Earlier this year, the world held its breath under the fear of a possible and even deadlier World War III. It wasn’t just missiles arcing across the skies of Tehran, hundreds of kilometres away. The real shock came in its subsequent aftermath - oil prices skyrocketing, ceasefires denied, and stock markets crashing. Globalisation forced nations to pick sides in a conflict that spilled far beyond the Middle East. But while those in power weighed their next strategic moves, ordinary lives were quietly shattering. Azize, a young woman who had fought against patriarchy to study at university, watched the gates of her campus close indefinitely. Her dreams lay in ruins. A widowed mother sat counting coins, forced to choose between flour for her children and medicine for her family.

 

A migrant worker, trying to cross a chaotic boundary, became a victim of sexual violence. These are the quiet, often unnoticed blows that land long after the war - and keep landing. The UN and organisations like Amnesty International have consistently documented the sharp rise in gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual assault in active war zones. Women bear a disproportionate share of these burdens, ones that linger long after the military briefings and political speeches end. Researchers describe this as a ‘triple casualty’ - the combined effects of physical destruction, embedded gender based violence and economic collapse compounding simultaneously. Women, already among the most marginalised globally, absorb all three layers. In the 2026 Middle East escalation, displacement-related sexual violence, forced marriages, and the collapse of reproductive healthcare surged across the region.

 

Global market disruption meant oil prices spiked and supply chains fractured - household incomes contracted, food became scarce. Women often became the invisible managers of this crisis - stretching limited resources, caring for families, and carrying both the emotional and practical weight. Displacement made everything worse. Menstrual products turned into unaffordable luxuries. Reproductive healthcare, already fragile, became nearly impossible to access. Women’s rights organisations have repeatedly highlighted a critical gap: Post-conflict reconstruction almost always fails women when they are excluded from the negotiating table. There is still no formal requirement for gender representation in the ongoing US-Iran peace talks. Conflict does not stay confined to visible battlefields. It seeps into homes and domestic spaces, where survival itself becomes exhausting daily labour. The casualties faced by women do not pause when the missiles stop. (The author is Assistant Professor, visiting faculty Department of English, RDVV)