Conflict is one of the world’s greatest obstacles to ending extreme poverty.

In times of crisis, important infrastructure is often destroyed, upending daily life and leaving families to forgo basic resources. Food systems are disrupted, and governments grappling with the high economic impacts of war struggle to fund basic social services. 

And for women and girls, conflict can exacerbate long-held gender biases that further disturb their lives and livelihoods. 

1 in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty, in part due to gender-based discrimination that prevents women from enjoying educational opportunities, family planning resources, fair wages, and other social benefits. Conflict exacerbates this — women in conflict zones are 7.7 times more likely to experience extreme poverty.

When women are granted the opportunity to empower themselves, they can positively contribute to the social and financial wellbeing of their regions, leading to more peaceful and stable situations. 

Women’s empowerment leads to economic gains for nations, higher per capita incomes, and improved education and health outcomes. Accordingly, world leaders must acknowledge the disproportionate effects of conflict on women and girls and how conflict sets back progress towards gender equity, as well as recognize the need for their leadership in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Here are five ways women and girls are unfairly impacted by conflict.

1. Female Farmers Face Aggravated Obstacles to Economic Freedom

Although women make up 43% of the global agricultural labor force, they produce half of the world’s food overall, and between 60% and 80% of food in most developing countries. But as conflict forces people to flee their homes, it becomes impossible for female farmers to grow crops to feed their communities, their families, and themselves.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), decades of fighting have disrupted the agricultural sector, 57% of which is made up of women. Women in the DRC often lack land ownership, which prevents them from enjoying social and economic benefits like food security, stable housing, and freedom from abusive living situations.

2. Girls’ Access to Education Declines in Conflict Zones

Education is crucial in the fight to end extreme poverty; when children know how to read and do basic math, they can enjoy greater access to employment opportunities and increased earning potential. 

An estimated 119 million girls are out of school globally, facing obstacles like gender discrimination, cultural norms, and the threat of gender-based violence. While many developing nations have made progress toward achieving gender parity in education, girls in conflict-affected regions are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school.

When families struggle with rising costs associated with war, girls may be withdrawn from school and instead kept home or forced to marry early to reduce the financial burden.

Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan’s devastating conflict has forced 2.8 million children out of school, a majority of whom are girls. 

3. Surging Rates of Child Marriage Limits Girls’ Potential 

Child marriage is a human rights violation and limits the potential of girls to participate in the economic, political and social spheres. As a form of gender-based violence, the practice prevents girls from making their own life decisions and is often followed by pregnancy, even when a girl is not physically or mentally prepared. Child marriage can also put girls in dangerous living situations where they’re subjected to abuse, harrassment, and intimate partner violence by their husbands.

According to UNICEF, on average, one in five girls is married before age 18; in the world’s least developed countries, many of which are plagued by conflict, the rate of child marriage doubles to 40%.

In Myanmar, ethnic persecution of the Rohingya community has exposed the desperation of families struggling economically to make ends meet. For many Rohingya girls who fled Myanmar, child marriage offered families an alternative means of support and survival, even as child brides report harrowing experiences of gender-based violence.

4. The Chaos of Conflict Allows Gender-Based Violence to Increase

Women who live amidst conflict know that violence can quickly turn personal. Armed groups may take advantage of little oversight from governments to act with impunity, targeting women with sexual violence during the chaos of conflict. As women flee dangerous situations, they experience higher rates of gender-based violence and of intimate partner violence as returnees, refugees, and migrants.

Since 2022, thousands of Ukrainian women and girls have left their homes and face an increased risk of being preyed upon by traffickers during the conflict. Those living in areas targeted by Russian troops report instances of sexual violence, including rape, being used as tactics of war.

5. Damaged Infrastructure Prevents Women From Accessing Health Care

Important infrastructure is often threatened when a region descends into conflict, either by looting, arson, bombing, and other forms of warfare. When that violence threatens hospitals and health care centers, the impact can immediately increase the civilian toll of a conflict.

For women and girls in developing nations, a loss of healthcare infrastructure is more than losing a place to go when they are hurt — it also means losing access to critical sexual and reproductive health services such as contraception and pre- and postnatal care.

In Gaza, many health facilities and hospitals have become unusable; only 13 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are considered “partially functioning." This can lead to pregnant women being forced to consider giving birth in unsafe conditions due to disrupted health services, and a lack of medical resources for newborns.

How Global Citizens Can Take Action for Women and Girls in Conflict Zones

Time and again, violence disrupts the lives of women and girls around the world, who often experience the worst effects of conflict. But when it comes time for world leaders to determine the best route toward peace, women are often excluded from the negotiation table.

In peace processes for countries affected by conflict, women’s participation as conflict party negotiators stood at just 16% in 2022, down from 19% in 2021. But when women participate in peace negotiations, chances of peace agreements lasting more than two years increases by 20%, and the probability of agreements lasting 15 years increases by 35%. Overall, when women are part of conflict resolution, they have a positive impact on the results of the negotiation process, including a longer lasting peace.

It’s time for world leaders to recognize the disproportionate effects conflict has on women and girls, alongside the power of women in fostering peace around the world. Join our movement to promote gender equality by learning more about the effects of conflict on women and girls, and advocate for increased representation of women during peace talks.