“My husband told me frequently, ‘You’re not able to give me a son’,” Khadija described.

This year, Nashwa Mohamed has adopted a new ritual at work: She sits at her desk, looks at her notebook, picks up her phone and calls women who have stopped receiving contraceptives due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I always encourage the women I know to do a self-examination and regular screenings,” Intisar, 55, told UNFPA. She is a breast cancer survivor from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, and her outspokenness about the topic is rare in her community.