In the US-Israel war on Iran, women have paid a disproportionate price

The strikes on Iran by the US and Israel did not only cause a geopolitical explosion – they also sparked a humanitarian crisis with intense consequences for women.

While the immediate toll of war is often measured in casualties and destroyed infrastructure, its most enduring impacts are frequently borne by women and girls. It is they whose lives – already shaped by structures of inequality – are most affected by the violence.

So far, 3.2 million Iranians have been displaced from their homes by the conflict – the majority of them women and children, says the United Nations. The large-scale displacement due to bombs and missiles is placing enormous pressure on infrastructure and services, particularly in Tehran. Over 110,000 people have crossed into neighboring countries.

In addition, around 1.65 million Afghan refugees who have been long hosted in Iran are being forced to return home. For these women, this means returning to live under an even more conservative regime in Afghanistan.

Since the escalation of hostilities in February, women and girls have been among the primary victims of violence. Airstrikes have killed and injured civilians across the country. One of the deadliest incidents – the bombing of a girls’ elementary school in Minab – claimed the lives of more than 160 children on February 28.

Devastating effects

For women and girls, displacement is not merely a loss of home – it is a transformation of their social and economic reality. In overcrowded shelters and informal settlements, the risks of gender-based violence and exploitation increase significantly. The risks of trafficking of women and girls increases.

With bombing, access to healthcare, including maternal services, is limited, while educational disruptions threaten the future of girls.

Economic hardship compounds these challenges. As livelihoods collapse, women often shoulder the responsibility of sustaining families. This not only increases their vulnerability but also entrenches cycles of poverty and dependence.

The long-term consequences are significant. Interrupted education, trauma and reduced opportunities can shape the trajectories of an entire generation of girls, with implications that extend far beyond the immediate conflict.

Iran is a country already marked by systemic gender discrimination. Since the 1979 revolution, Iranian women have faced institutionalised inequality, including restrictions on marriage, custody, inheritance and political participation. In recent years, there have been heightened constraints as a result of laws enforcing compulsory veiling, criminalising abortion and restricting prenatal screenings.

The strict control on women is now being compounded by war, displacement and intensified repression. The result is a crisis that is not only humanitarian, but also profoundly social and political.

Under the pretext of national security, the Iranian authorities have increased the monitoring of dissent, imposed internet blackouts and carried out widespread arrests.

Enforcement mechanisms – including surveillance technologies and the morality police – have expanded the state’s reach into everyday life.

Women activists, already at the forefront of resistance, are particularly vulnerable. Many face arbitrary detention, sexual violence and long prison sentences for challenging the status quo.

Despite the immense challenges, Iranian women continued to assert themselves. The Woman, Life, Freedom Movement that emerged in 2022 following the death of a young woman in the custody of the morality police demonstrated the resilience of women-led activism in Iran.

Since the onset of the conflict, however, the space for such activism has narrowed dramatically. Yet acts of resistance persist – sometimes visible, often quiet, but always significant. Women continue to document abuses, support one another through informal networks, and imagine alternative futures.

Their role is not limited to victims of war. They are also key actors in shaping Iran’s political and social trajectory.

Hardline policies

The future of women’s rights in Iran is deeply tied to the outcome of the conflict and the country’s political trajectory. The killing of Iran’s “supreme leader” Ali Khamenei and the rise of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, have raised concerns about hardline policies being further entrenched.

While some envision the possibility of political transition and reform, others fear that a more repressive regime will emerge from the crisis. For women, the stakes are extraordinarily high. Gains could be made – but so too could decades of struggle be reversed.

The war underscores a fundamental truth: conflict is never gender-neutral. Women and girls experience its impacts in distinct and often more severe ways, shaped by social roles, legal structures and power dynamics.

Addressing this crisis requires more than humanitarian aid. It demands that civilians be protected; targeted support for displaced women and girls; international accountability for violations; and critically, that women be included in decision-making processes about peace and reconstruction.

Ensuring the safety, rights and participation of Iran’s women is not only a moral imperative: it is essential to any sustainable path forward. In the midst of war and repression, their resilience remains one of the most powerful forces shaping the future of Iran.

Sumbul Rizvi recently retired from the United Nations, The views in this article are personal.