Women, Peace and Security Conflict Tracker: February Updates
Our Women, Peace and Security Conflict Tracker combines real-time data points and original analysis to offer gender-sensitive insight into conflict dynamics across 27 countries. To see the complete analysis across all 27 countries monitored, please visit the WPS Conflict Tracker website and explore by country.
Spotlight: Ukraine
February 24, 2026 marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last year was the deadliest year of the war for civilian women, and the country continues to endure near-daily Russian attacks on energy and heating infrastructure during the coldest winter in a decade. Notably, many Ukrainian women work in sectors most disrupted by prolonged power outages—including education, healthcare, social services, and retail—placing their incomes at heightened risk. Yet, women continue to lead response and recovery efforts, pursue accountability, and hold key positions in political leadership and the economy. As US-brokered talks to end the war continue, any agreement must ensure Ukraine’s security while recognizing and addressing the inherently gendered effects of war as well as women’s contributions.
Spotlight: Israel & Palestine
Despite a fragile ceasefire, ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza continue to endanger civilians, with women and girls facing compounding crises including famine, displacement, and collapsed essential services. Palestinian women have been largely excluded from peace and reconstruction negotiations—the newly formed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza includes only one woman—undermining the legitimacy and sustainability of any lasting resolution. Palestinians were also absent from the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ despite Gaza being the central agenda item. Women-headed households, which make up nearly one in seven in Gaza, face severe barriers to food, water, and economic stability, with many forced into harmful coping mechanisms to survive. Economic challenges have intensified during Ramadan, with reports indicating that the cost of food for iftar has doubled since 2023, further stretching women-led households’ purchasing power. Meanwhile, restrictions at the Rafah crossing and Israel’s moves to seize West Bank land threaten to further displace women and girls, deepen family separation, and heighten their exposure to gender-based violence.
Risks & Opportunities
The WPS Conflict Tracker analyzes and identifies current risks and opportunities—including new developments, upcoming events, or looming threats—for women in the 27 conflict-affected settings we monitor. Updates for February 2026 include:
- De Facto Contraception Ban Devastates Women’s Health: Although birth control has not been technically outlawed, the Taliban has imposed an informal ban on contraception since 2023, causing Afghanistan’s reproductive health services to further deteriorate. Clinics are no longer permitted to provide birth control, preventing women from exercising agency over family planning and forcing many to endure high-risk pregnancies and miscarriages with little access to reproductive healthcare. At least 440 hospitals and clinics have closed or reduced services following foreign aid cuts in 2025.
- Child Recruitment Remains a Crisis: Armed groups continue to enlist children, particularly those from Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, with girls making up an increasing percentage of recruits. Girls often join to escape domestic violence, access income and resources, or because of personal ties to group members. Once recruited, girls are often subject to sexual exploitation and abuse while being used to lure in male recruits. Those who attempt to leave these groups face stigma and ostracization, with few resources available to support their reintegration.
- Peace Talks with Gulf Clan Resume: The Colombian government announced the resumption of peace talks with the Gulf Clan, an armed group involved in transnational drug trafficking, following a two week-suspension. The Gulf Clan has been implicated in widespread human rights abuses, including sexual violence and the trafficking of girls and young women for sex. While talks offer a chance to reduce violence, women have been largely sidelined from previous negotiations. However, restarting dialogue presents an opportunity for greater inclusion of women’s voices and to address issues disproportionately impacting women and girls.
- New Findings on Sexual Violence Among Displaced Youth: Newly published survey data reveals that one in three females and one in five males aged 13 – 24 in refugee camps in Ethiopia experienced physical violence before age 18, while nearly 14 percent of females reported childhood sexual violence. Surveyed women and girls were significantly more likely than males to report mental distress, sexually transmitted infections, and absence from school as a result of experiencing sexual violence. These findings reflect women’s and girls’ disproportionate exposure to violence—particularly amid social and economic breakdown caused by conflict and displacement—as well as continued barriers to accessing services and support following sexual violence.
- Reported Domestic Violence Cases Rose 150 Percent in 2025: Figures released by the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights show a 150 percent increase in registered domestic violence cases in 2025 compared to 2024, underscoring a sharp escalation in gender-based harm. Researchers warn that domestic violence in Iraq is becoming structural, citing weak enforcement and entrenched pressures given years of social, political and economic instability. More than half of documented incidents involved violence perpetrated by husbands against their wives, though these figures are likely underreported given stigma and limited legal protections. The surge in domestic violence cases coincides with growing concern over the deteriorating status of women in Iraq, as highlighted in a joint report submitted to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in February 2026.
- Anti-Regime Protests Resume: University students have resumed demonstrations more than six weeks after the government violently suppressed a mass anti-regime uprising. Protests have spread to universities in Tehran and in the city of Mashhad, signaling renewed mobilization despite heightened repression. Women and girls have been on the frontlines of recent protests and were some of the first confirmed to have been killed by state authorities; yet, there is concern that renewed calls for regime-change are sidelining the demands of women protestors and the centrality of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. The latest demonstrations are occurring alongside US-Iran nuclear talks and signals from the US of possible military action, further complicating the political and security landscape and risking further escalation.
- Fallout from January 2026 Crackdown Continues: State security forces killed, injured, and arrested thousands during its suppression of anti-regime protests in January 2026. While the exact toll remains unknown, at least 7,000 deaths and 53,000 arrests—including of female civilians—have been confirmed by rights monitors, and doctors in Iran suggest the true number of deaths is much higher. Authorities have sentenced dozens of protesters to execution, with at least two 17-year old children at risk of receiving the death penalty.
- Detentions and Gendered Repression: Since the 2021 coup, the junta has detained more than 30,000 political prisoners, with persistent reports of sexual violence and abuse in detention facilities. In February 2026, 15 women political prisoners were placed in solitary confinement after participating in a peaceful protest, underscoring the continued use of punitive measures to silence women activists.
- International Accountability Advances: Hearings in the International Court of Justice’s The Gambia v. Myanmar concluded on January 29, 2026, marking a significant milestone in the case, which addresses alleged genocide against the Rohingya, including widespread sexual and gender-based violence. Although a final judgment may take considerable time, the completion of hearings sustains international scrutiny of Myanmar’s obligations under the Genocide Convention and reinforces state responsibility despite entrenched impunity following the 2021 coup. The proceedings could serve as a critical normative and political tool for Rohingya women survivors and women’s rights advocates seeking accountability, reparations, and long-term guarantees of non-recurrence.
- Millions of Nigerian Women and Girls at Risk of AI-Facilitated Online Abuse by 2030: A February 2026 report warns that 70 million women and girls in Nigeria could be exposed to AI-facilitated online abuse annually by 2030 if legal safeguards, accountability, and enforcement mechanisms are not urgently adopted. Women make up roughly half of internet users in the country, but are disproportionately subject to online harm—comprising nearly 60 percent of victims. Digital abuse leads to real-world consequences; 90 percent of Nigerian women who experience non-consensual image sharing report depression or suicidal thoughts.
- BARMM Election Postponed Until September 2026: After failing to meet the deadline to hold long-delayed BARMM parliamentary elections in March 2026, voting has been rescheduled for September 14, 2026. This marks the fourth postponement during the multi-year-long transitional period, delaying the full realization of gender provisions outlined in the Bangsamoro Organic Law and Bangsamoro Electoral Code, including a 30 percent quota for women party nominees. The Senate Majority Floor Leader publicly expressed concern that escalating violence in the region is tied in part to the repeated delays. Meanwhile, a peace monitor overseeing the Bangsamoro peace agreement has warned that stalled reforms and delayed elections may destabilize the region and provide an opportunity for extremist recruitment and violence.
- Threat of Peace Agreement Collapse: Worsening violence and political chaos continue to prompt warnings—including from the UN peacekeeping chief, an African Union monitor, and women leaders recently convened by GIWPS—about the stability of the revitalized 2018 peace agreement—the breakdown of which could plunge the country back into full-scale war. More than 370,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the first two months of 2026 due to escalating violence, with women, children, and the elderly often comprising the majority of those displaced. A February 14, 2026 rapid needs assessment also found that sexual violence by armed actors against women and girls is increasing, with reports that those who resist assault are being killed. Medical care and protection services for survivors are scarce in conflict-affected regions.
- Civil Society Urges Resolution: In advance of the UN Human Rights Council’s next regular session in February and March 2026, 129 civil society organizations—including women-led and women’s rights organizations—signed an open letter calling for the Council to adopt a resolution extending the mandate of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. The letter recognizes the disproportionate impact of violence on women and girls and notes that the Court remains the only mechanism responsible for collecting and preserving evidence of violations of international law, including conflict-related sexual violence.
- Ethnically Motivated Violence Escalates: A UN fact-finding mission declared that the RSF’s occupation of Al-Fashir bore “hallmarks of genocide” against the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic groups. This finding comes as RSF forces and allied militias continue to enact a campaign of ethnically motivated atrocities targeting non-Arab communities throughout Darfur, including mass executions, arbitrary detentions, and widespread rape used as a weapon of war against women and girls.
- Women Leaders Speak Out: Hala Al-Karib, regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, testified before the Security Council on February 19, 2026 to highlight the war’s toll on women and girls. Recommendations included that the Security Council demand an immediate halt to hostilities, call for an end to arms transfers likely to be used to commit war crimes, support sustained humanitarian access and accountability efforts, and ensure Sudanese women meaningfully participate in all efforts to end the conflict.
- Impunity for Abductions of Alawite Women: February 2026 reporting highlights continued impunity for dozens of abductions of Alawite women, contradicting findings by Syria’s Interior Ministry, which concluded that only 1 of 42 reported disappearances constituted kidnapping. Witnesses describe rape and sexual harassment during captivity. The government’s denial of widespread abductions has drawn allegations of deliberate obfuscation to shield perpetrators, while reinforcing social stigma and fear of retribution that deter survivors from reporting abuses or seeking justice.
- Amnesty Law Could Free Political Prisoners: Venezuela’s government introduced a new law that would grant amnesty to political prisoners and could trigger the release of thousands, including at least 80 women prisoners. While some have welcomed this law, rights groups and prisoners have criticized it for being overly narrow while excluding those facing violent charges—which were reportedly arbitrarily imposed—and those who called for foreign armed intervention. Critics also raise concerns that the court system will not neutrally apply the law and that an independent commission should instead supervise amnesty applications. Women family members and activists have been instrumental in demanding the release of those imprisoned and providing reintegration support for those released—including the more than 400 political prisoners already returned home since Maduro’s capture.
- Women Appointed to Newly Formed Cabinet: Women have been appointed to Yemen’s cabinet for the first time in more than a decade, securing 3 of 35 ministerial posts as announced by the newly formed government in February 2026. Notably, a woman will serve as the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation for the first time in the country’s history. Though women comprise just 9 percent of the cabinet—well below the 30 percent quota agreed upon at the prior National Dialogue Conference—these appointments mark a significant milestone and reflect the sustained advocacy by Yemeni women for greater inclusion in national governance.
In The News
The SAVE Act isn’t about election security; it’s about blocking women, young, and low-income voters by Kathy Spillar for Ms. Magazine
This article argues that the SAVE Act—which would require additional proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote in the US—will suppress voting and undermine trust in elections. Restrictions would disproportionately impact women who have changed their last names, which includes 80 percent of women married to men. Those without the financial means to obtain additional documents also risk being prevented from voting. Notably, nearly 10 percent of Americans don’t have a passport or birth certificate readily available.
In the Arts
Iran’s motorcycling midwife and rights campaigner is star of Oscar-Tipped film by Rosa Rahimi for the BBC
Cutting Through Rocks—co-directed by Iranian filmmaker Sara Khaki—was announced as the first Iranian nominee for Best Documentary at the Oscars. The film follows Sara Shahverdi, who travels by motorcycle in north-west Iran to provide midwife services. Filmmakers track Shahverdi as she becomes the first woman to win office in her village of Zanjan, after which she champions the rights of women and girls and provides fuel and electricity to her community.
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