{"id":2235,"date":"2022-02-15T01:49:45","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T01:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/?p=2235"},"modified":"2022-03-06T01:50:28","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T01:50:28","slug":"rural-women-disproportionately-bear-the-socio-economic-hardships-of-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/?p=2235","title":{"rendered":"Rural Women Disproportionately Bear the Socio-Economic Hardships of COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.shethepeople.tv\/news\/international-day-of-rural-women-suffe-discrimination-un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Rural Women In The Times Of COVID-19<\/strong><\/p>\n

The overall load of work whether it is paid or unpaid has increased for rural women. In a rural household set-up where women are the household in-charge of cleaning, washing, cooking, parenting, and taking care of the elders and the husband it becomes all the more difficult to handle work and home in this pandemic situation.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wri.org\/insights\/rural-women-must-be-heart-covid-19-response-and-recovery<\/a><\/p>\n

RURAL WOMEN DISPROPORTIONATELY BEAR THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS OF COVID<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

By\u00a0Celine Salcedo-La Vi\u00f1a<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Ruchika Singh<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Natalie Elwell<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

COVID-19 continues to sweep across the world, and has now\u00a0spread from the developed world to the global South<\/a>. \u00a0With rural populations making up\u00a0three-quarters of the world\u2019s poor<\/a>, the impact of the pandemic will inevitably be most devastating in developing nations.<\/p>\n

Emerging evidence<\/a>\u00a0from this pandemic and\u00a0experience from previous disease outbreaks<\/a>\u00a0and other crises show that it\u2019s rural\u00a0women<\/em>\u00a0who will disproportionately bear the resulting socio-economic hardships. As critical contributors to their households and communities, rural women must play a key role in any\u00a0response and recovery agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rural Women Bear the Brunt of the Impacts of COVID-19<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rural women are the backbone of agriculture and guardians of household food security in their communities. They make essential contributions as smallholder farmers, as unpaid labor on family farms, and as wage laborers, including as seasonal and informal workers on commercial farms. Especially as men become more involved in off-farm labor or move to urban centers for work, women are assuming a bigger share of agricultural production beyond their roles as principal household food producers and fuelwood and water collectors. They are also\u00a0almost exclusively responsible for children\u2019s nutrition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Restrictions on the movement of people and goods \u2014 including border closures, lockdowns and other measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 \u2014 are disrupting agricultural value chains and food systems. While this affects rural farmers generally, women face barriers and disadvantages that make them\u00a0less able to recover<\/a>\u00a0than men.<\/p>\n

Women have\u00a0weaker land tenure security and less access<\/a>\u00a0to productive resources than men, such as draught animals and mechanical tools. This lack of assets, coupled with their lower literacy rates and mobility and time constraints, often hinder women\u2019s participation in agricultural extension programs and their access to credit and financial services. As markets close and cross-border trade declines, they \u00a0suffer the\u00a0double-whammy<\/a>\u00a0of not being able to sell their produce (or selling at very low prices), and lacking access to seeds, tools and other inputs needed for the next planting season.<\/p>\n

Additionally, female agricultural workers \u2014 who make up\u00a0about 43% of the agricultural labor force<\/a>\u00a0in developing countries \u2014 are over-represented in unpaid and low-paid seasonal or part-time jobs. They are less likely to be entitled to unemployment benefits when they lose their livelihoods due to lockdowns. Those who\u00a0are informal workers<\/a>\u00a0because of their social status may be left out of social protection measures, such as cash transfers enacted in response to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

When governments enforcing lockdowns shift to digital platforms to disseminate information about the pandemic or available support, rural women may be left out. Poor rural women, particularly in \u00a0South Asia and Africa, make up majority of the 393 million women<\/a>\u00a0who lack access to mobile phones and internet connections and rely mainly on\u00a0person-to-person networks for information<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, when food becomes scarce,\u00a0coping strategies<\/a>\u00a0such as buying less food, reducing the number of meals, or switching to less nutritious food are not gender neutral. Women often buffer the impact by\u00a0reducing their own food intake or by eating last<\/a>\u00a0so that the rest of the family has enough to eat. In rural communities where\u00a0tradition dictates<\/a>\u00a0that men eat first and receive the best food, women and girls must further cut back their food intake. This, of course, will compromise the health and immunity of women and girls at a time when they\u2019re needed most.<\/p>\n

Lockdowns also result in increased unpaid domestic and care work for women, which in normal times \u00a0already average\u00a03 times as much as men<\/a>. Aside from being charged with caregiving, food preparation, and maintaining the house, women are primarily responsible for nursing back to health family members who fall ill. Paid or formal work will be tougher with round-the-clock household tasks.<\/p>\n

5 Ways to Ensure Gender-sensitive Policies in the Wake of COVID-19<\/strong><\/p>\n

A gender analysis conducted by\u00a0CARE International and the International Rescue Committee<\/a>\u00a0showed that countries\u2019 COVID-19 responses generally fail to adequately account for the gender dimensions of risk, vulnerability, resources and coping capabilities. The pandemic response must avoid exacerbating the inequalities faced by rural women while addressing the negative impacts disproportionately borne by them.<\/p>\n

Five important tactics include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ensure women\u2019s access to information and participation in data collection.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Women\u2019s roles as primary caregivers necessitate that they receive up-to-date public health and support information, such as symptoms to watch for, hygiene and disease prevention, contact tracing, and details on social assistance programs. It\u2019s also important that government agencies obtain from rural women information on gender-differentiated impacts of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

    Governments and organizations should disseminate information in formats that are\u00a0accessible and understandable<\/a>\u00a0to rural women. Given their lower levels of literacy and lower access to communication technologies, this may require translating written communications into the local dialect, using pictures, and accounting for local norms and practices in the interpretation. Media communications should prioritize local radio, with targeted messaging for women. Governments using digital platforms to disseminate information should consider\u00a0distributing mobile phones to women<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Data collection efforts should apply\u00a0sex-disaggregation<\/a>. Rather than limiting household surveys to the household head, typically deemed to be the husband, survey organizers should ask women specific questions about their needs and the impacts they experience, and tailor policy measures accordingly.<\/p>\n

    Women\u2019s groups<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including savings, farmer and social groups, and community-based organizations \u2014 can be powerful partners in information dissemination and gathering. \u00a0For example, in\u00a0India, women\u2019s self-help groups (SHGs)<\/a>\u00a0are bringing pandemic prevention efforts to hard-to-reach communities. In the state of Kerala, a women\u2019s SHG helped the government by using social media, posters and weekly meetings to communicate proper handwashing and social distancing procedures. In Bihar, one of India\u2019s poorest states, a women\u2019s SHG spread similar information through leaflets, songs, videos and text messages.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Ensure female farmers\u2019 access to markets and agricultural resources.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      It is essential for local food supply chains to continue functioning during lockdowns \u2014 not just for rural women and small-scale farmers, but for the populations that rely on their produce.<\/p>\n

      When markets must close, governments can establish\u00a0online markets<\/a>\u00a0linking small-scale producers to consumers. Governments can also purchase\u00a0surplus produce at fair prices<\/a>\u00a0and transport them to towns and cities.<\/p>\n

      For example, after restaurant closures left potato farmers with excess crops, the provincial government of\u00a0Gangwon, South Korea<\/a>, set up an online market. Officials used Twitter to encourage consumers to purchase potatoes at low prices, and the province covered all shipping costs. In\u00a0France, the government<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0worked with farmers\u2019 unions to develop tailored hygiene advice to keep farmers\u2019 markets and community-supported agriculture schemes up-and-running. The province of\u00a0British Columbia, Canada<\/a>\u00a0declared community gardens and farmers\u2019 markets as essential services. In\u00a0India, a women-led agricultural cooperative<\/a>, the Rural Urban Distribution Initiative or RUDI, scaled up procurement of seasonal produce from small and marginal farmers and partnered with delivery apps for last-mile delivery in urban areas.<\/p>\n

      Small-scale farmers and producers also need help in preparing for the next season. Agricultural stimulus packages and subsidies must include specific targets for women, such as cash transfers to\u00a0help with the purchase of seeds<\/a>, fertilizer and tools to grow food. Government and private sector financial institutions can set up mechanisms such as\u00a0credit lines<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0with lower interest rates; expanded acceptable collateral such as jewelry, crops and livestock; and suspended interest payments. Governments and international donors can also support local\u00a0women\u2019s savings and loan associations<\/a>\u00a0and cooperatives \u00a0to provide similar financial services.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Build rural women\u2019s resilience to future shocks.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Policy responses should also aim to build rural women\u2019s ability to cope with future shocks. This includes addressing women\u2019s unequal\u00a0access to land and productive resources<\/a>\u00a0and supporting their engagement in higher-value agricultural activities such as cash crop production.<\/p>\n

        This can be done as part of an immediate response, for example,\u00a0direct support<\/a>\u00a0to female-headed households for the development of kitchen gardens and the purchase of small livestock in Pakistan. It can also be part of a sequenced intervention. For example, during the Ebola outbreak\u00a0in northern Sierra Leone<\/a>, the government addressed immediate needs through emergency cash transfers, followed by longer-term resilience-building through seed vouchers and training on improved agronomic practices, crop diversification, entrepreneurship and more.<\/p>\n

        Other measures that promote resilience include supporting women-owned enterprises in government procurement. For example, for its COVID-19 food relief efforts, the government of Senegal is sourcing \u00a0from\u00a0women rice producers<\/a>. Another example is leveraging platforms that support women, for example, UN Women\u2019s\u00a0Buy from Women digital platform<\/a>\u00a0designed to connect women smallholder farmers and cooperatives to extension and financial services, and to national and global supply chains.<\/p>\n

        Public works programs can also set quotas for female labor participation and offer\u00a0flexible working hours<\/a>. In\u00a0India, a government rural development program<\/a>\u00a0guarantees women and men public works employment in between agricultural seasons as a way of providing rural communities a safety net. The program has a quota of at least one-third women, but states such as Chhattisgarh typically have more than 50% female participation.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Expand rural women\u2019s access to social assistance.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Most countries have adopted or expanded social protection programs<\/a>, including cash transfers. But there is a risk that rural women, who are mostly self-employed small-scale farmers and informal agricultural laborers, will not benefit from these measures. For example, household distributions may not necessarily reach women, particularly if the named recipient is the household head, typically a man. Other impediments faced by women include lack of bank accounts and mobility constraints.<\/p>\n

          Social protection schemes<\/a>\u00a0can be adapted or expanded to other types of assistance in order to target rural women. These include in-kind assistance such as food packages and food vouchers, particularly where markets are closed, movements are restricted and food prices are spiking.\u00a0Conditionalities<\/a>\u00a0for pre-existing cash-transfer programs can be dropped or suspended so that women can continue accessing them, or new cash transfers created for women with care responsibilities. Household-level cash transfers should be communicated as a family benefit, with both spouses as recipients.<\/p>\n

          Other forms of social assistance can include\u00a0food banks, community kitchens<\/a>,\u00a0school feeding programs<\/a>, and waivers or deferrals of utility payments. \u00a0For example, in\u00a0Kerala, India,<\/a>\u00a0the state\u2019s emergency relief included distributing masks and hand sanitizers together with free food grains, opening subsidized food stalls, and releasing funds for loans through a women\u2019s empowerment network, the\u00a0Kudumbashree<\/em>.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Adopt measures to prevent domestic violence.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Economic and social strains, confinement and reduced peer support put women at\u00a0greater risk of gender-based violence<\/a>. Initial reports received by UN Women show a 25% uptick in violence against women during COVID-19 lockdowns in countries with reporting systems in place.<\/p>\n

            Governments must establish appropriate safety nets and fund women\u2019s organizations that provide protection against domestic violence. Governments should designate shelters\u00a0as essential services<\/a>, establish free helplines and other safe reporting mechanisms and outreach centers, and provide health and other support services.<\/p>\n

            Protecting Women During the COVID-19 Response<\/strong><\/p>\n

            These measures applied to the current pandemic can be integrated into crisis response policies and programming moving forward. It is also important to invest in women\u2019s leadership and empower\u00a0women to participate and contribute<\/a>\u00a0in the design of policy measures to address future crises.\u00a0 Women\u2019s rights and empowerment must be a key element of the pandemic response and long-term resilience.<\/p>\n

            \u0418\u0437\u0432\u043e\u0440: WUNRN<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            https:\/\/www.shethepeople.tv\/news\/international-day-of-rural-women-suffe-discrimination-un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres\/ Rural Women In The Times Of COVID-19 The overall load of work whether it is paid or unpaid has increased for rural women. In a rural household set-up where women are the household in-charge of cleaning, washing, cooking, parenting,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-2235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vesti","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2235"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2240,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235\/revisions\/2240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2235"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthrights.mk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_series&post=2235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}