COVID 19 and Plight of Women (With Special Emphasis on Indian Women)

The COVID 19 pandemic has forced the world to embrace a new normal, and emerging evidence on the impact of COVID 19 suggests that women’s economic and productive lives have been affected disproportionately and differently from men. According to International Labour Organization, in developing economics, 70% of women work in the informal sector with few protections against dismissal or for paid sick leave and limited access to social protection. In India, the nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government has left millions of migrant labour unemployed and starved for food, placing a huge financial burden on their women, who contribute substantially to their household income. We will review the adverse impact of COVID 19 on the income and jobs of working women and housewives, especially domestic workers, health workers and women working in sectors such as manufacturing, home-based activities for assembling production, teaching, coaching and agriculture-based activities. On an average, women spend two times as many hours as men doing unpaid caregiving work as well as domestic work. With health facilities being overburdened and non COVID 19 related health and social services being scaled down, women will be primary unpaid caregivers to ailing family members. Women’s greater involvement in unpaid care economy could also impact their already low workforce participation rate. In India, participation of women in the labour force has been trending downwards for the past several years. By occupation, approximately 80% working women in India have been engaged in agriculture, health, education, paid domestic work, and manufacturing sectors. During COVID 19, the socio-economic conditions of girls and working women have adversely affected their working conditions, exposing them to a high risk of exploitation and abuse for their economic survival. Restrictive social works, gender stereotypes, home quarantine and diversion of resources to respond to the COVID 19 pandemic can limit women’s ability to access health services. Global lockdowns have led to several women being stuck at home with their perpetrators and incidents and reports of violence against women has been on a risk. Evidence from the South East Asia region shows that seasonal male outmigration is linked to the reduction in gender-based domestic violence. Women’s health services has also been severely impacted due to the COVID 19 emergency. Multiple reproduction has also put severe strain on their mental health.