Women and Girls are holding families together while everything falls apart

Since March 2026, tens of thousands of families¹  across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut have been forced to flee their homes with little warning, in search of safety. With these renewed hostilities in the country, many left in a matter of minutes, carrying only what they could hold. Homes, belongings, medication– all left behind. While some displaced families have found temporary shelter, others sleep in cars or in public spaces. Falling temperatures and rising costs are increasing their vulnerability. 

At the heart of this new crisis are women and girls who make up more than half of the internally displaced population²  carrying the added burden of protecting their families amid uncertainty, overcrowding and limited access to basic services.

In Khaldeh, in the Chouf area, the Islamic University now serves as an emergency shelter for hundreds of displaced people with women making up more than 70 per cent of residents. Inside, the information office has been turned into a small clinic where Dr. Ali Hussein Aoun, 63, a kidney and urology surgeon specializing in infertility, provides medical consultations to displaced families despite limited resources. “I understand what they are going through because I am also displaced from Tyre,” he says. “This is the seventh time I’ve been displaced from my home”.

_{Dr. Ali Hussein Aoun provides medical consultations to displaced families inside a makeshift clinic in a shelter, continuing his work despite being displaced himself. Photo: UN Women/ Georges Rokouz}

Across the shelters, classrooms and halls have been converted into shared living spaces. In some cases, entire families occupy a single room or are separated only by temporary partitions, leaving privacy nearly nonexistent. Families sleep side by side on thin mattresses laid on the floor, creating harsh living conditions that disproportionately affect women and girls.

_{Dr. Daad Azzi, President of the Chouf Development Association, supports displaced families across shelters in the Chouf region, highlighting the urgent needs and resilience of women and girls facing. Photo: UN Women/ Georges Rokouz}

According to Dr. Daad Azzi, 44, President of the Chouf Development Association, a local NGO providing medical and psychosocial assistance to more than 9000 displaced people in 11 shelters across the Chouf region, many families can no longer rely on their basic needs being met. 

“Women are prioritizing their children’s well-being while putting their own health and needs aside, despite extremely difficult conditions. Many were forced to flee within minutes with their children, often without husbands or fathers, and are now carrying increased responsibility as they care for their families in overcrowded shelters with limited access to basic services,” Azzi says.

Access to medication for chronic illnesses is limited, and hygiene supplies for women and girls are scarce. Many shelters lack adequate facilities, with several families sharing a single bathroom and little access to hot water. Warm clothing, blankets, and safe, private spaces — especially for pregnant women and new mothers — remain insufficient.

Azzi highlights the growing psychological toll on displaced families: “Beyond the visible hardship, there is an increasing need for psychosocial support services to help women, girls and children cope with the trauma of displacement and conflict, particularly as many families have now been displaced for the second time in less than two years”, she says. “The fear of losing everything, their homes, livelihoods and sense of stability, is constant. Women are carrying this burden while watching their children show signs of distress, including anxiety and speech difficulties.”

The Psychological Impact of Displacement on Women and Girls

This has evolved beyond a humanitarian crisis into a mental health emergency, with an urgent need for specialized psychosocial support for children and their caregivers. The psychological toll of displacement is becoming increasingly evident, particularly among women and adolescent girls.

_{Roueida Dakdouki, General Director of the Chouf Development Association, speaks with a displaced woman in a shelter, listening to her concerns and supporting women facing the daily realities of displacement. Photo: UN Women/ Georges Rokouz}

Roueida Dakdouki, 43, General Director of the Chouf Development Association, notes that medical teams have observed rising levels of stress and anxiety among women and girls, particularly those in early adolescence. In some cases, this has led to increased reliance on antidepressant medication. “A 13-year-old girl asked for medication because the anxiety has become too much to bear,” she explains. “We encourage adolescent girls to volunteer and help others” Dakdouki adds. “They are at an age when they should be thinking about their future, not struggling simply to survive.”

Small Acts of Solidarity

Despite the hardships, women and girls keep communities together. Some like seventeen-year-old Fatima Tradd displaced to the Islamic University shelter, volunteer at the Bishop Maroun Ammar Primary Health Care Center. She says, “I volunteer in the hope that someone will also help my family who remained in the south”. Her wish is simple: to know that her family is safe -and to live in peace.

Local organizations are playing a critical role but are increasingly strained, as needs grow. Humanitarian workers stress that sustained international support is essential, especially for women and children, as current assistance remains insufficient. 

_{Fatima Tradd, a 17-year-old displaced volunteer, supports her community at a primary health care center, embodying resilience and solidarity while hoping for the safety of her family. Photo: UN Women/ Georges Rokouz}

Despite exhaustion, women continue to demonstrate remarkable courage, but they cannot do it alone. Without urgent support, the situation will only worsen. 

In line with its mandate to advance gender equality in humanitarian settings and its core commitments in humanitarian action, UN Women is scaling up its response to address the urgent needs of women and girls in all their diversity. This includes delivering lifesaving protection and livelihood support to crisis-affected women and girls, strengthening accountability to gender equality commitments across the humanitarian response, and amplifying women’s voices and leadership in decision-making. UN Women is already operational in many displacement sites, with additional interventions being scaled up in the coming weeks to expand support to crisis-affected women and their families.

1. 34,269 is the total number of internally displaced families registered in collective shelters as of March 25, 2026 according to the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Unit in Lebanon

2.  UN Women Flash Update #1 on the escalation in Lebanon (6 March 2026)