By Maria Makurat - Human Rights and AI, Cyber Team
Introduction
The conflict in the Middle East and the dilemma over the Strait of Hormuz is proving to be a new challenge for the world on both the macro and micro levels. As energy and gas fuel prices increase, other prices, such as food, pesticides,and supplies, go up as well. This crisis goes beyond certain borders and has both short and long-lasting effects on several impacts areas at both the economic and social levels. The European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee have conducted an analysis from a gendered viewpoint when considering the consequences of rising energy prices on costs of living in 2024. This should also be continuously used to highlight current conflicts and their impact on the safety of women. Rising energy costs are undermining women’s safety by limiting access to healthcare, humanitarian aid, and essential services. Considering, that one cannot tell for sure how long this conflict will persist and what the long-term effects of the closing of the Strait of Hormuz will entail for the EU and the rest of the World, questions should be asked in order to make possible predictions for the future. Using international relations theories, whilst considering some new challenging views such as quantum international relations and the debate between positivist and non-positivist approaches will be taken into account when trying to analyse the rapid changing landscape and conflicts that have an impact on the safety of women.
Rising energy costs and possible impacts on women
Since 2019, the world has been experiencing many conflicts, challenges and new hurdles. During 2020, the coronavirus pandemic hit world-wide, causing many institutions to close but also provided vital assistance to women during that time. The pandemic caused a significant increase in domestic violence which has also been called by UN Women “The Shadow Pandemic”. Now, countries face long-term challenges resulting from the pandemic but also climate change policies, economic hurdles due to increased EU spending on defence as well as investment in alternative resources. In Germany, during the last international women’s day 2025, social help institutions such as “Frauennotruf” have called for a strike in order to raise awareness of how cutting funds for such said institutions can have negative impacts on the safety of women. Already in 2022, the DKG (German Hospital Society) has warned that due to rising energy costs, hospitals face the risk of bankruptcy which can again have severe consequences for access to supplies for women in terms of pregnancy and other support.
Women in Germany are increasingly facing a problem: there is not only a general decline in doctors in the regional areas but the number of women doctors is also descreasing.. Looking at the new household funding, many cuts will have to be made in both smaller larger cities in Germany. Cities are considering to close certain cultural institutions (e.g Berlin wants to save up 130 million euros) to save money as well as closing around 18 emergency rooms in Baden-Württemberg alone which could impact around 90 000 patients increasing the strain on the social health system. When analysing said issues, diving into the micro and macro level becomes complex but necessary when wanting to find possible explanations and suggestions for further research. The micro level, when leaning more towards feminist theories is vital when wanting to understand the impact specifically on women however, also considering a more realism and constructivism approach is necessary since one also must take the institutions (e.g EU, UN, other country-specific institutions) into account.
Dr. med. Alicia Baier for instance has released a study on how women increasingly face issues when wanting to receive abortion or just medical advice concerning abortion. She writes that for instance in Germany, there is an alarming trend, that due to having less and less doctors available (especially in the outskirts of cities) and Hospitals decreasing their capacities in order to save up costs, women face the danger of not receiving enough medical treatment. Women face the danger of giving birth on their way to the hospital.[1] These developments show that rising energy costs are not only an economic issue, but also a security concern, as they reduce women’s access to healthcare and essential services. Using international relations methodologies remain essential when wanting to analyse this issue.
What about international relations theories and new strands of thought?
The impact of the conflicts on the safety of women remains complex and should be continuously analysed through an international relations lens whilst also considering new possible ways of researching such as quantum international relations, feminist debate between positivist and non-positivist approaches.
Looking further at the consequences of closing the Strait of Hormuz and the overall energy crisis, one also has to consider the humanitarian aid for women and children such as in Sudan: “Humanitarian supply chains are fragile. When routes close and costs surge, the help we can deliver shrinks – and the people who need it most are the ones who lose it first.” Again when using a macro viewpoint whilst also considering the micro level, one has to consider the long-term consequences of these crises for the safety of women and children. Could these shortages lead to further local conflicts in Sudan and other areas that need humanitarian aid? Considering, for instance, Sjoberg, gender perspectives are essential to understanding how conflict and economic crises affect security at the individual level. (Sjoberg 2024), one should also consider here the impact of institutions and state behaviour, considering realism and liberalism, when wanting to continuously assess the impact of the energy crisis on the safety of women.
Looking further, humanitarian aid is strained for instance also for women in Afghanistan: “The cost of delivering $172,000 worth of nutrition supplies to children and pregnant women in Afghanistan via freight air was $316,000, nearly double the cost of the goods themselves.” Ships are forced to take the long route around Cape of Good Hope which causes delays, more costs and of course rising insecurities. Considering further the micro level, delayed necessities such as also childbirth supplies, maternal care and food in general can increase vulnerability for women and potential unrest as well as conflicts in refugee camps. A feminist approach in analysing the conflict here is essential to understand the impact on a micro level however, also taking the larger scope by including positivist (quantitative data) as well as non-positivist (interviews) methods into account is equally important to find potential solutions and new trains of thought. As Sjoberg also points out that a multimethod is best when tackling international relations issues in relation to women’s peace and security, one also has to take caution in having clear aims and research questions when analysing certain conflicts.
An interesting new approach in international relations is considered to even implement quantitative ways of thinking when analysing international relations issues such as by Der Derian and Wendt. The theory focuses on the human science arguing that world politics is not fixed but more entangled (especially individuals), uncertain, shaped by observers and that due to a superposition, actors can hold multiple overlapping state identities.[2] Putting emphasis on individuals and the connectivity would also fit with a
feminist approach due to the micro cantered view. The theory still requires further development to find a clear path of analysis, which is also pointed by the researchers that one grand theory is not strived here, but the development of using more strongly sociological and human science trains of thought in international relations is of importance when wanting to understand the impact of conflicts on the safety and security of women.
Concluding thoughts and open questions
As can be seen, research has already started taking place to look more specifically at the impact of the energy crisis and overall world crisis (e.g. Iran war) on the safety of women. What one can say for sure at this point is the following: women are specifically impacted by the conflicts and energy crisis such as in receiving aid, maternal supplies and the general cost of living. Using classical international relations theories isessential however, the more strongly emerging human science approach is taking shape when wanting to fully understand how women are impacted. Here one can ask further questions, do we need one grand theory, orshould we continue with a multimethod approach? Does one run the risk of losing sight when using too many trainsof thought or is it indeed necessary to understand the micro individual level? Perhaps one can for the sake of argument try to develop one grand theory to analyse a specific women’s security conflict (e.g. energy crisis on women) and see how far one can go.
[1] Dr. med. Alicia Baier, “Das Patriachat im Uterus”, Droemer Verlag, 2025, pg 156,
[2] Der Derian, James, and Alexander Wendt (eds), “Quantum International Relations: A Human Science for World Politics” (New York, 2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 23 June 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197568200.001.0001, accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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