No body, no death certificate: the bureaucratic limbo trapping the widows of Gaza’s missing men
Enas Abu Ghayad reports in Mondoweiss on 21 September 2026 :
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But for thousands of women in Gaza, namely the wives or widows of men who are still missing, a particularly cruel reality has emerged. Not only do they live with the pain of not knowing where their husbands are, or not being able to bury them, but they also face a legal and bureaucratic void that leaves them and their children trapped in limbo. In a traditionally patriarchal society that runs entirely on paperwork, women who find themselves with no male breadwinner and no official proof that their husbands are dead are stuck with no way to run their own lives or protect their children from poverty and instability.
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Ghadeer’s tragedy did not stop at emotional devastation. Like countless women in her situation, she has faced both psychological and financial obstacles. Since her husband Amin is administratively classified as “missing” without an official death certificate, she has become completely unable to access his bank account to withdraw the family’s money still in the account. She has also faced obstacles at many aid distribution points that require the presence of a “head of household” — in other words, a man, or a widow who can prove her husband is dead. Ghadeer has neither.
“The bank asks me for a legal power of attorney or a death certificate before I can withdraw from my husband’s account, and relief organizations treat me as if my husband is still around and able to go get food himself!” Ghadeer said bitterly. “I have neither the money nor the papers that would qualify me for a food parcel to feed my children.”