How corona became a women's problem

 

 

Women in the world bear an equal share of the burden, at home and in the economy," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres. Pandemics affect women differently than men. A good example was the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. medical attention suddenly turned to the epidemic and maternity care was neglected, resulting in a shocking increase in maternal and infant mortality.

 

Noortje Willems (33), communication advisor at the Knowledge Institute for Emancipation and Women's History Atria, explains: "It is not about new problems, but the corona crisis can increase existing inequality, and this mainly affects women." One of those problems is the pressure on the unequal division of work and care between partners. In the Netherlands too, it is often still the norm for the man to work full-time and the woman to work part-time. "The expectation is that those who already did the care tasks will now take on even more. Research also shows that women take on more emotional work at home, such as supporting home schooling and planning groceries. So there is more to come. the shoulders of women."

 

Anne-Floor Dekker (39), Gender, Peace and Security program manager at the WO=MEN platform, is also convinced that the pandemic has a different effect on women than on men. "Women are over-represented in professions that are in the frontline of actions, such as healthcare. They are also in the majority in sectors such as the clothing industry, domestic work and sex work. They are (mainly) women who do not have a permanent contract, and therefore rather lose their jobs, are not entitled to services and work in poor working conditions. In many countries it is also the women who have to go to the market to ensure that there is food. There, social distancing is almost impossible, so women take the brunt. women's rights activists are being hit hard. In Colombia, women's rights activist Carlota Isabel Salinas Perez was murdered because she was unable to move due to the corona measures in order to stay out of the hands of her opponents. We also see worldwide that women's organizations cannot now come together, because otherwise they are in danger ." So big consequences.