Policymakers need to protect women

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The pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on the country but the womenfolk have especially paid a heavier price. While Indian women have been at the receiving end of increased domestic violence during the lockdown, some of them also tragically shied away from vaccines since the resultant fever would have prevented them from household chores. Women shoulder the responsibility of running the family, the kitchen, taking care of the children and the senior citizens in an overwhelming number of Indian households. Many of them refused to take the vaccines since it might result in fever and some associated trouble for a couple of days and would have prevented them from carrying out the duty in the family. Nothing could be a more pathetic commentary on the condition in which womenfolk find themselves during the pandemic. National Commission for Women data shows that domestic violence has spiked since the imposition of lockdowns.

The social discrimination does not convey the entire picture. The women of the country have also suffered more than men at least in some areas of the economy. According to reports, Provident Fund Organisation data show that net enrolments for women went down 12.3% in FY21 while that for men rose by 0.63%. Data pertaining to the current year showed that new enrolment for both men and women went down 23% from last year but more women went out of formal employment. Out of the 8.4 lakh individuals who went out of formal employment, two-thirds were women.

If the data show that women are having a raw deal both at home and the workplace, it does not bode well for the future of the economy of the country. If India is to achieve double-digit growth rates on a sustainable basis, women’s wellbeing has to spread far beyond the educated middle class where it seems to be confined at this hour of crisis.