Let’s not forget gendered effects of disease fight
What you need to know:
- These restrictions – including freedom of movement – sometimes trap women and their children in abusive spaces.
- Restrictions must, at a minimum, be carried out in accordance with the law and be respectful of human dignity.
Neglecting gender dynamics, and the potential of equity-based approaches to disease outbreak responses, has disproportionate physical, societal and financial implications on women.
The lived experiences of women and girls during an outbreak can be drawn from studies done in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak and Zika virus in Brazil, among others.
Beyond the economic implications of Covid-19, there are other issues that weigh differently among the genders.
Foremost, in health, it’s reported that women make up a majority of healthcare workers globally, almost 70 per cent according to some estimates. Most of them occupy nursing roles.
In Kenya, nurses’ and doctors’ unions are alarmed over the perceived laxity of the Ministry of Health in taking charge of the situation and coordinating response between counties and the national government.
They demanded that nurses, most of whom are women, need extra protection and warned that they will down their tools if the government does not protect them.
RESTRICTIONS
Secondly, the fine line between human rights and pandemic containment presents yet another problem.
In the context of serious public health threats and global pandemics, restrictions on some rights can be justified.
However, these restrictions – including freedom of movement – sometimes trap women and their children in abusive spaces.
This increases the cases of gender-based violence due to heightened anxieties and frustrations.
Reduced movement also means reduced access to contraceptives – leading to increased number of unintended pregnancies – and contraceptive medicine for women with conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovarian.
Furthermore, prenatal care for expectant women and care for lactating mothers and their infants also hangs in the balance.
These effects are worse for women with additional marginalisations, such as ethnic and religious minorities, those living with HIV, those living with disabilities, women with mental health struggles and diagnoses such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disease and depression.
We must, therefore, combat Covid-19 with the awareness of the invisible consequences.
RULE OF LAW
Restrictions such as mandatory quarantine or isolation of symptomatic people must, at a minimum, be carried out in accordance with the law and be respectful of human dignity.
When quarantines or lockdowns are imposed, governments are obligated to ensure access to food, water and healthcare as stipulated in Article 43 of the Constitution.
We must all bear in mind that although Covid-19 is a global pandemic, how it’s experienced is deeply personal and gendered, with daunting consequences that need thoughtful solutions.
Scheaffer Okore is a policy analyst; [email protected]
