Siddhanth Goel
Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
Introduction:
Women are not just suffering since the outbreak of this pandemic but from a very long time even before the colonial rule and in so many years nothing has improved only it has been worsened by one or the other event. They have always been treated unequally while giving jobs, salaries and wages, leadership positions and even basic human rights. Data provided by UN Women says that in 2018 over 2.7 billion women were legally restricted from having the same job as men around the world. Of 189 economies 104 economies still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 economies have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and in 18 economies, husbands can legally prevent their wives from working. What kind of society are we living in? And now the pandemic proves to be a novel assailant in the lives of women which has recast itself to entail multiple biases which had been incorporated in a woman’s life for several years. It manifests to have a veritable impact on women and will wreak havoc in an already shattered land. Thus, there is a need for women-centric problem identification mechanisms and public policy interventions to protect the women community from being beleaguered.
Extent of Unemployment:
Recently a survey done by Azim Premji University of 5000 workers across 12 states showed that 52% of them are women workers and their position is worse than those of men in rural areas. Almost 71% of women out of them lost their jobs during the lockdown. This pandemic has been a great shock to the labor market. A lot of them have lost jobs and not only in rural areas but everywhere and it has brought a lot of sufferings to all, specifically to women, children, and migrant workers. These are those people who generally face the crisis of permanent employment during the whole year and this is not because they withdraw from the work, but because they don’t get any work anywhere. Due to this they even work at a rate lower than the minimum wage rate so that they can at least have one meal in a day. The women in rural areas work more than men but still earn very less as compared to them. Also, they don’t have to just work and earn for the family but also has to carry out all the house core activities. The Foundation of Agrarian Studies (FAS) found that the total hours worked by women (in economic activity and care) ranged from 61 hours to 88 hours in the lean season, with a maximum of 91 hours (or 13 hours a day) in the peak season. No woman puts in less than a 60-hour work per week. Even after doing so much, they don’t earn enough. During the lockdown, though the agricultural work was going on still the women were unemployed because in the rain prevalent areas it’s the lean season, in the irrigated areas the work is mostly mechanized, and in other areas people prefer mostly family members than hired labors. In other activities related to agriculture, the demand fell and they couldn’t earn enough.
Crimes Against Women:
Also, not all of the women are lucky to find people who truly care for them, who truly value and respect women. Many of them are stuck with those who don’t respect and believe in male chauvinism. They are suffering from domestic violence and no one is there to hear them out. They can’t go anywhere, a lot of them don’t have jobs, nothing to eat and no shelter over their heads except the place where they are staying and this is not just the case of rural areas but in urban areas as well. To protect themselves from other problems in society, they have become the victim of domestic violence. Even after lockdown, there is a rape case every 15 minutes. The cases of domestic violence have doubled since the lockdown. Especially since the opening of liquor shops, there has been a rise of another 15% in the cases. Still, these are very few numbers as a lot of them are not even reported. They suffer, they cry and they stay silent and all this just to avoid any further arguments or any other worse situation which may arise. Why is this happening? There are many reasons for it. Due to the pandemic, many of them have lost jobs. The tensions between families are rising due to financial problems. Girls education in a country like India is very low and even now according to the data only 29% of internet users in India are females. Also, the offenders now have an easy way out as the victims are been asked to stay where they are cutting them from all the support systems. Also, according to another data 57% of women do not own a mobile phone. Even though a WhatsApp helpline number was launched for those who can avail the service, and even the cases were also reported but the action on this during the pandemic has been negligible. Another issue with this is that the law prohibiting domestic violence in India i.e. the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA), requires the victim to file a complaint through either a telephonic conversation, online reporting or in-person meetings and at the moment none of them is possible.
It’s not easy to come out and speak about this. It’s not easy to share this with anyone. As still in many parts of India it is still seen as a normal thing for people. For them speaking about this and asking for justice means bringing shame to the family. Still, a lot of them think that women should remain quiet and suffer. The impact of all this has a deep effect on the minds and they not only suffer physically but mentally also and start suffering from other problems as well and many times, they also become prey to psychological issues as well.
Need for Government Intervention:
But still, there are some ways out or there are some things that the government can still do to control all this. Once we come out of the lockdown, the government should firstly build a road map for the alleviation of the rural sector especially for the women, children, and migrant workers. Though a lot of government schemes are been introduced for giving the skill training to these people so that they can do some other work besides agriculture as well from which they can earn a little extra but none of them in India are implemented properly. Also, the government needs to think about some women-specific employment. Women have given a very good response in the health sector; more women can be trained for the same. During this pandemic, we experienced that not only doctors played a great role but all the assistant staff and nurses played an equally important role. The young generation in rural areas can be given training for the same.
In the case of domestic violence, they can integrate the domestic violence support into COVID 19 plan, like spreading awareness about the rights held by the women to combat this. If the women are aware of their rights, then they can at least try seeking help rather than staying quiet about what is going on. The major issue is why a lot of cases are not reported is because they fear the outcome of inaction once the case has been reported, so, to help them in that case, anonymous entries must be authorized. A different unit especially to address should be set up at least for the pandemic time period so that many more cases can be addressed. Protection for women and even children should be enhanced for those who have decided to stay where they like in market areas or stalls or any other commercial centers are and not go home. Try reducing the gap between the gender equality through spreading education and identifying the loopholes in the law and fixing those loopholes.
Conclusion:
The women have already suffered a lot and not only India but everywhere in the world. It is high time that everyone looks at them as men and in no way inferior to men. It will be completely wrong to say that men don’t suffer at all but it won’t be right either to say that they suffer equally as women. It’s not about just these two genders or sufferings but it is about respecting each and every human being and all other genders with the same dignity and integrity. It is time for all to be seen as equal and to gradually reduce and then completely eliminate the gap between the different genders and remove all the biases and give everyone an equal opportunity to rise. It’s time for all to stand against injustice.
REFERENCES:
Agarwal, K., 2020. Domestic Violence And COVID-19: Rethinking Solutions. [online] Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Available at: <https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/2020/07/03/domestic-violence-and-covid-19-rethinking-solutions/> [Accessed 5 July 2020].
Swaminathan, M., 2020. Reset Rural Job Policies, Recognise Women’s Work. [online] The Hindu. Available at: <https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/reset-rural-job-policies-recognise-womens-work/article31984168.ece> [Accessed 5 July 2020].
UN Women. 2020. Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment. [online] Available at: <https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures> [Accessed 5 July 2020].
