Libya's Forgotten Half: Between Conflict and Pandemic, Women Pay the Higher Price

May 14, 2020 | Asma Khalifa
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Immediately after the state of emergency was declared in Libya, the government in Tripoli began dispensing funds intended to combat the pandemic. Half of it tangled in corrupt deals and used to silence the public’s worries as the population knows well enough that if a health crisis hits them, they would have nowhere to go.

Libyans have been traveling to Tunisia for medical treatment long before 2011. While the virus now prevents travel due to closed borders, travel restrictions for women existed long before the pandemic arrived. Due to the breakdown in the security apparatus, the restriction on movement prevents women from freely driving on their own between towns to access services, including health. The security situation of roads is often precarious, not only armed conflicts could erupt at any point, the roads are also littered with fake check points where citizens are highjacked or kidnapped for ransom.