By Nagham Karaja
Gaza — Under the slogan “Pink Despite Genocide,” the Culture and Free Thought Association launched the Pink Bus, one of the key initiatives marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The campaign aims to raise health awareness and support women and girls facing the harsh conditions of displacement and humanitarian crisis.

On Tuesday, October 7, the Pink Bus set off from central Gaza. Over the next five days, it will travel through the middle and southern areas of the Strip, visiting overcrowded shelters that now host thousands of displaced families—especially mothers and young women who have been deprived of even the most basic healthcare due to repeated displacement and the collapse of medical infrastructure.

Health educator Kholoud Shaheen describes this year’s campaign as “the hardest one yet.” With mass displacement and women crammed into tiny areas, challenges have multiplied. “But we had to adapt,” she explains. “We divided large camps into smaller groups to reach as many women and girls as possible. We may live under constant bombing, but I don’t want a woman to die in silence simply because she didn’t know she could check herself.”

“Despite Everything, We Keep Going”
Campaign coordinator Iman Al-Huwaehi emphasizes that the association’s Women’s Health Center continues to operate at full capacity despite the destruction, offering medical checks, awareness sessions, and distributing hygiene kits.
“Our conviction never changed,” she says. “Women’s health remains a priority — even if electricity cuts off, hospitals burn down, and supplies run out. The Pink Bus keeps moving; awareness sessions continue. A single hygiene kit might not change the world, but it’s proof that we haven’t abandoned them.”

The initiative aims to educate women on self-examination in simple, accessible ways and to remind them that early detection can save lives — even in times of war.

But amid the relentless bombardment and medical collapse, cancer patients face near-impossible odds. Gaza’s only oncology hospital was forced to shut down in November 2023 due to fuel shortages and destruction — and was completely demolished by Israeli forces in March 2025.

In the camps, groups of women wait in line for the Pink Bus. Laughter flickers briefly through exhaustion as someone asks, “Does it even matter anymore?” A weary doctor smiles and replies softly:
“It matters a lot. If you find it early, you can still save your life. Don’t wait until it hurts — by then, it may be too late.”
Sessions are held discreetly inside the bus, respecting the women’s privacy, fears, and modesty.

Despite the dire situation, the campaign’s organizers carefully planned routes and daily schedules for the bus, stopping in densely populated areas such as Khan Younis, Rafah, Deir al-Balah, and Nuseirat. At each stop, medical staff walk between tents distributing pink leaflets illustrating self-exam steps — asking questions like:
“Have you noticed any change in your breast shape? Felt any lumps? Any unusual pain?”

The association also distributes small hygiene packages containing sanitary pads and disinfectants — a modest attempt to ease the rising costs of basic goods amid siege and destruction.

A Message to Every Woman
“Each hygiene kit may seem small,” says Al-Huwaehi, “but it carries a message: You still matter. You still have rights.”
“When our center briefly shut down under heavy shelling, we kept a mobile team moving between streets and camps — searching for any safe spot to hold a session. Because we know that delay can kill.”

Since the war began on October 7, 2023, cancer patients in Gaza have faced an escalating catastrophe — not only physical suffering but a daily battle for survival in a health system that has collapsed.
Official figures indicate over 13,000 cancer patients in Gaza, including 4,200 women and 750 children. Around 5,000 patients, mostly women, urgently need to leave Gaza for diagnosis or treatment abroad, but closed borders and permit denials have trapped them inside — prisoners of illness and war.

In this battle not fought with scalpels but with hope and endurance, the Pink Bus stands as a symbol of resistance — a reminder that Gaza’s women are not forgotten.
Even in the heart of devastation, there is light. Awareness itself becomes a weapon, and seeking health amid ruins is an act of defiance.

The end of Pink October should not mean the end of the fight — but rather a call to reopen borders, rebuild hospitals, restore medicine supplies, and protect healthcare facilities from bombardment. Because every day without treatment adds another layer to the price of pain.