence constrain women\u2019s participation as voters, candidates and journalists.<\/p>\n Democratic Republic of the Congo Conflict-Driven Displacement Worsens Humanitarian Crisis<\/strong> <\/p>\n Conflict in eastern DRC continues to drive one of the world\u2019s largest humanitarian crises<\/a>, with the country accounting for nearly one-third of global conflict-related internal displacements in 2025. Insecurity and access restrictions\u2014particularly in South Kivu\u2014have disrupted humanitarian assistance and overwhelmed healthcare facilities, limiting maternal care and complicating efforts to contain the outbreak of Ebola. Women and children face heightened risks of hunger, disease and gender-based violence<\/a> as repeated displacement and aid cuts deepen vulnerability.<\/p>\n Ethiopia Regional Instability and Election-Related Risks Constrain Women\u2019s Political Participation<\/strong> <\/p>\n Ethiopia\u2019s June 1, 2026, election is unfolding amid escalating insecurity, repression<\/a> and regional volatility, including tensions with Eritrea and Sudan and wider Horn of Africa militarization.<\/p>\n In Amhara, the Amhara Fano National Movement has warned<\/a> that electoral participation will be treated as support for the federal government, heightening risks of intimidation for voters, women candidates, journalists and activists. These tensions are especially consequential given that disputes over election timelines and Tigray\u2019s 2020 regional vote were a major flashpoint before the 2020-2022 war.<\/p>\n Although more than 23.1 million women are registered to vote, women comprise only 23 percent<\/a> of candidates, while nearly one-third of parties and coalitions reportedly failed to field any female candidates; digital surveillance and technology-facilitated gender-based violence are further restricting women\u2019s safe political participation.<\/p>\n Haiti Political Transition Stalls as Security Conditions Block Elections<\/strong> <\/p>\n Haiti\u2019s prime minister has cast doubt<\/a> on whether presidential elections can be held by August 2026, warning that gang violence and insecurity remain too severe for a credible vote. With Haiti\u2019s last elections held in 2016, further delays risk deepening the political vacuum, limiting voter participation and narrowing already restricted civic space. For women\u2014already underrepresented in political leadership\u2014the delay risks further narrowing political space at a moment when their participation is urgently needed to shape security, justice, displacement and recovery priorities.<\/p>\n Iran State Repression and Tiered Internet Access Intensify Digital Exclusion<\/strong> <\/p>\n Iran\u2019s longest recorded internet blackout has continued<\/a> into May 2026, while the rollout of \u201cInternet Pro\u201d has created a two-tier system granting select users faster, less restricted access, as most Iranians remain cut off or reliant on costly black-market VPNs. The shutdown is deepening economic strain, restricting independent news and communication, and limiting documentation of human rights abuses amid ongoing repression. For women\u2014who may rely on digital spaces for income, organizing and connection\u2014restricted access compounds financial insecurity, isolates activists and survivors, and makes it harder for families to locate or identify victims of state violence.<\/p>\n Israel\/Palestine Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza and the West Bank<\/strong> <\/p>\n Across Gaza, the destruction of essential infrastructure<\/a>\u2014including Israel\u2019s targeted attacks on healthcare<\/a>, water<\/a> and food systems<\/a>\u2014continues to drive a severe gendered humanitarian emergency, with women and girls disproportionately burdened as primary caregivers.<\/p>\n In the West Bank, Israel\u2019s escalating settler violence, abusive detention practices and widespread sexual violence against Palestinians compound economic restrictions and exacerbate forced displacement and insecurity, heightening protection risks for women and girls.<\/p>\n Amid widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian young women are developing innovative, sustainable solutions<\/a> to address urgent community needs aimed at expanding access to essential services and rebuilding local infrastructure.<\/p>\n Lebanon Health System Collapse and Infrastructure Damage Restrict Access to Care<\/strong> <\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s health system remains under severe strain, with WHO recording 158 attacks<\/a> on healthcare facilities since March 2026, resulting in 108 deaths and 249 injuries. Three hospitals and 41 primary healthcare centers remain closed, while six hospitals in southern governorates have not resumed maternity services, limiting safe pathways to care for pregnant women, new mothers and GBV survivors. Renewed displacement orders in southern Lebanon and Nabatieh, rising food insecurity and funding gaps are further restricting access to services.<\/p>\nMembers of the all-women crew recently created as part of the Typhoon special forces unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, after their military mission in Zaporizhzhia region on Oct. 6, 2025. (Oksana Parafeniuk \/ The Washington Post via Getty Images) <\/p>\n
Women walk on a snow-covered street in Ghazni on Jan. 26, 2026. (Mohammad Faisal Naweed \/ AFP via Getty Images) <\/p>\n
Palestinian women sit outside a damaged shelter within the destroyed Jabalia Services Club in Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip on April 28, 2026, where displaced Palestinian families live in tents. (Hassan Salem \/ Middle East Images \/ AFP via Getty Images) Gaza\u2019s Youth Drive Innovation<\/strong> <\/p>\n