Problems of Pakistani women in Corona pandemic by Jahangir Malik

Problems of Pakistani Women in Corona Pandemic

On April 15, 2020, the UN Secretary-General twitted to draw attention to the escalating domestic violence around the world following the coronavirus.

After COVID 19, such incidents escalated not only in developing countries (where either domestic violence laws do not exist at all or even if they exist, their implementation is weak due to social pressure) but also in developed societies ( despite having pertinent laws). In this case, in Pakistan, where social attitudes generally appear to be reluctant to intervene, making domestic violence a private matter, the situation has been deteriorating further since the outbreak of pandemic. There are many reasons for this.

The first reason is that men spend more time at home due to restrictions imposed in the face of coronavirus. The second reason is that women, regardless of their class, are expected to perform more in household chores, which has become somewhat difficult to accomplish, especially in the absence of domestic workers due to safety measures.  This situation has created problems for working women, as on the one hand they are forced to fulfill their career responsibilities at home, while on the other hand, they are also worried about handling household chores efficiently.

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In these circumstances, gender segregation in societies like Pakistani also exacerbates by the fact that women generally do not enjoy social equality and the only criterion for assessing their qualifications is simply fulfilling household responsibilities, no matter how professionally skilled they are.

In this regard, I recently had the opportunity to read the discussion of a social group of more than 28,000 highly educated women on Facebook on domestic issues in the wake of the Corona epidemic. In which women expressed mental and physical fatigue due to living in a joint family and staying at the husband's house for a long time. In the same group, a woman told her story and asked for a suggestion on how to treat her abusive husband. She cleans the house, cooks, and takes care of her husband, while ridiculed by her in-laws.

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The second major problem facing Pakistani women after Corona is the lack of education. Some analysts believe that it is not a gender-specific issue. But If you look at the rural girls who travel miles to reach government schools, it will come to light that girls are badly impacted after surfacing of this virus. Now they are faced with many problems.  Those who were previously involved in education are now forced to carry the burden of domestic responsibilities at home. The main reason is that public schools are ignorant of online education. This situation is even more troubling for girls because whenever the issue of continuing education in poor families in economic hardship comes up, boys are always given priority, regardless of qualifications. That is why the literacy rate of men is 70% in the country, while that of women is 48%. It is also important to point out that girls who are also involved in online education are also forced to take responsibility for household chores, which significantly affects their academic performance.

Like education, women's health conditions have been deteriorating since the Corona outbreak. Especially for pregnant women who are waiting for regular medical check-ups, but are forced to face difficulties due to the Corona pandemic. Hospitals are already under pressure owing to this, and access to medical care has become even more difficult, especially for economically disadvantaged women. According to a United Nations report, 48.1% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 in Pakistan have no personal preference for access to medical care. In these circumstances, rural women who are already unable to get access to medical care for various reasons are forced to face more difficulties. 

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Apart from education and health, another important issue women are facing is the provision of employment. Although the general rate of unemployment in Pakistan, like in other societies, has risen due to the lockdown after the Corona pandemic, the victims are especially those women who are deprived of job security due to their involvement in informal occupations.  According to the United Nations report, women already face 25 percent more poverty than men globally. More unfortunately, the victims are mostly female domestic workers.

In the end, it is important to say that whether it is an epidemic or a war situation, history has shown that women are the easiest victims. It has been seen more in societies where negative attitudes against women prevail. The most unfortunate thing is that even in such emergencies, the ruling class does not take gender standards into account in its strategy. As a result, the weaker ones become more vulnerable. Therefore, concerned institutions, along with addressing the complaints of victimized women, must formulate gender-friendly policies to better counter this pandemic. 

Written By: Jahangir Malik