Palestinian mothers ‘having C-sections without anesthetic’

A rally will take place in Cork on Friday in solidarity with women and girls around the world experiencing oppression, violence, and genocide.

Cork-based group Families 4 Palestine will stage the demonstration outside Cork City Hall at 5.30pm tomorrow, International Women's Day.

Speaking ahead of the march, group co-founder, Orla McAndrew, said: “The facts are becoming more harrowing by the day. We know that 70% of more than 30,000 people killed by Israel in Gaza are women and children.”

The newly formed Cork-based group is part of the long-standing Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

At the demonstration, activists will be re-enacting the image of Samia al-Alrash, whose photo cradling the body of her little niece in a white shroud has become a worldwide symbol of the grief and suffering being experienced by the Palestinian people.

Ms McAndrew highlighted that “over one million women and girls have been displaced, two mothers are killed every hour.”

“50,000 pregnant women have little or no access to medical care.

“Mothers are having C-sections without anesthetic, bringing their babies into the world in hellish conditions only for them to then die from starvation, disease or bombardment. When we think the situation cannot possibly get worse, it does, and we have a collective responsibility to try to bring this violence to an end,” she added.

Inspired by a similar event being organised by Dublin Group Mothers Against Genocide at the Israeli Embassy, and other events around the country, the demonstrations strive to highlight the collective unity and outcry of families across Ireland against the situation in Gaza.

“The plight of the Palestinians has opened up the eyes and hearts of many people who perhaps have not engaged in activism previously,” said Ms McAndrew. “Families 4 Palestine is a place to channel your energy for good, to highlight these injustices and to demand that all parties with influence act now to end these atrocities in Palestine.”

Tomorrow’s event on International Women’s Day invites the people of Cork to send a message to the women and girls of Gaza who have remained steadfast and resilient in the face of horror.

“We see you, we will raise our voices when you cannot and we will not rest until Palestine is free,” concluded Ms McAndrew