New Crisis Old Exclusion

Context:  State of anonymity and curtailed contact with the outside has encouraged the indifference and marginalisation of women from the collective consciousness.

Pandemic Induced Gender Centric Issues 

• Abduction, wrongful confinement, molestation and harassment: cases do not surface, more so in the lockdown circumstances. 
• Rising cases of domestic violence: due to 
• Increased alcohol consumption by the husband;
• The controlling behaviour of family members; 
• Frustration as a consequence of limited resources.
• Insufficient community support or social interventions: Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are also under lockdown amidst pandemic.
• Women health issues/concerns: especially of those who rely on community services and the official health machinery.
• Inadequate and stretched health resources are deployed for the pandemic. 
• Little access to family planning services, institutional support for deliveries, natal and neonatal support or adequate and regular access to hygiene and sanitary items. 
• Disproportionate economic exclusion of women: both in rural and urban economies. 
• Declining female participation in the labour force.
• The shift of employment from women to men in the non-farm employment construction sector.
• Unequal gender equations at home: Increased number of hours of unpaid work and enhanced the burden on women.

Conclusion: Women would need to find themselves resources and mechanisms to come out of the pandemic induced gender crisis.