The Gendered Aspects of the Covid-19 Lockdown

- Written by Radhika 

(Post Graduate student at

Banaras Hindu University)

 The recent Covid-19 pandemic has not only brought the whole world at a standstill, but it has also clearly exposed the loopholes, and the exploitative and inept nature of the modern ‘capitalist democracies’. In India, the government has failed to provide adequate food, shelter, transportation etc for the poor, needy, and the daily wage workers during this lockdown which has robbed them of livelihood, and in many cases, of life too. Even on the medical front, they have failed to stop the initial spread of the virus due to shockingly low testing rates, along with shortages in personal protective equipments for medical professionals. 

Another major aspect of the lockdown that has been ignored and brushed under the carpet by families, communities, media and the governments is that of the gendered aspects of the lockdown.

Gender discrimination, violence and control are a reality of our far from perfect society. People from all genders can be a victim of these. But, it is important to understand that gender related discrimination, violence etc are all gender asymmetrical issues, i.e. some genders have it much worse than the others when the overall population and trends are taken into account. In the aforementioned aspect, women and non-binary genders, in general, suffer significantly more than men. It is majorly due to the prevalence of patriarchal ideas that exist in the society, which put men on a supposed pedestal and keep the remaining genders subordinate to men. 

It is not like prior to the lockdown these issues were not rampantly heard of, or were under control, but this lockdown has only uncovered the undeniable realities of our predominantly male-dominated society even more vividly. Due to the lockdown, women across the country are facing the ‘not so serious’ problems of increasing domestic work load with unfair or no distribution of the chores amongst the family members; the women who are employed and can work from home are struggling to maintain the balance between the household work and their jobs, again because of unfair distribution of household duties. The lockdown will only increase the burden on women, since they already do three times as much unpaid care work for the family than men. In India, it is 9.8 times more in regular times (findings by NITI Aayog, 2017), only to increase during this crisis when the whole family will be under the same roof all day long for days to come.

The plight of migrant workers only worsened due to the poorly planned and executed lockdown, which forced them to return to their native places on foot since all means of transportation such as buses and trains were stopped after the lockdown began. Thousands and lakhs of workers were stranded in different parts of India. Several of them began the journeys to reach home on foot, with their scarce belongings, some with their families and children, some with unborn children. While men suffered too, women had it worse with many pregnant and menstruating women left with no option but to walk hundreds of kilometres in scorching summer heat, with limited food and water. Some women had to give birth to their new born on the roadside, and again continue walking without any post natal care. Their horrifying ordeals couldn't open the eyes of the privileged Indian citizens and the apathetic government. The countless injustice faced by workers due to this lockdown is unimaginable. A poor attempt to cover up the mess by the government by extending 'help' to them in terms of food and shelter, only seems to be a hollow attempt to appease the media and their supporters. There have been several report and even more unreported deaths of workers due to the consequences of the chaotic lockdown.

The unprecedented nationwide lockdown has also led to significant rise in poor mental health of people, with women and the non-binary genders being affected more. While the stress of losing jobs, and uncertain future is bothering people from almost all walks of life, women are having it way worse not just because of the wage gap or losing more jobs than men, but also because of increasing work load at home, facing persistent discrimination at the hands of family members or intimate partners. With women having to share their space with others 24*7, a lot of them are also being subjected to domestic violence, marital rape, mental abuse etc. Imagine living around your perpetrator continuously, for days, with no way to escape or even lessen the hours spent around the perpetrator! Reports from all across the country have clearly shown a spike in the number of cases of domestic violence that have been reported, let alone the cases that have not reached the police (which make the majority of the cases). The Queer community, for the longest time, has been stigmatised and ostracised. A lot of them depend on support systems that lie beyond the boundaries of their homes and families, since families aren't a safe space for them for the same reasons. The lockdown has resulted in severing these support systems, while they remain stuck with, or are forced to return to judgemental and oppressive families or neighbourhoods. This has led to mental breakdowns, depression and loneliness in a lot of members of the community.

As mentioned above, domestic violence against women is on an all time rise. This is not just India’s story. This pandemic has resulted in the ‘pandemic’ of gender based violence. A lot of people argue that the increase in domestic violence is because of the mounting pressure on men to feed their families and pay rents in these times of job losses, no way to vent out the frustration, for many, no access to alcohol and cigarettes, no change of the physical environment with limited access to means of recreation. However, are these factors the real reasons behind men turning violent? While these factors often act as triggers, the real reason behind the problem is the idea that a man can, and often, should hit women; the idea that women are subordinate, and need to be controlled, even if it mean using violent measures. The real reason is P-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-Y, Patriarchy.  Data from the National Family Health Survey (2018) reveals that 42% of men agree with the idea of violence against spouse. The data is sufficient to suggest that a lot of women are victimised within the boundaries of their homes. This data does not encompass sexual violence and marital rape inside homes. In fact, marital rape isn’t even a crime in India, giving men a free pass, legally and socially speaking, to have sex with their partners regardless of consent. The lockdown has only made things worse for most women. They have limited options to even report these crimes, because of which they are majorly unreported.

The Lockdown and the resulting social distancing measures have crippled the economy.  Companies and organisations are firing people. Workers in the unorganised sector are not getting work to do and therefore, no salaries either. The vulnerable sections of the society are again suffering more, economically. Women are often employed in low paying, part-time, feminised jobs, more so in the informal sector even though the problems of wage gap and preference for male employee over female exist in the formal sector as well. Women, in most of the sectors, are more likely to lose their jobs as compared to men, during this lockdown. The reasons are many, including the sectors that have been affected the most (education, hospitality, travel, etc, as well as low paying jobs of the unorganised sector such as that of household help, which are mostly feminised jobs with women out numbering men) and preference for retaining male employees over female employees (mainly due to gender related prejudices and stereotypes). Despite the fact that the loss of livelihood is stressful for everyone, financial independence often means a lot more to women than just being able to feed themselves and their families. Being financially independent, to an extent, loosens the shackle of patriarchal controls they are bound by. It opens the doors for them to lead an independent life, if they choose to, away from incompatible or abusive partners. In many cases, financial independence leads them to escape the torment of their perpetrators, or even seek legal justice for the wrongs done to them. Losing jobs during this lockdown closes this scope for women who have been left unemployed, may be temporarily and some, permanently.

A very possible aftermath of the lockdown can be young girls dropping out of schools, majorly in the poorer sections of the society which will be left with even scarce monetary resources by the end of the lockdown. This may result in families deciding to educate only their sons, since sons are traditionally considered to be the future bread-winners for families.

Problems are many, and most of them don’t really have immediate or easy solutions. It takes years to unlearn notions that have existed for centuries, and uproot the entire problematic system. The lockdown greatly reduces the chances of bringing about solution oriented changes, as it cuts down on setting up discourses on these issues. However, we would still like to make the most out of this situation, and suggest little solutions for the short and the long term that can bring some difference.

For mental distress and other mental health issues, try consulting a psychologist. There are several online platforms, some paid and some unpaid, that can help with getting psychological help. Try meditating to break the chain of suffocating and negative thoughts. In cases of gendered conflicts at home where there is a risk of the other person turning violent, try not to engage much with the person. Avoid talking much and if conditions allow, maintain ‘social distance’ from the perpetrator within the household for as long as possible. It is best to report incidents of domestic violence, and to try to seek help from close friends and family who are trustworthy, although this is often not a practical solution for a lot of women and non-binary genders due to the fear of further physical and mental harm and losing the little financial support they have. In such cases cutting down interaction as much as possible can help in survival till situations conducive for seeking help and justice don’t arrive. There are some organisations that extend protection and provide shelter homes to the victims of domestic violence. If the situations of a household are not verbally and physically abusive, it is vital for women to take a stand, tell the family about their problems, try and distribute household chores to other family members to remove the burden off their shoulders. These are all short term solutions that might or might not be affective in the longer run. These solutions are mostly possible only for people who have some previledges like adequate finances, proper shelter with enough space, access to other resources like mobile, internet etc. Basically, only people who are in the middle class or above can afford trying these solutions. 

The underprivileged people, the have nots, the lower classes will actually never be able to come out of their disadvantaged lives because of the exploitative social, political and economic system. Only uprooting the existing system  and replacing it with a just and egalitarian system will result in the desired equal and equitable society. To bring about a revolutionary change, it is important that the masses and the oppressed become aware of the problems and their consequences, and desire change. This  requires  long term solutions including systematic gender sensitisation in every possible way, be it through educational institutions, media platforms, activism, campaigns, organisations and individual interactions. It is essential to keep the discourse alive, to keep talking to about patriarchy, gender discrimination, misogyny, transphobia, etc, and the ill effects they have on women and the non-binary genders who too are humans.