Lessons Emerge from the Türkiye-Syria Earthquake as Women and Girls Bear the Brunt of the Crisis

Written by David Ball, Programme Development Coordinator

As people slept on 6th February, 2023, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck southern Türkiye, affecting around 15 million people on each side of the Türkiye-Syria border. The death toll, which stands at 44,000, reflects the devastating destruction caused by the earthquake, which heavily damaged and destroyed around 200,000 buildings. Up to 1.6 million people have been displaced across the earthquake zone. Rain and snows, coupled with sub-zero temperatures, hampered the flow of aid and assistance in the early days of the disaster response, embittering rescue efforts. In Türkiye, 1.5 million people have been made homeless by the disaster, which is expected to cost the country $34bn (equivalent to 4% of Türkiye’s GDP). The earthquake has made a suffocating situation unbearable for those fleeing conflict in Syria. For the 1.5 million Syrian refugees affected in southern Türkiye, the earthquake has prompted further displacement. Living in some of the hardest-hit areas, such as Gaziantep, many refugees have lost their homes, loved ones and livelihoods. In northwest Syria, the earthquake is a cruel addition to desperate situation. Even before the earthquake, 90% of the population were dependent on aid.

“For 12 years, we didn’t sleep at night from fear of bombings, from air strikes, or from displacement. Now we have eternal displacement”, says Ayesha, interviewed by AP News, whose home in Atarib, Syria, was destroyed by the earthquake. “I came from under that rubble carrying the rubble of the whole world on my shoulders”, she added. Carrying her granddaughter in her arms, Ayesha’s 15-minute walk to the nearest bathroom, along a dirt-track strafed by mounds of rubble, is revealing of the risks and responsibility that women bear in disaster settings. With around one fifth of households in Syria headed by women, the extra weight of the disaster will be felt by women across the region. Along with the deepening of assigned gender roles, further gender inequalities are often exacerbated during humanitarian disasters, leading to exploitation, discrimination and constraining access to assistance. All forms of violence against women increase in parallel with human rights violations, reflecting the enhanced vulnerability of women and girls during times of crisis.

The Türkiye-Syria earthquake is, unfortunately, no exception. Safety risks for women, girls and LGBTQ+ people have been reported in the majority of temporary shelter and accommodation areas across the earthquake-affected area. Inadequate lighting, overcrowding and the establishment of services—such as WASH—far away from camps, exemplify a lack of safeguarding for vulnerable people. In such settings, GBV risks increase markedly. The acute humanitarian needs suggest that the employment of desperate coping mechanisms, such as child marriage, are also likely to rise. And with children orphaned and separated from their families by the earthquake, protection risks are drawn into even sharper relief.

In humanitarian situations, the health needs of women and girls are also often overlooked. The need for period products, adequate antenatal care and enough nutrients for breastfeeding, are a few areas which often don’t receive sufficient attention. Across Türkiye and Syria, 350,000 pregnant women are currently in urgent need of healthcare assistance. A lack of shelter and exposure to severely cold weather conditions, along with a lack of privacy, overcrowding and limited access to WASH services in displacement settings, pose a grave threat to the health of pregnant women. The damage to key health facilities in Türkiye and Syria will only exacerbate negative health outcomes, with women reportedly struggling to access reproductive and sexual healthcare in the earthquake-damaged zone. In Türkiye, two hospitals collapsed with patients and hospital staff inside, and many others have been badly damaged. In northwest Syria, the damage to health facilities has further crippled already-limited services, which have been battered by airstrikes over the past decade of conflict.

The Türkiye-Syria earthquake, as with previous humanitarian disasters, has exemplified the necessity of elevating the voices of women to dampen the heightened impact that crises so often have on women and girls. Accompanying active engagement with women, humanitarian interventions should set out to meet the needs of women and girls by default, such as through investing in adequate protection mechanisms from the outset. Similarly, temporary shelter arrangements should be designed in a way which minimises risk and maximises accessibility. The elevation of women’s voices amongst crisis-affected populations must also be accompanied by the elevation of women within humanitarian response. The provision of funding to women-led organisations—along with improving the gender balance at all levels within NGOs—is essential to ensure that gendered impacts during crises are met with a gender-sensitive response. The magnitude of such tasks are met only by their pertinence.