Volume 11 Issues 1 January, 2021
The corona virus pandemic has had a devastating effect on the physical and mental health of people. Research shows that the pandemic has undoubtedly caused a crisis in women’s mental health when compared to men and broadened the already existing gender gap. Most women tend to put their health, especially mental health, to the back burner and keep pushing through. They are disproportionally responsible for the bulk of domestic tasks, including child care and elder care. Work from home along with taking care of the family has increased the burden due to closure of schools and lack of domestic help causing mental and physical exhaustion. It has been reported that women and girls spend 3.26 billion hours of unpaid care work everyday, contributing 19 lakh crore rupees per year to the Indian economy, which is equivalent to 20 times the entire education budget of India. In some families, usually of low socio economic status, if a woman asks for restor helps with domestic chores, they either faced is approval or abuse at worst. Women with a history of mental illness, pregnant or postpartumare at higher risk of being affected. The period of lockdown has also seen arise in domestic violence, both physical and psychological. This has resulted in an increase in depression, anxiety and stress among women during the period of lockdown. A particularly vulnerable group of women are front line health care workers.
Since the start of the pandemic, female health care workers have struggled with their dual roles. Societal stigma and fear of bringing the disease home have forced many to stay at their work place, away from families and children. A concept introduced by Jessica De Groot, “shared care”, is of particular significance during COVID times. These concept stalk about removing gender as a determinant of who does more work encourages sharing of domestic work and emotional labour among couples helping both to thrive at home and work. COVID 19 has taught us that work from home is not only possible but productive, which prompts us to think that if more men and women could choose this option, wouldn’t it be easy to have a more balanced lifestyle for both genders, where they could contribute equally to the office and home? There is a dire need for enhancement of social support system for women. They need to know their limit sand set boundaries. It is important to have a support circle of friends or colleagues who are facing similar challenges. Women need to prioritize themselves by taking out time for hobbies, exercise and adequate sleep. The pandemic may come to an end but the imprints it may leave on the mental health of women will last long. Proactive out reach to the vulnerable groups of women and encouraging them to reach out to mental health professional sis the need of the hour!
