Life after amputation: Gaza women find recovery through football
Palestinian women in Gaza who have lost limbs during Israel’s genocidal war are using football as a way of recovering and rebuilding their lives. On
Palestinian women in Gaza who have lost limbs during Israel’s genocidal war are using football as a way of recovering and rebuilding their lives. On a small football field in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, a blast of cheers and laughter rises above the eerie silence of Israel’s ongoing genocide. On the pitch, one of the few to survive the war so far, a group of young women with artificial limbs pass the ball across the artificial turf playing surface. They are part of a team of young Palestinian women who have lost limbs in Israeli bombing or had body parts amputated after life-crippling injuries. Stories here begin with the pain each player endured during the moments of these air strikes, and the long journey that brought them back to their feet. Central to this has been the role of the Palestine Association Women’s Amputee Football Team to help them physically and mentally recover from their life-changing ordeals. Since Israel’s war on the enclave began on October 7, 2023, Gaza has witnessed one of the highest numbers of amputees recorded in modern history. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 5,000 people in Gaza have undergone limb amputations in Israeli bombing. Road to recovery Among them is 23-year-old Farah Abu Qinas, who on the night of June 28, 2024, 23-year-old was sitting in her grandmother’s home when a nearby location was bombed.
Farah suffered serious injuries to her left leg, while her right leg was severely burned. Initially, she hoped that treatment would put her life back to normal, but she was given the devastating diagnosis that due to the severity of the wounds on her left leg, it would have to be amputated. Losing a leg was only part of the ordeal; what followed was isolation and realisation that every aspect of her daily life had changed forever. After leaving the hospital, even the simplest movement became difficult, and physical rehabilitation became a daily routine. As time passed, she felt her world shrinking within the walls of her home as her recovery moved far more slowly than she had hoped. All this changed when, during a physical therapy session, she met Fouad Abu Ghalyon, the president of the Palestine Amputee Football Association. He had helped found Gaza’s team for women amputees and now features 11 players – nine with lower-limb amputations and two players with upper-limb amputations who play as goalkeepers. Farah soon received an invitation to join one of their training sessions and decided to give it a go. While adapting to playing football was difficult at first, she was supported by other women who had gone through similar experiences as her own. She now moves with more confidence on and off the pitch. With the aid of her prosthetic leg, she chases down the ball alongside her teammates Rozan Khaira and Aisha al-Abadla.
The BriefWire