Protesters wearing fake blood makeup and holding placards take part in a demonstration outside BBC headquarters in London on Feb. 4. Photo by Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

On Oct. 7, Hamas raped, tortured, assaulted, murdered and kidnapped women. 

Why has it been so hard for the world to wake up to that fact?

Just look at the United Nations, which took five months to assemble and release “clear and convincing” evidence that Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct. 7 — the most tragic day in modern Israeli history. 

This, despite Israeli authorities and multiple news outlets revealing mere days after the attack that sexual violence had taken place. The truth was evident five months ago, and yet, the U.N. stayed silent. 

It’s no surprise, considering the U.N.’s history of discriminating against Israel. Not to mention its dreadful recent record on women: It added Iran, governed by a regime that’s notoriously brutal toward women, to serve on the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women as recently as 2022. Iran was removed from the commission after the murder that same year of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s laws making headscarves mandatory. But the fact that such an oppressive, anti-woman, extremist government was allowed to join this commission in the first place speaks volumes about the U.N.’s morals.

It’s been overwhelming to see, especially when it comes to sexual violence, how determined so many people and institutions are to frame Israel as an oppressor, even when it is a victim. Even major women’s groups, including some associated with the U.N., have accepted this false framework, either because they harbor a deep hatred of Jews, or because they are so ignorant of the real situation on the ground that they are easily convinced by the deception.

This International Women’s Day, we must insist that all those who have not spoken up for the Israeli women who were raped, taken hostage and murdered must stop believing the lies. It is time for the world to stand up for what’s right. 

It is all too notable that this selective skepticism seems to only apply to Israelis. 

Celebrities were all about the #MeToo movement, and that to #BringBackOurGirls. They held up signs, they protested, they spoke out on social media. And yet, when it comes to Israeli women, most have been dead silent. Those who have spoken up, like Amy Schumer, have been lambasted on social media. It is baffling to me that expressing belief in the truth — that Israelis suffered horrifying sexual violence during a horrifying act of war — is treated as the moral equivalent of a heinous crime. 

All these people and groups have to do is condemn the sexual violence. It’s not hard. They can revive the #BringBackOurGirls movement, and post about the plight of the 14 women believed to still be hostages in Gaza — among the 134 who remain there. If they really cared about women, they would.  

Those women are being held in horrible conditions. They are very likely going through sexual violence and experiencing a host of traumatic situations that will impact them for the rest of their lives. The U.N.’s Monday report confirmed that investigators found compelling evidence that hostages in Gaza had been sexually abused, and that that violence was ongoing. 

Some of these women haven’t yet gotten to follow their dreams. They haven’t had the chance to pursue a career or higher education, or fall in love, or start a family. They have barely started their lives yet.

Others are mothers and grandmothers who have been ripped away from their children and grandchildren, and sisters, aunts and daughters who have no connection to their loved ones.

Even if these women’s groups and feminists haven’t spoken up yet, it’s not too late. There is still time to step up and advocate for these women in dire circumstances. This International Women’s Day, I urge them to grow a backbone and support our Israeli sisters.

It’s time for them to take a stand and show that they care about all women. It’s time for them to declare, unabashedly: Bring them home.

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