COVID19: Why we shall not ignore the gender role in fighting the pandemic

Coronavirus Pandemic is the biggest threat in terms of the viral disease since the Spanish Flu of 1920. With the changing world around us, we still choose to not notice the pandemic with the lenses of Gender. Especially, in a country like India.

Women

Women are on the double-edged sword during the lockdown in India. On one hand, a maximum number of nurses and healthcare workers are women, so they’re at a bigger risk. On the other, during the lockdown, there are high possibilities of domestic violence.

Many daily wage workers are women, who have lost their livelihoods, and in rural India, there are many Single mothers as well, who look after their child alone, as their husbands are badly addicted to alcohol and do not earn. Much similar is the case of the sex workers, who are incapacitated by this critical time and getting least support from our society.
Such women are undergoing unimaginable trauma over the lockdown.

Third-Gender

There is a considerable number of third-gender people in India, who are already isolated by society. Most of them rely on begging or outdoor work. An already isolated community further isolated due to COVID19 with least help coming towards them.

Role of the government

Governments should look closely into this matter, if not already looking and start a helpline for the domestic violence and other gender-centric issues which require special care. Domestic violence should not be silenced in the shadow of lockdown. It’s a crucial time where equal participation, equal relief and equal measures need to be taken to maintain the sanctity of this nation.