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The Covid-19 pandemic is considered to be one of the greatest historical
event ever since the century old Spanish flu devastated the humanity. This
significant period is changing our lives in myriad manners and indeed altering
our priorities as if in a war-like scenario. Take for example, the case of
alcohol. The lockdown which led to complete close down of all alcohol outlets
in India was received with a huge debate on two sides. A set of people who
argued that without alcohol, the alcoholics would have drastic withdrawal
symptoms and may lead to harsh outcomes including crimes and suicides. Another
set of people who felt that this period of non-intake of alcohol may lead to
better balance and love inside the family especially in those where men are
addicted to it. And that this period could even help in stopping or reducing
this habit forever.
Around a week after the lockdown was announced, I had an interesting
chat with a few of my women friends on the topic of family life and alcoholism.
I spoke to selected 14 women who had previously disclosed to me that alcoholism
of their husband / father is a matter of concern and familial discord. Around
80% of them told me that the non-availability and the resultant sober nature of
the men in family was indeed very satisfying. There were less arguments and a
feeling of safety within the family.
Though there was a fear of withdrawal symptoms, most of them could
overcome the same by spending time with children or doing household chores.The
wives/mothers /daughters were happy and there was peace in the family.
However, to my surprise, when I re-checked the status after around one
month of the lock down things were not as bright as it was initially. The “good
husbands” became once more “bad husbands” for varying reasons. In fact, this
time, only 40% of the women agreed that they had a “peaceful” family life. On
probing further, the reasons included increase in domestic violence, arguments,
verbal abuse, child abuse etc. The increase in the domestic violence incidents
during the lock down have actually opened up the decaying worm called toxic
masculinity or the deep rooted patriarchal notions which was hitherto hidden in
the name of alcoholism. Other issues like sexual abuse especially of children
also cropped up during this period and many cases were reported in the media as
usual.
Sexual violence and alcoholism has been long considered as going hand in
hand. But despite the non-availability of alcohol (now, this is a question by
itself. Are we sure that they are not obtaining their alcohol from unscrupulous
sources?) , the rising number of these incidents also points to pertinent
questions on sexual deprivation or possibly psychopathic tendencies in such
individuals.
Power relations within the family especially in the context of
increasing financial insecurities, rising tensions, fear and seemingly endless
confinement at home could also be other reasons for the rise in the incidents
of domestic violence. So, my ladies who were earlier “happy” about having their
husbands at home and having a “peaceful” life now started lamenting on when the
lock down will end so that their husbands can get back to work which will
enable some free time for themselves.
Amidst the media frenzy of the death statistics and political debates
that’s happening on a similar pandemic rate, there are multiple segments of
people whose issues get submerged. One such is the women and the Trans genders.
The nature of issues may be different for each segment but the fact remains
that the pandemic has brought out some issues which were hidden.
Feminist economists also have spent decades examining women's unpaid
work within the home, an issue that has gained attention during the crisis with
lock downs and stay at home orders around the world. Regardless of context,
women do relatively more unpaid care work than men and this is mostly
undervalued and invisible. This also increased due to school closure and the
additional care needed for elders at home who may be sick.
Coming to the work front, the fact that a vast majority of healthcare
workers are also women and their burnouts, stress and emotional trauma is
something which needs attention cannot be ignored.
We also heard of violent behaviour towards some of the healthcare
professionals including doctors and nurses who were ill- treated by their
neighbours or landlords. On one side, we hear of the struggles of healthcare
workers and the other side we also hear of follies committed by law breakers
leading to more victims needing attention from the same healthcare warriors.
In the case of transgender, the issues are multi-fold. Poverty and lack
of avenues for dignified living has now increased its magnitude post covid. It
is imperative that their issues are studied separately by government and other
bodies and necessary actions to be taken for effective rehabilitation and
empowerment actions.
Gender sensitive strategies shall be identified by corporations and
governments along with substantial provision of social net for women and other
vulnerable segments. Flexible work arrangements for both men and women which
became a necessity during this pandemic can continue which may enable better
participation of men in household chores as well as reduce the burden of women
to some extent. Gender responsive actions and business policies are also need
of the hour. In fact, the pandemic actually offers an opportunity to bring
about effective changes in the society and systems to protect the women from
the brunt of not just this situation but also to modify earlier inequities.
Women’s economic empowerment by providing opportunities in home based small
businesses,micro-entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, opportunities in digital and
technology world, local manufacturing and marketing of women made products are
all areas to focus on after this lock-down.
Coming to economic issues, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic roll
through economies, reducing employment opportunities and triggering layoffs,
temporary workers (the majority of whom are women), are expected to bear the
heaviest brunt of job losses.
Let’s look at some of the below statistics identified by Isabelle &
Pamela (April 2020) published in the UNCTAD website where they talk about the
necessity of gender- equal responses to save the economy after Covid 19.
“Across the world,women represent less than 40% of total employment but make up 57% of those working on a part- time basis, according to the International Labour Organization. In South Asia, over 80% of women in non-agricultural jobs are in informal employment; in sub-Saharan Africa this figure is 74%; and in Latin America and the Caribbean, 54% of women in non-agricultural jobs participate in informal employment. The service sector is being hit hard by the restrictions imposed to manage the spread of the coronavirus. Given that some 55% of women are employed in the service sector (in comparison with 44% of men), women are more likely to be adversely affected. Moreover, female-dominated service sectors such as food, hospitality and tourism are among those expected to feel the harshest economic effects of the measures to contain the spread of the pandemic. Without open and favourable lines of credit, many female entrepreneurs will be forced to close their businesses”
We at Prayaana are striving in our own small ways to enable home based
economic opportunities to women whose families may face reduction in their
incomes in the current economic scenario. You can contribute to the cause by
purchasing women made products from www.pracol.com . Best of all, this portal
has an affiliate marketing model whereby you get rewards for every purchase and
references. Click here to Join today at Pracol and support women enterprises in
India.
Just as the earth is healing itself by closing ozone holes and
eliminating pollutants, it’s time to use this period as a ladder towards better
gender equality.
Cheers to all the wonder women and superheroes out there!
#CeeVee
May 2020
#CeeVee is the brand name of Ms.Chandra Vadhana, Founder and Chief
Mentor , Prayaana Labs. Email: connectceevee@gmail.com
Reference: “COVID-19 requires gender-equal responses to save economies”,
Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary-General, and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director,
Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD, published on April
1,2020 in UNCTAD website.
This article was first published in SHESIGHT Magazine , May 2020
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