Women and girls’ share of civilian war deaths has doubled since 2021, according to a major UN report released on Monday. The annual report on Women, Peace and Security, published by the United Nations, reveals that at least 25 women and girls are killed every day in conflict settings. Last year, females accounted for one in four of the more than 37,000 civilians killed in armed conflict. UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda briefed journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, stating that war is getting deadlier for women and girls and that the world is allowing it to happen. Around 750 million women and girls currently live within 50 kilometres of an active conflict, representing 40 million more than in 2024 and the highest number since 1990. Another report from UN Women released on Wednesday noted that approximately 676 million women lived within 50 kilometres of deadly conflict last year.
Surging Sexual Violence and Maternal Risks in Conflict Zones
The threats faced by females caught up in war extend far beyond the battlefield, with the UN verifying 9,788 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025. This figure is more than twice as high as the previous year and nearly four times the total from 2022, with reported cases rising by 163 per cent in Haiti alone. Maternal health has also severely deteriorated. A woman giving birth in a conflict-affected nation faces a five times higher risk of dying from maternal causes than someone in a stable country. In Gaza, the destruction of hospitals and maternity facilities, coupled with collapsing access to essential supplies, has driven a 41 per cent drop in live births and a 300 per cent increase in miscarriages. Furthermore, conflict forces approximately 170 million women and girls into both war zones and extreme poverty, where they survive on less than $3 a day and spend five times as many hours on unpaid care work as men and boys.
Exclusion from Peace Talks Amid Rising Military Spending
Despite mounting dangers, women continue to be largely shut out of peace processes. In 2025, women comprised merely five per cent of negotiators across 57 peace processes, which is a seven per cent decrease from the previous year. Additionally, not a single one of the 13 ceasefire agreements explicitly prohibited conflict-related sexual violence. This exclusion occurs while global military spending reached a record $2.9 trillion last year, and 40 per cent of women’s organisations in crisis settings expect to close temporarily or permanently within the coming year due to severe funding shortfalls. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous noted that more women and girls are trapped in wars than at any point in decades while military spending rises and development assistance falls. UN Women is urging the protection of women and girls, their meaningful participation in peace and security, sustained investment in women-led peacebuilding, and an end to impunity.
Source: Cosmo News Desk
